Storytelling in Design - Top Trends // Page on the right

Design & Storytelling

Storytelling is a buzzword that you’ll find all too often in the graphic design, web design, UX, and marketing spheres. 

As one of the most basic human social and cultural expressions, storytelling is applicable across industries and subjects. It's an art, a science, and a process.

The story breathes life into a design, a brand, or a product. It injects it with meaning and fosters emotional connection, which causes resonance with an audience. 

And it's a crucial element in the design process!

Traditional Storytelling

Storytelling is ancient. It’s been around since humans have. It’s an innate part of our being. 

We can see the very first evidence of storytelling in prehistoric cave paintings from the first humans, who wished to share, record, and understand their experiences. Storytelling has always been part of the human experience.

Traditional storytelling helps us understand the experiences we have, to empathize and emotionally connect with one another. We use it to define ourselves and our creations, as well as to entertain.

You're probably familiar with the traditional story structure of the narrative arc, which is a journey with a set of circumstances that require resolution. There's a beginning, a middle, and an end that follows the arc of exposition, climax, and dénouement.

Gamification

This is a huge trend in the digital sector, and a surefire way to make any design project ten times more engaging. 

Applying the concept of gamification requires caution, as it might not be appropriate for every brand or story.

However, if it's fitting, you can engage and fascinate your audience while concisely putting across your message by creating a fun, game-like environment.

A good example of simple gamification used to enhance a marketing campaign is M&M’s "eye-spy" campaign.

Telling Stories Through Text

This might seem like an obvious move, but text-based storytelling is making a big comeback.

As a designer, you can use bold and captivating typography to get your visual story noticed.consectetur adipiscing elit. Using text as the focal point in a visual story immediately makes it more captivating, and it will be exciting to see this trend evolve and what designers do with it!

Audio

Audio is a fantastic way to bring story and life to design projects.

It can be used to improve accessibility in web design, to guide a gallery experience, and overlay static visuals on social media, for a more dynamic experience. With audio clips gaining popularity on social media platforms such as Instagram to promote audio-based media, there are some cool opportunities to marry audio with graphic design for an ultra-engaging multimedia experience.

Interactive Design And User Experience

When we are designing products, experiences, and communication for marketing campaigns, we are designing for an audience.  

Ensuring that their experience is optimized on every level from visual satisfaction to ease and simplicity, is obviously essential. UX designers create personas that represent the target audience to embody their perspective. They incorporate various elements of storytelling such as scenario generation, storyboards, theme, character, and dialogue, to map an ideal user experience that has considered the entire journey.