What’s a Storyboard and How Do I Use it?
As a graphic designer, I’m familiar with the term ‘storyboard,’ yet I hadn’t understood that the term can communicated and transfer into UX design. There are questions that come to mind when I think of a storyboard in relation to this area of design, specifically, why and how? Why is this something beneficial to UX documentation and how is it applicable to the real world?

First off, what is a storyboard? A storyboard is a sequence of illustrations structured together visually. Similar to a roll of film, the drawings are formed on continuous rows and columns of frames. While in UX design, storyboards are used as a tool to help visually interpret a user’s experience with a product. The storyboard can help designers to understand people’s reactions and importance to a product. Some of the most powerful forms of delivering information to an audience is by; visualization, memorability, empathy, and engagement.
Visualization is important to how many individuals learn, understand, and remember what is being portrayed before them, giving it more meaning. Creating and producing a product that is memorable lasts nearly a lifetime. A product that can easily be recalled in memory is already a step ahead in the product marketing world. Influencing an audience emotionally is another great tool. If a storyboard can help an audience relate to a story it causes a sense of empathy and a real-life scenario. Lastly, engaging people in the story instills in them a curiosity and a need to learn more.
Storytelling matters to UX in the ways that it can convey and explore possible experiences in the process. This process allows for the designer to essentially walk in a user’s shoes and see the product in a different light of understanding. Which aids them in testing their hypothesizes and scenarios. Which in turn, provides insight into what is important money wise and what unnecessary elements need to be cut, by prioritizing and critique what is important to the final process.

To create a storyboard a designer doesn’t have to be an artist, they just need to prepare the story logically and understandably. By drawing upon the key points and creating building blocks to present it in the most influential way. Eight of those key points include; character, scene, plot, narrative, clarity, authenticity, simplicity, and emotion. With all of these key points and elements, it may seem daunting to create a storyboard. Step-by-step guide:
1. Grab a pen and paper:[1]
a. No need for special software. Just simple materials is sufficient
2. Start with plain text and arrows:
a. Break up the story into individual moments; such as a decision a character makes and the outcome
3. Convey emption in the story:
a. Portray emotions at each step, to give a feeling for what’s going on in their head
4. Translate each step into frames.
a. Sketch thumbnails in the frames of the storyboard
5. Show it to other teammates
a. After it’s finished, show your work to members to make sure it’s a clear story.
In conclusion, a storyboard is a sequence of illustrations structured together visually, similar to how a film is structured. To create a storyboard, one doesn’t need to be an artist, they just need structure, by preparing the story logically and easy to understand. Finally, storyboards are used as a tool to help visually interpret a user’s experience with a product.
Citations:
Image reference 1: Dickey-Kurdzioek, Meg. UI/UX Foundations Part 1 — Design. 2015. Web https://www.slideshare.net/MegDickeyKurdziolek/uiux-foundations-part-1-design
Babich, Nick. The Role of Storyboarding in UX Design. October 25, 2017. Web. https://www.smashingmagazine.com/2017/10/storyboarding-ux-design/
Image reference 2: Freytag’s pyramid. Babich, Nick. The Role of Storyboarding in UX Design. October 25, 2017. Web. https://www.smashingmagazine.com/2017/10/storyboarding-ux-design/
[1] Babich, Nick. The Role of Storyboarding in UX Design. October 25, 2017. Web.