Emotional Shapes
Succession
1. The show opens with a main character, Kendall, posed to take ownership of his fathers multi billion dollar company, something he aspired to his whole life.
2. His father changes his mind on a whim and decides to remain owner and CEO of the company.
3. His father has medical issues that result in Kendall temporarily gaining control.
4. His father gets better, takes control back. Kendall falls back on drugs and ends up responsible for someone’s death in the pursuit of them.
5. Kendall makes plans to betray his father, ruin his reputation, and forcibly gain control of the company. He gains support of enough people that he believes his plan will work.
6. His plan didn’t work, and he is now on bad terms with much of his family.
7. His mental health declines and he nearly drowns himself.
8. His father dies.
9. He plans on taking control of the company and gains the support of his siblings.
10. The company is acquired by another company, and he loses his position.
Parasite
1. The main family is living in bad conditions and struggling with money.
2. The son gets a tutoring job with a wealthy family.
3. The whole family manages to get different jobs working for the company.
4. They are caught by two characters and in the struggle for power wind up killing her and injuring her partner.
5. A flood hits their home, destroying everything they own.
6. They still attend an event for the wealthy family and the person who caught them ends up stabbing and murdering the daughter.
Burning (2018)
1. The main character Jongsu reconnects with a childhood friend, Haemi.
2. She introduces him to another character, Ben, who he grows suspicious of.
3. His suspicion grows as he spends time with the two of them and hears about Ben’s hobby of burning greenhouses.
4. Haemi goes missing.
5. Jongsu asks Ben if he’s seen Haemi and he denies it and is shown to have moved on to another woman.
6. Jongsu has growing suspicions and finds Haemi’s jewelry along with jewelry of many other women at Ben’s house.
7. Jongsu kills Ben.
3-Act Story Spine
Act 1:
1. Main character is miserable and falling into a depression. She is distant from her daughter and underperforming at work, despite having spent the past decade only focusing on her career.
2. She starts sleeping more, ends up experiencing vivid dreams that bring her back to positive emotions that she no longer feels in real life.
3. She meets characters in her dreams, doesn’t feel like she’s dreaming in them.
2. She starts sleeping more, ends up experiencing vivid dreams that bring her back to positive emotions that she no longer feels in real life.
3. She meets characters in her dreams, doesn’t feel like she’s dreaming in them.
Act 2:
4. She forms a bond with someone in her dreams and begins looking forward to sleeping each night to return to the dreams.
5. Her good mood from her dreams seeps into her real life. She wakes up refreshed, more motivated, and is able to connect with people again.
6. Because her dreams still feel real, she feels like the person she meets in them is a real friend and tries to find out more about her.
7. The person in her dreams looks disturbed and avoids her for the rest of the dream. She stops showing up in the dreams suddenly.
Act 3:
8. Her life doesn’t go back to being as bad, she tries seeking out connection in real life, as her depressive episode has seemingly eased.
9. Her relationship with her daughter starts improving, and she starts putting time and effort into her work again.
10. She starts forming a social life by reaching out to old friends and inviting them to go out one night.
11. While out with some friends, she sees the person from her dreams, and strikes up a conversation.
From User to Character
"How can you predict the goals and actions of a user, when you don’t know anything about the user as a person?"
In human centered design, it is a fundamental principle to understand the user. This quote serves as a reminder that successful design requires a designer who has a complete understanding of the user’s needs, motivations, and behaviors. It would be very challenging if not impossible to design a successful product that resonates with users without this knowledge. User research is a vital step in gaining an understanding of a who you’re designing for.
"The Personas are hypothetical archetypes of actual users, defined and differentiated by their goals. They are described from a goal hierarchy, where personal goals have priority, to practical goals and practical goals that are affected by the company goals."
User personas in design hold significance because they are based on user goals, personalization, and aligning of user and business objectives. This quote serves as a reminder that effective design is user centric and driven by data. The goals and behaviors of a user as well as the goals of a company should both be considered when designing. This leads to products that resonate with and serve the needs of the business and the users. It is also important to understand the hierarchy of goals, and what can be efficiently prioritized.
"The scenario can be used at many levels in the design process, where it is common to use them in the beginning of the design process to illustrate user needs, goals and actions. Some designers use scenarios during the whole design process and return to them again and again. Others use them only as an offset for the creative process, never to return to them again."
This quote highlights the significance of scenarios in design. Scenarios can be helpful throughout the design process. In the initial phases, they play a role in visualizing user needs, goals, and behaviors, which acts as a foundation for designers to build from. Even after the initial phase, scenarios can still aid in decision making to ensure that the end product stays aligned with user centric principles. While some users don’t circle back to scenarios, they can be a great tool at any stage in the design process.