Why this? Always a challenging question to answer concisely. So…..
Narrative design seems to be the backbone of all of this. What “narrative design” actually entails seems to be all over the place. Regardless of source, it seems that it gravitates around the idea that stories of sites are often simplified too much, tied up with a bow, and packaged for an audience. A “story” suggests a chronological or linear approach in understanding the site while a “narrative” suggests many different stories and characters that inform it, essentially a plot. We are trying to uncover the plot (with all of its twisting tales, various characters, etc) of the site, rather than tell unidimensional/unidirectional stories.
This process also allows us to have a continual relationship with a lived experience on site. We bring back our experiences in the form of scene cards which we can then use to understand the site’s various chararcters and themes. Having these allows to frame subsequent visits as we get to know these characters more.
I would also argue that it allows for more immersion. Having to get to know characters creates more access to the site in many ways. We have to focus on many different stories rather than a dominant narrative that we know we will eventually design for/alongside.