Visual Storytelling
I have fond memories of sitting in my parked car and listening to the radio program This American Life. The radio in my house didn’t get good reception. I would bring hot coffee and a blanket—and sometimes a friend—recline the driver’s seat and close my eyes for an hour of storytelling.
It was a white 1987 Nissan Sentra hatchback with blue lightning bolts. I loved that car.
Now, of course, we don’t have to work that hard to listen to our favorite programs. The radio has been redefined. But the best stories, however we receive them, are still exceptionally crafted and beautifully told. They’re memorable, surprising, and engaging. They can be purely informational or they can touch our hearts.
The hosts have rich voices and wonderful personalities, but that’s not why we listen. They’re transparent. Their job is to discover and share—fundamentally the story isn’t their own. The storyteller’s allegiance is to the story, that it be conveyed honorably, creatively, and intelligently.
Beyond the buzz words, hip trendsetters, and flashy displays, design at it’s best is really about the story. The designer is a storyteller. We’re given information and the charge of presenting it appropriately. Designer’s stories can sell products, introduce great ideas, or inspire trust in a brand. They can be surprising and memorable, or simple and understandable. And, like the radio host, the designer conceals themselves, investing their talents but remaining unseen.
The format for This American Life is always the same. The producers choose a theme for each show and share a variety of stories about that theme. The stories are brought to us by different writers and contributors, but we pleasantly recognize the voice of host Ira Glass as he introduces each new personality along the way. Other radio programs might have a similar format, but none preceded the early success of This American Life. The consistency and quality of programming keep its fans coming back for more each week. That dedication is just like brand loyalty—over a million listeners tune in regularly to get their stories.
A designer might not make the product or service, but it’s up to us to create and manage the story about the brand. The time designers spend in discovery—asking questions and taking notes—is really about identifying the basic story. We consider the audience, the medium, and the goals of the client to come up with something that’s smart and appropriate. The story could be straightforward and uncomplicated, or cleverly disguised in the overall graphic language.The designer is getting raw information and transforming it into something palatable—just like the radio host. In the case of the host, the story already exists, it’s being produced and edited for us so we can hear a finished product with a clear message. We’re both doing the same thing. Designers just use different methods, narrating visually instead of verbally.
The storytelling designer uses a combination of tools—color, style, and typography—to convey an abstraction. It’s the age-old challenge for a designer to explain why colors or fonts were chosen for a project. The answer is usually less than concrete—it feels right, conveys a mood. That’s your story. For analytical thinkers it can be challenging to accept a solution that’s not proven, but that’s what makes designers so powerful and design necessary. We’re able to visually convey abstract things like sincerity, modernism, and credence. It’s the difference between on-the-pulse and out-of-touch. It separates the credible from the dubious.
The designer’s medium can be almost anything—like a website, printed material, product packaging, or environmental graphics. With each we need to speak a little differently. A logo, for example, needs to tell its story really fast. In other cases, the story might need to be loud, or straightforward, or repetitive. Good designers know how to speak the right language for the right medium.
Creative storytelling, without allegiance to honesty is where we start to see blurred lines between fine art and design. The designer who snubs clients out of the discovery process is pushing their own agenda. If they’re creating artwork for their own satisfaction without consideration for the original message then they’re telling their own story. It might be fine work—fantastic work—but it might be more art than design. A designer would be able to transcend their personal taste and style to create work that is meaningful and appropriate for a client.
With a microphone and an hour, This American Life’s radio storyteller creates a piece of work that reaches millions of listeners. The design storyteller also has voice that’s far-reaching. The nature of design—unlike fine art—is that it’s reproduced many times over. With every project, a successful designer challenges themselves to create a visual narration that’s honest and appropriate. Without injecting their own personal style a designer identifies and presents the client’s story with the right voice in the right way.
artwork: Penelope Dullaghan
