Visual storytelling

There are designs that simply provide information, and designs that also tell a story. A book cover can introduce us to a book, but it can also give us a glimpse into its world. A poster can advertise a film, but it can also make us feel as though we are about to step into it. Packaging can tell us what a product contains, but it can also weave a story around the brand. That is where visual storytelling comes into play.

Although the term may sound like a marketing strategy, the idea is basically to use visual resources to tell a story, convey an experience or construct a narrative without relying solely on words.

What exactly is visual storytelling?

As we have already seen, visual hierarchy organises the elements of a composition by priority to guide the viewer’s gaze. Visual storytelling uses these cues to convey a message, forge an emotional connection through images, or construct and convey a narrative.

That is the key word: narrative. There doesn’t necessarily have to be a traditional story as such, with a protagonist, a plot and a resolution. A visual narrative can simply consist of conveying a development, an emotion, a concept or a specific experience.

Imagine the poster for an adventure film. We have a photograph of a character gazing out at an unfamiliar landscape, which might suggest that they are about to embark on a great journey. If we also use a visual composition that draws the eye towards the horizon, a specific colour palette and a typeface that reinforces the epic tone, we are constructing a visual narrative. We haven’t said a word, but we’ve made the viewer feel it.

Visual storytelling in design

For a long time, graphic design has been understood – particularly by those outside the profession – as primarily an aesthetic matter. It is believed that design is about making something beautiful, attractive or modern.

But design serves a far more interesting purpose. It solves problems, evokes emotions, is a powerful communication tool, inspires, invites, transforms and tells stories. But how does it contribute to storytelling?

• It organises information and creates meaning:
  When a designer decides where to place an image, which element to highlight, which colour to use or how the eye should move through the composition, they are making narrative decisions.
  
  As I have already mentioned, visual hierarchy determines what we see first, what we see next and what we see last. In other words, it establishes a reading sequence. And if there is a sequence, there is potentially a narrative.

• Elements that make up a visual story:
  One of the most interesting things about visual storytelling is that there is no single formula. A story can be constructed by combining various key elements or techniques:
  
  1. Composition: Composition is one of the most powerful narrative elements. The positioning of elements within a space can convey different feelings to us.
     
     A character positioned at the centre of a composition can convey a sense of prominence. The same character, placed at one end and surrounded by empty space, can suggest loneliness. A diagonal line creates movement, symmetry creates stability, and a chaotic composition can create tension. In other words, composition speaks too.
     
  2. Colour: colour has an enormous capacity to evoke emotions in us. A warm colour palette evokes a sense of nostalgia, home or intimacy. A cool colour palette, on the other hand, feels more distant, technological or mysterious.
     
     Visual storytelling is not about saying “blue means this” and giving it form. It is about using colour as part of a narrative system.
     
  3. Typography: Typography also has its own personality. A story told using a classic serif typeface conveys a different message to one told using a geometric or handwritten typeface. Furthermore, we can play with the size, weight, orientation, spacing or position of the text to turn the typography itself into a narrative element.
     
     In this way, the typeface ceases to be merely a vehicle for verbal content and becomes part of the visual content.
     
  4. Photography and illustration: These are arguably the elements we most readily associate with visual storytelling. A photograph can capture a moment and invite us to imagine what happened before or what will happen next.
     Illustration, for its part, allows us to construct worlds – which may well be fictional – that prove extremely interesting in various graphic design projects.
     
     A good narrative image does not need to explain everything. In fact, it often works best when we leave room for the viewer to complete the story.
     
  5. Space and silence: Stories can also be told through what is not shown. Negative space can create a sense of mystery and anticipation. An incomplete image invites us to imagine what is missing.
     
     In visual storytelling, emptiness can also convey information. Sometimes, allowing an image to “breathe” is precisely what is needed for a story to emerge.

Visual storytelling in advertising

The advertising industry is one of the areas where we can best observe visual storytelling. Major brands have been using characters, celebrities, visual worlds, situations and graphic codes for decades to construct recognisable narratives.

Take, for example, a LEGO campaign. The bricks are not merely building blocks: visually, they can become buildings, vehicles, worlds and anything else we can think of. The brand manages to make the product part of a story.

Something similar happens with many of Nike’s campaigns, where the product is often integrated into a narrative centred on effort, overcoming challenges or movement. A great many recognisable brands have made good use of visual storytelling with truly remarkable results.

The key lies in the fact that it is not simply a matter of selling an object, but of building a narrative around it. This is where the graphic designer’s role is crucial – not only in using their creativity to construct that narrative, but also in ensuring that their visual universe remains consistent across all formats.

Storytelling in packaging

Packaging has just a few seconds to catch the viewer’s eye, but it’s not all about making an impact; it can also tell a story, convey a heritage, values or a personality rooted in tradition.

The packaging for the Seedlip bottle, for example, uses natural materials and a botanical illustration accompanied by a script typeface that suggests a narrative linked to all things organic and traditional.

Minimalist packaging, on the other hand, can convey a sense of technology, sophistication or exclusivity. Even the way the box is opened can become part of the experience. This is certainly the case with Apple’s packaging: sophisticated, precise, layered… it’s like opening a present from the future, revealing something incredible inside.

Oatly is a small but ambitious Swedish company, specialising in vegan oat-based drinks, which also didn’t have a large budget for media and advertising. That’s why they decided to use their packaging as their main advertising medium. Behind its casual-looking design lies meticulous, detailed and clever work, with a narrative that captivates anyone who stops to read their packaging.

Here, the narrative ceases to be purely visual and begins to evolve into a brand experience. Through the packaging, the design not only tells a story, but also draws the user into it.

Visual storytelling and editorial design

A magazine, book or catalogue is not read solely for the words it contains. A reader also takes in information through its visual narrative:

• The front cover is an invitation and a summary (or perhaps not) of its contents.
• Double-page spreads create a sense of rhythm.
• Photographs introduce moments of pause.
• Headlines establish a hierarchy.
• Illustrations expand on the content.
• White space allows the reader to breathe.

To put it simply, if we were to compare it to a film, each page acts as a shot, and the designer decides how the reading experience unfolds visually. That is why editorial design is one of the fields where visual storytelling can achieve particularly remarkable results. Not to mention the world of comics, of course.

Why is it useful for a graphic designer?

The main reason is that visual storytelling changes the question. As designers, instead of asking ourselves, “How can I make this work?”, we start asking, “What do I want to happen when someone sees this?”.

This latter question is far more powerful. Narrative forces the designer to think about the recipient of the message, its process and development, and the experience the viewer will perceive. So, how can a graphic designer make the most of visual narrative?:

Conclusion

Graphic design is communication, but it is also interpretation. A composition can create tension, a photograph can evoke memories, typography can change the tone of a message, colour can transform an atmosphere, and space can suggest silence. All these elements, when used consciously, enable us to create something more powerful than simply an attractive image. They create a meaningful visual experience.

As graphic designers, we design so that the viewer understands, feels, remembers or takes action. When we succeed in weaving these objectives into a coherent visual narrative, that is when we are creating visual storytelling.

Hi, I’m Roberto Vidiella.

I am the founder and Creative Director of VIDI. I’m passionate about graphic design, and through this blog, I aim to deepen my knowledge and share what I’ve learnt throughout my career. If you leave me a comment, you’ll help me to keep learning and improving – and it really makes me happy!