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Syllabus⇝

This course aims to equip students with the essential skills to effectively communicate their design projects to a diverse audience. Through understanding communication models, storytelling techniques, branding strategies, transmedia narratives, and content creation, students will learn to craft compelling narratives and execute impactful communication strategies for their design interventions.

Keywords: Storytelling, Communication, Narrative, Branding.

Learning Objectives⇝

  • Understanding Communication Models: Introduction to communication theories and models applicable to design projects.
  • Storytelling Techniques: Applying narrative techniques to effectively convey project ideas and narratives.
  • Defining Audience: Strategically selecting the stakeholders you want to communicate with, and the media channels to do so.
  • Project Narrative: Defining the mission, vision, purpose and messages that define a project.
  • Transmedia Storytelling: Exploring diverse media for storytelling and mapping audience engagement.
  • Content Strategy Development: Developing and implementing a comprehensive communication strategy across multiple media, using different communication pillars.

Methodological Strategies⇝

  • Case studies.
  • Workshops.
  • Project-based learning.
  • Peer learning.

Schedule⇝

Introduction to Storytelling

  • Fundamentals of communication theories.
  • Models applicable to design projects.
  • Narrative techniques for effective project communication.
  • Crafting compelling narratives. Assignment - Defining our Stakeholders:
  • Strategically selecting target stakeholders that we want to approach to with our project interventions.

Divergent narratives with Saúl Baeza ½ (11:00 to 12:00): - Unpacking existing projects with interesting and groundbreaking narratives - Collective discussion

Shaping Our Project Narrative

  • Defining how we explain our project to the world.
  • Defining our project mission, vision and purpose.
  • Defining the tone and message of our project. Assignment - Communicating our project to others:
  • Cross interviewing peers about their projects as an exercise for self-reflection about our project understanding.

Transmedia Storytelling

  • Exploring various media for storytelling.
  • Creating comprehensive communication strategies.
  • Implementing strategies using different communication pillars. Assignment - Communication Strategy:
  • Mapping stakeholders and communities’ engagement strategies and messages across different media.
  • Initial communication strategy presentation.

Divergent narratives with Saúl Baeza 2/2 (16:00 to 17:00): - Unpacking existing projects with interesting and groundbreaking narratives - Collective discussion

Review and Reflection

  • Presentation of the initial communication strategy.
  • Peer reflection and comments

Deliverables⇝

  • A Stakeholders radar defining who we want to approach with our project.
  • Initial project mission, vision, purpose and message definition.
  • Communication strategy applied to different medias to communicate your project to your desired stakeholders.

Grading Method⇝

Percentage Description
50% Communication Strategy Presentation
30% Peer Interview Video
20% Class website documentation and reflection

European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System (ECTS)

1 ECTS

Faculty⇝

Pablo Zuloaga Betancourt

Pablo Zuloaga Betancourt

Futures Designer, Creativity & Strategy Consultant / POWAR Founder

Experienced Creative Director with 15+ years in global agencies and brands across Latin America and Europe. Holds a Master's in Future Design, specializing in digital manufacturing and emerging tech. Over 6 years of teaching in diverse universities, focusing on communication, creativity, design, and storytelling.

Founder of POWAR, a Barcelona-based R+D Ed-Tech studio driving planet-centred STEAM education. Known for strategic vision, expertise in innovation, project management, and audiovisual production. Researching around the future of education.

Saúl Baeza

Saúl Baeza

MDEF Co-Director

Saúl Baeza is DOES and MAYBE Creative Director, VISIONS BY Founder and Editor-in-chief and VIBE content director. While lecturing at Elisava Barcelona University of Design and Engineering he also researches functional and digital identities as part of the “Making with..." Research Group (TU Eindhoven Research) and "Futures Now" Research Group (Elisava Research). Saúl is the co-director of the Master in Design For Emergent Futures (MDEF), organised by the Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia (IAAC) and Elisava Barcelona School of Design and Engineering, in collaboration with the Fab Academy. Saúl has been visiting professor and lecturer at international universities, educational institutions and cultural venues such as Harvard GSD, Central Saint Martins and London College of Communication (UAL), Institute for advanced Architecture of Catalonia (IAAC), RMIT University Melbourne, Rhode Island School of Design, Pascual Bravo University in Medellín, Sónar+D, Victoria&Albert Museum, CCCB and DHUB, among others.