From the course: Storytelling for Designers

Unlock the full course today

Join today to access over 22,400 courses taught by industry experts or purchase this course individually.

The element of surprise

The element of surprise

From the course: Storytelling for Designers

Start my 1-month free trial

The element of surprise

The element of surprise. It plays an important role in chess games, in battle, in mystery writing, and in comedy. Surprise is one of the most important tools in your storytelling arsenal. Let's look at some things that surprise is good for in storytelling. Number one, humor. The reason Jack in the boxes make babies laugh, well they usually laugh, is because the guy jumps out of the box at an unexpected time. And that tiny moment of fear, followed by the realization that you're safe, is exhilarating and hilarious. In a design when you juxtapose two things that surprise your viewer, they're taken aback at first. And then they get it. And then they laugh. You hope. Surprises that are safe and quirky are funny. Even if they're violent in a comic way, they're funny. In this coffee ad for Café Rico, a man is sleeping, in a bed, on a roof. What? Why is he on a roof? And just as you think that, your eye starts to look around for clues. And then you see the wrecking ball. Ha! Dummy. He's about…

Contents