We all love stories, as kids and as adults. What are stories after all? They are artefacts created by mind where noise gets eliminated, conflicts muted and a roundness imparted cutting off the brittle edges.
"Storytelling is the most powerful way to put ideas into the world today.”
- Robert McKee
Great stories, don’t just happen randomly; they are DESIGNED. A life without stories would be no life at all. In my experience, stories are one of the best tools for conveying the practicality a design can bring, and few things can help move a project forward as well as a good story can. However, we sometimes overlook a part of the UX design process that can benefit the most from storytelling. Storytelling and user experience have common elements — like planning, research, and content creation that can be utilized for effectively developing an experience.
It’s time we all become Storytellers, but why? It starts by thinking of your brand itself as a story. Every communication you create is another chapter in an unfolding epic starring you and your audience. A great brand gift has taken good story brands and made them cultural icons.
They help us define complex concepts
Giving additional context helps our audience connect with a concept. This additional context can be in the form of behaviours, emotions, reactions, motivations, or goals. Unlike a flow chart or artifact, a narrative allows the audience to understand the reasons behind users’ actions; they remind our audience members that they are not the user.
Stories help us remember
We as humans tend to process stories more deeply than we process other kinds of material. This helps us remember them. The rich detail we get from descriptions of characters, locations, and events — and relating it all back to our own experiences — helps us personally connect with information or ideas. A relatable story that strikes an emotional chord may trigger strong reactions and deep memories.
They form a shared understanding
Stories bring user pain points and goals to the forefront of the conversation and help teams create a shared language of why they’re building a product or feature and whom it benefits. These stories can also be used to rally around a product vision, painting an image of how life could be better with that product.
They spark our imaginations and generate new ideas
When we read a book, we take the descriptions the author gives us and fill in the gaps with what we’re familiar with. We do the same thing when we tell stories. Rather than describing every single detail of what users want, allow your audience some freedom to envision the solution.
Stories inspire to action
Have you ever read a book, watched a video, or listened to someone speak, and were inspired to action because of the stories they told? You know what I’m talking about — those times when words, coupled with the obvious emotions behind them, sent shivers down your spine and gave you goosebumps. That is the true power of storytelling.
Stories entertain
Typically, you have just 10–20 seconds before a user decides to leave for good. Interestingly, the longer they stay beyond that, the more likely they are to stay even longer.
Storytelling in UX is not easy. But it does work. The quicker you capture the user’s attention, the longer they’ll stay on your page and the more they’ll engage with your content. The more they engage with your content, the higher the chance they’ll buy.
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Brandhero is a boutique solopreneur setup that lives by the principle of Design that Works and brings together storytelling, design, brand strategy and marketing to create unique brand and customer experiences.
