Where does the story live?

Picture this: a person cuts across the grass, avoiding the neatly paved corner of a sidewalk. Over time, others follow, and a natural trail emerges—simple, direct, human. These are desire paths, the unplanned trails created by how people truly want to move through a space. They reveal human intention and preference.

This is a concept I often revisit when thinking about how stories are told and experienced in different places. Because I’ve often found that we (the audiences) find and follow our own "desire paths" through narratives.

Where will the story live for the audience?

Does the story start on a webpage, maybe as a shared link? Or does it start as they walk down the street, and notice the sign hanging above the business? Perhaps it’s a magazine article that catches their interest? A smell when you walk into a room, or a printed T-shirt hidden within the folds of a friend’s closet? Maybe it appears in the opening credits of a film, or wrapped around a product at a farmers market?

The story location shapes not only how the story is told, but also how it is experienced.

When done well, the storytelling creates an immersive phenomenon. The different touchpoints of the story become an ecosystem, a world unto itself. There are several components to these kinds of stories—colors, typography, décor, sounds, smells, or lighting—each is selected, curated, or crafted to enhance or supplement the narrative.

It could be a mural that tells the history of a business, or a particular lighting that creates a stunning show. There are always opportunities to entertain, set a mood, or make your opinion clear, while still serving a functional purpose.

So, like I asked the visual communication students in my last seminar: where will the story live, and what can its setting reveal about the audience's journey? How we design that story—the trail they will follow—defines how they experience and remember it.

Food for thought.

If you’re interested in ideas about storytelling and design, feel free to get in touch with us to learn more about my workshops and seminars, or WhatsApp us at +94 77 764 7096

The books with dangerous ideas

Right. So, my son asked me why he couldn't read the Tintin book on the top shelf of our library. You see, I have a large bookshelf in the story studio, and the books are more or less arranged according to how high my son can reach. We told him that he could only read the books he could reach. As he experienced more of the world, he would grow wise enough to understand the meaning of the stories.

Information is meant to be shared, fundamentally, but certain ideas and stories might not be suitable for everyone. Also, some knowledge is better earned; as in learnt, and not accessed. Some of these ideas can be harmful and used as a weapon. The books on the top shelf are known as “the books with dangerous ideas", which, of course, sounds very appealing to a young person.

Have you heard the story about the Sorcerer’s Apprentice? There’s a version of this story in Walt Disney’s 1940s animated musical Fantasia. When, the Apprentice, played by Mickey Mouse, is left alone to complete his chores, decides to use his master's magic hat to enchant a broom to carry buckets of water for him. But his lack of magical experience leads to chaos; the enchanted broom multiplies and floods the workshop. Mickey Mouse breaks the rule to understand. I want to share that sense of wonder and ambition, but I also want to clarify the consequences of using power without understanding it. I think there’s value in knowing one's limits.

In Letters to a Young Poet, Rilke advised a writer to be patient with all that is unresolved in his heart and to try to love the questions themselves.

1. Be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart and try to love the questions themselves, like locked rooms and like books that are now written in a very foreign tongue. Do not now seek the answers, which cannot be given to you because you would not be able to live them. And the point is, to live everything. Live the questions now. Perhaps you will then gradually, without noticing it, live along some distant day into the answer.

   
   

The right to knowledge is important, but how it’s attained is a different story. I think part of growing up is learning through experiences. The forbidden Tintin story, up there, along with the other forbidden fruits, are the many experiences of different people from around the world; in all its complexities. Waiting for their audience to reach the readiness needed to embrace its lessons. It’s a question all storytellers ask themselves; are they ready for this yet?

Co-publish with us on Instagram

Every few weeks, we release stories designed to get co-published as collaborator posts on Instagram. Each story is thoughtfully created, researched, and produced, giving original content designed specifically for Instagram. When you co-publish these stories as a collaborator with us on Instagram, these original stories appear on your profile while connecting your channel to new circles by pooling audiences. As a collaborator, you can also contribute appropriate images or videos of your business or personal brand to the story. It's a great way to access original stories that contribute lifestyle and wider idea-based narratives into your feed.

FAQs

How does this work?

Collaborator posts on Instagram allow adding up to four people to co-publish a story together. A story published this way appears on the Instagram feed of every collaborator. When you browse our story releases, if there’s a story you’d like to co-publish with us on Instagram as a collaborator, just email us at hello@publicworks.store or WhatsApp +94 777 647 096. We’ll get in touch with the details to make it happen.

How are co-publishing stories priced?

Co-publishing prices for 2024 are as follows;

Shared collaborator: LKRs. 4,500

Sole collaborator: LKRs. 8,000.

What is a sole collaborator and a group collaborator?

A group collaborator is when you collaborate with a group of up to four more people who will be added as collaborators to the same story. This is great because the story you purchased to co-publish with everyone else will appear in all their feeds, introducing your account to new circles. A sole collaborator is when you pay extra and become the only collaborator to co-publish the story; this gives you room to supplement the story with more images/videos from your personal brand or business and have a higher degree of customizability.

Can collaborators add to the story?

Collaborators can submit photos, videos, and hashtags that align with their business or personal brand, to supplement the story. Of course, the images or videos you submit must bear relevance to the story. If you submit images or videos to supplement a story this way, appropriate credits will be added to the caption, tagging your handle.

Why collaborate for stories?

We started offering the option to purchase our original stories as collaborator posts so that more people can share great content at an affordable rate. It also allows everyone to pool community resources and engage with wider circles.

What kind of images or videos can collaborators submit?

Relevant, within Instagram guidelines (under 60-second videos in MP4 format), and with clear usage rights for the content.

What can’t collaborators control?

Who the other collaborators are (unless you’ve snagged the sole collaborator spot😌), what videos or images other collaborators submit, the order and exact cropping of images and videos, and how many out of the images or videos you submitted will be chosen for the post if you submit more than one.

Got more questions? Just ask us. Email us at hello@publicworks.store or WhatsApp +94 777 647 096 to sign up for co-publishing one or more stories. Currently, Instagram only allows adding 4 collaborators per story; we follow a first come, first served basis.