Storytelling in UI/UX
Stories have characters, and characters have emotions, ideas, and a way of interacting with the reader that preaching cannot offer.
No wonder you remember the characters so vividly long after putting down the book. Plots and themes holding the storyline together give us a powerful hook to remember the characters; we relate to them, we feel being part of the milieu!
The same concept of weaving stories lends itself to designing apps and websites. Companies all over the world have jumped the wagon, intrigued by the proven potential of storytelling to entertain, inform, and amuse customers.
Storytelling in UI/UX design is nothing but a visual portrayal of elements arranged seamlessly to deliver the brand message. Images, videos, graphics, voice, music, and audio can all be integrated into the app design for higher engagement, leads, and call to action.
Advantages of visual storytelling
Better cognition: Words are difficult to decipher and may create challenges for those who are not inclined to read. Shrinking attention spans, among other problems, are to blame for this. Visuals may circumvent this problem by dropping vital clues that help in understanding the core brand message. Quickly!
Easy to remember: Branding is a mind game. A brand is any product or service that enjoys top-of-the-mind recall. Storytelling through visual elements is a proven way to trigger this brand recall. A particular color theme associated with a product can be re-used to emphasize brand association. For instance, if red is the brand color, it is possible to use the same hue in designing letterheads, website themes, press ads, etc. It won’t take long for users to recognize the brand merely by looking at the color scheme they remember.
Better Engagement: For any app or portal wanting to stay afloat in the dog-eat-dog digital space, engagement is the driving mantra. That’s because there may be dozens of alternatives vying for customer attention. It helps to draw customers in, make them part of the narrative, and offer them something more than just bookish information. Turn the flat into the fantastic. Nobody buys from a bore!
Storytelling improves customer engagement by creating a more absorbing experience, less bounce rate, and higher response.
Brand communication: A bulleted list of product features reads like a laundry list. Agree? It’s so passé, so boring, so predictable. An outright strain on the eyes! What if each feature were made to pop up and say something about itself? What if a video on a landing page grabbed your attention, luring you to spend a few minutes with its immaculate imagery? This story of visuals, text, motion and animation creates a memorable interaction with the user.
Higher leads and conversions: Whether customer remembers your product at the point of sale/purchase makes or mars the game. If the customer is able to recall your product or service, and if the storytelling has been immersive enough, the customer will prefer your offering over others that interacted with but did not engage him. Being different from others helps in brand recall, generates more leads, and translates into higher sales output.
