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Visual Narratives

Visual Narratives is a half-day creativity challenge in which teams build a physical installation from personal objects to tell a shared story about a theme. It was developed by Fleur Boelen and Michèle Gerbrands with colleagues at the Utrecht University Graduate School of Life Sciences and is published in the Transition Makers Toolbox, where the theme is stress and positive stress. Feedback from an artist or photographer and a surprise wildcard prompt make each team rework its installation, and the stages are documented in photos.

Duration
3h–4h
Group size
12–30 people
Materials
at least five personal objects per participant, plus a box of spare objects, flip-chart sheets and markers, a scent for the writing warm-up, such as a spice, herb or scented oil…
Origin
Fleur Boelen and Michèle Gerbrands, Utrecht University Graduate School of Life Sciences (Transition Makers Toolbox)

Facilitation script

  1. 1

    Introduce the challenge and the principles of open thinking, show examples of installations with the guest artist if present, and run the scent-triggered writing warm-up.

    45 min
  2. 2

    Teams share their objects and the stories behind them, then develop a shared narrative on the theme as a mind map on flip-chart paper.

    30 min
  3. 3

    Teams choose a location and build their installation, photographing the process. Each team presents to the artist, photographer or teacher and refines the work after feedback.

    45 min
  4. 4

    Hand out the wildcard envelopes. Teams transform their installation in response, finish within 20 minutes, present to the room and take a final photo.

    45 min
  5. 5

    After a long break, give time for individual written reflection, then hold a collective debrief on the creative process, the feedback and the reaction to the wildcard.

    60 min

Tips

  • Protect the wildcard as a surprise; the learning comes from having to let go of something the team has just finished.

  • Write wildcard prompts that change a condition of the work, such as its viewpoint, scale or audience, and avoid prompts that simply tell teams what to add.

  • Brief the artist or photographer beforehand to ask questions and describe what they see, since a verdict on quality pushes teams to please the expert.

Common pitfalls

  • Participants arrive without objects or with random items grabbed on the way: the stories are thin and the team has nothing personal to build a narrative from, so keep spare objects only as a supplement and remind people beforehand

  • Teams skip the story sharing and start arranging objects by look: the result is decoration and the group cannot explain what it means

  • Feedback is given as praise or as a judgement on artistic quality: teams either change nothing or try to satisfy the expert, and the practice of working with critique is lost

  • The wildcard is announced in advance or is too mild: teams plan around it or add one object, and nobody experiences a real change of direction

  • The debrief is cut because building ran over: participants leave with a nice memory but have not connected the experience to how they handle open tasks and disruption elsewhere

Variations

The theme is replaceable: identity, change or belonging work in the same way as stress. Without a guest artist, the facilitator or a colleague with a visual background can give the feedback, or teams can give it to each other in a structured round. With limited time, drop the scent warm-up and shorten the debrief, which brings the session to about three hours, but keep both the feedback and the wildcard. The format depends on physical objects and shared space and does not transfer well to a remote setting.

Where it fits

Creative-thinking and adaptability trainingExploring a shared emotional theme through objectsTeam offsites with room for a longer hands-on formatPractising how to respond to feedback and sudden constraintsGraduate and professional skills programmesInterdisciplinary team formation

When to use it

  • You have a half day and want participants to experience open-ended creative work, not just hear about it

  • A group used to analytical, right-answer tasks needs practice in tolerating ambiguity and changing course

  • A theme such as stress, change or belonging is easier for the group to approach through objects than through direct talk

  • You want people to feel what it is like to receive feedback on unfinished work and act on it at once

  • Teams are newly formed across disciplines and need a shared task with no expert advantage

When not to use it

  • You have under three hours or cannot ask for preparation in advance; an Object Metaphor round or a Collage gives a compact object or image-based exercise

  • The goal is a concrete idea, concept or decision; the installation is a learning vehicle, so use a brainstorming or prototyping method instead

  • The group is remote or the room has no space to build and leave things standing

  • The theme touches on acute distress for some participants, for example stress in a team in the middle of burnout or layoffs; personal objects bring up personal stories, so choose a lighter theme or a format with trained support

  • Fewer than about twelve people, because the comparison between several teams' installations and reactions to the wildcard is part of the debrief

Related methods

Team BuildingObject Metaphor
Design ThinkingCollage
IdeationLego Serious Play
facilitation-techniquesSculptures

Frequently asked questions

What is Visual Narratives?▾

Visual Narratives is a half-day creativity challenge from the Transition Makers Toolbox, developed at the Utrecht University Graduate School of Life Sciences. Teams of four or five combine personal objects into a physical installation that tells a shared story about a theme. They receive feedback from an artist, photographer or teacher, are forced to rework the installation by a surprise wildcard prompt, and reflect on the process afterwards.

How long does Visual Narratives take?▾

The working time is about three hours and 45 minutes: 45 minutes for the opening and warm-up, 30 minutes for stories and narrative, 45 minutes for building and feedback, 45 minutes for the wildcard round and an hour for reflection. Add a long break before the reflection. Participants also need to prepare beforehand by choosing their objects.

What is the wildcard?▾

The wildcard is a surprise prompt handed to each team in a sealed envelope after it has built and refined its installation. It requires the team to transform the work within about 20 minutes. Its purpose is to let people practise adapting when a finished piece of work suddenly has to change.

Do you need an artist to run it?▾

A guest artist or photographer is recommended because they bring examples of installations and an outside eye for the feedback round. The format still works if a teacher or facilitator takes that role, provided the feedback describes and questions what the team has built. What cannot be left out is a feedback moment that leads to a real revision.

What kind of objects should participants bring?▾

Each participant brings at least five personal objects that mean something to them in relation to the theme. Everyday items work well as long as there is a story attached, since the team builds its narrative from those stories. The facilitator keeps a box of spare objects so that teams have extra material to connect and extend their installation.

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Method descriptions on Workshop Weaver are original content written by our team, based on established facilitation practices. This method was inspired by work from Fleur Boelen and Michèle Gerbrands, Utrecht University Graduate School of Life Sciences (Transition Makers Toolbox).