Visual Design Solutions: Principles and Creative Inspiration for Learning Professionals

Chapter 15Tell Stories with Visuals

“Story is the language of experience.”

— Lisa Cron

The Framework

THIS CHAPTER answers these questions:

• What is visual storytelling?
• How do I design a visual story?
• How can my visuals make a narrative most effective?

Did you ever sit through a bad movie or read a poorly written novel because you were compelled to find out what happened at the end? Stories keep us engaged because they spark our curiosity. We must find out how the protagonist fares and we can't stop watching, reading, or listening until we know. Stories are also captivating because they touch our emotions. If we feel empathy for the characters, we experience the pain of their struggles and the joy of their successes.

For generations, people have been using the allure of stories to pass on knowledge, skills, and wisdom within communities and cultures. Stories help us make sense of the experiences we have and to learn from the experiences of others. This prepares us for unexpected events that may occur in the future.

In this chapter, you will learn how to convey a narrative using a combination of images and words. You will see how to use visual language to bring stories to life.

Visual Storytelling

“A story is the narration of a sequence of events deliberately arranged for telling,” wrote master cartoonist and writer Will Eisner (2008, p. 3). This concise explanation makes ...