Meet Despina and Nina
Despina Hadjilouca and Nina Honiball met at Central Saint Martin's College of Art & Design, in 2007. They share a passion for narrative, which they perceive to be a combination of STORY plus TELLING. Both of them have taken the MA course, Creative Practice for Narrative Environments, as have a number, but importantly not all, of the speakers at the NiP conference.
Despina has a multi–disciplinary background. In 2007 she co-founded Like People Do, a participatory think tank producing exhibitions, experiences and design strategies for diverse clients, from London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham to Kensington Palace and Philips Lighting UK. Despina is a freelance design practitioner, coordinating projects in Cyprus and London, and is co-curator of the Narrative in Practice Symposium.
Nina's background is in graphic design for print and audiovisual. She currently works at Soundings, a company specialising in community engagement for regeneration projects in London and across the UK. She is a member of NearLabs, an interaction design think tank exploring the possibilities of design, technology and participation.
NiP 2011
Nina and Despina share a passion for people, place, and story: the three narrative drivers, or 'hooks' that run through this symposium. Each speaker that participated deals with these three elements in their practice. The speakers have been selected from diverse practices, to give a rich and multifaceted insight into how narrative is being explored and exploited in our everyday experiences.
Diverse disciplines
The selected speakers represented a diverse range of design disciplines, from architecture to interaction design; museums to public engagement and participation. We chose them, in order to investigate how narrative can be used in the creative process, when it is best described in full, and when it is a 'secret weapon' – something solely for the designer, and not to be shared with the client.
Delicious food and good conversation
Behind the events of the day sit many hours of work, between Despina and Nina, and also with the speakers they have drawn together. Two delicious meals took place, where wine was plentiful, and ideas were discussed as to how the guests use narrative in their work, whether or not they find it important, and what they might talk about on the day. The end result was a symposium structured around gathering and ideas swapping.
Who do we appeal to?
Anybody who deals with people, place or story. Narrative in Practice is for fellow creative practitioners, especially people who are new to narrative theory or the notion of using storytelling, story and telling or just story in their work.
The events might appeal to a range of practitioners, from a variety of creative disciplines including graphic design, interaction design, architecture, exhibition design, event design, event management, community participation and engagement, experience design, information design … please add your own discipline to the list by contacting us.
