From concept to creation
Dwell House is a story lab, a place where concepts and ideas materialize.
We welcome the messiness of what matters to you. Our process will help take all the good stuff floating around in the margins of notebooks and the postscript of emails, and filter out something meaningful. Whether the final product is visualized, photographed, scripted, animated, or safely tucked away for a later date, we can house your story and nurture it along.
Our process is flexible and adaptive to your context and your needs. Here are three ways that our story lab can serve your next project:
Story-based strategy
The way we capture, collect, and share stories has been a source of fascination of generations of humans. Story strategy takes our innate desire to organize concepts and find meaning within them, and puts those tools to work for people with important things to say. ⠀
Story Strategy is an approach to meaning-making that uses narrative theory as the backbone for communications and engagement. We consider the who, what, when, where, and why of what you do, and put it together in a clean, actionable framework.
Stories are powerful because they provide clarity in contexts of inherent complexity. We work with fascinating people who are creating interesting possibilities – people who are disrupting long-standing assumptions and building a better world. This is complex work that merits a focused, but open-minded lens. Without it, we risk losing the nuances of relationships, power dynamics, and the choices that define us. Check out the Arcana Creative portfolio for a look at our story-based approach in action.
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Brand story development
For a brand identity to feel real, it needs to feel personal. To make an idea more meaningful and relatable, we use a brand story process. Through that process, we establish the pillars of the story – the key themes and messages that ground what you do, organized along a plotline. ⠀
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Once the pillars are in place, we reflect on the dynamic we’re seeing play out between the key characters and settle on a brand archetype. This archetype reflects the role, values, and context of your brand, but brings it into a playful, abstract space. ⠀
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To bring the archetype to life, we considered where we find this kind of character in movies, books, and classic stories (this is the fun part, where we put together character sketches and media moodboards). Often, we go further to explore persona, personality, voice, and visuals to go with it. When story strategy is prioritized in the branding process, we are able to get creative without getting off course.
Story coaching
Story is an essential component of meaning-making, whether you’re trying to articulate your sense of purpose, your team’s goals, your marketing strategy, or your professional goals. Story coaching puts the power of narrative in your hands, working together to craft a framework for messaging and content development.
One-on-one story coaching applies storytelling basics to your specific communications challenges. From a one-off story session up to a 2-3 month story module series, you’ll walk away with story pillars, key messages, and analysis of your personality, voice, and audience stories. Inquire about our flexible packages.
Contact us for a free consultation