More than a buzzword: how storytelling shapes brands
Learn how to master the fundamentals of storytelling and leverage clients’ brand through compelling visual stories.
The motto of Until Sunday, which also doubles as my creative vision, is: “We believe in the power of storytelling.”
I have worked to this motto ever since Until Sunday began doing business in 2012 (note: long before storytelling became a hot topic of discussion!)
A marketing buzzword, brands now commonly use the idea of “storytelling” in different ways, while many designers exploit the concept of stories to justify certain creative decisions, when words like “design-thinking” and “user-centric” sound too technical and cold.
In the past, the widespread adoption of the word “storytelling” has made some influential designers very angry.
Although my motto includes it, I don’t believe that designers should present themselves as pure, traditional storytellers. Let’s be honest; a designer can’t compete with those who are more articulate with words, like professional journalists and writers.
However, we can certainly learn to master the fundamentals of storytelling, so we can leverage our clients’ brand through compelling visual stories.
For example, I have used visual storytelling to help my clients with different aspects of their businesses, also using stories to help solve specific problems.
This because I understand very well that stories:
- Sell.
- Define strategy.
- Drive action.
Stories sell.
It’s true: a brand with a clear and compelling story sells more.
How? An engaging story is a competitive advantage, because it adds emotional value to the product or service it is selling.
Customers naturally empathise and connect with the brand, because stories use interesting analogies that allow the brain to process information in a more digestible and memorable form.
When I worked on Vitaly Friedman’s landing page for his video course, Smart Interface Design Patterns, storytelling helped me to organise and connect diverse page content.
Not only this, the use of storytelling allowed me to simplify the visual journey and elevate users’ expectations.
The website follows a simple storyline: “What are the successful ingredients that make the web so delicious?” By imagining Vitaly as a chef (all his videos are recorded inside a real kitchen!), the content has been organised in a way that navigates the user towards the subscription button in a fun, interesting, and down-to-Earth way; in that she is fully conscious of what she is buying.
In the case of the landing page, the user can quickly jump from one section to another of the page using the menu — meaning the story must make sense in a non-linear way, too.
I used visual storytelling (animated illustrations), to ensure that the page content is easily differentiated, and that the offer stands out from the noise of other similar video courses. Throughout their experience, users engage with the vibrant Smashing Magazine community.
Stories must be crafted around the brand’s unique values. Vitaly expressed his wish for these courses to reflect particular qualities: accessible, friendly, engaging, and relevance.
We therefore spent lots of time creating and curating course content that reflects these qualities, as part of a story that not only offers value to its subscribers, but invites them into the conversation.
Stories define strategy
If you want to understand the challenges your audience is facing, you need to be aware of all the facts.
Specifically, you must examine their individual context and complexity, whilst learning how each element relates to each other as a whole.
Storytelling, in this case, works as a strategy that helps the brand adapt to market changes, customers’ expectations, and other insights to be discovered as part of the journey.
This is the story, therefore, of how a good story helped me create the digital branding of After App.
After’s method is to use the blockchain technology of smart contracts to create an automated, transparent, immutable, and private distribution of assets at an event-based trigger in the future (aka, the death of a person, or a change in their Will).
The context was the global pandemic of 2020, which heralded a rise in amateur investors. This, combined with cryptocurrencies’ rocket-fuelled return-rates, created an entirely new class of wealthy individuals who needed to protect their digital legacy. This is the thrilling new world in which After App made its first appearance.
In the mind of its founders, After helps people to realise the power of wealth. For this reason, the main inspiration for After’s story came from the keys of Pluto, and thus, storytelling became a method of engaging with After’s community.
According to the Orphic Hymn to Pluto, among many other attributes Pluto owns the keys which are connected to God’s capacity for giving wealth to humanity. A golden key was laid on the tongue of initiates by priests at Eleusis, which was a symbol of the revelation they were obligated to keep secret.
This story became the foundation of the strategy that guided our creative decisions, from logo design to creating an intuitive, cutting-edge app interface for After MVP.
Rich in illustrations that describe the metaphor of an afterlife (though without being strictly religious), the design of the application portrays a sense of timeless elegance, with a hint of tech-edginess so much diffuse in web3.
The Myth of Pluto also describes the journey towards the afterlife. Hence, I created a series of illustrations that visualise the passage of our Afterists (how After subscribers are known) to a world that is peaceful and everlasting, crafted from expansive architecture and infinite skies.
The illustrations are created to interact with the community, as part of a non-fungible token (NFT) collection called Elysium (from the Greek, Ēlýsion pedion, a conception of the afterlife developed over time by some Greek religious and philosophical sects and cults).
After’s story helped me to define significant brand objectives and create a unique, evergreen brand strategy. This will serve as a guide for future approach and execution, which can also be adapted in line with changing needs and context.
Stories drive action
On their own, data and numbers are without emotion.
If you want to create a supportive community for your brand, you need to add stories. Stories can explain data in interesting and compelling ways. Stories touch us profoundly, suffusing our lives with meaning. They drag us outside of our everyday lives, and they inspire us to take action.
Storytelling is even more beneficial to not-for-profit organisations, who need to cultivate deeper connections. Organisations like ActionAid Hellas (AAH).
Looking at their past marketing campaigns, it was unmistakably evident that the organisation’s communication had failed to encapsulate any of the brand’s meaningful values, nor their new mission.
AAH therefore needed something more inspiring and visually compelling; something that could properly represent the true quality and diversity of their work.
I duly facilitated a workshop with the major stakeholders, from which we agreed to tell a story around the word “change”. From there, I introduced a new graphic element into AAH’s existing identity, the Sidelight, around which the visual storytelling would pivot.
The Sidelight helps the organisation to introduce the concept of “change” in a rich and compelling way. It represents the ability of the organisation to be an enabler of transformation. It is a passage that connects two different worlds; a window that is open to possibilities.
It is a link between the present, and what the future could become.
Today, AAH’s identity is more distinct and ownable. Their storytelling features dialogue that sparks conversation, as part of a people-first environment in which all collaborators (internal and external), stakeholders, and volunteers can feel inspired, but also guided to create a strong, consistent message for the organisation.
The storytelling approach
Storytelling raises the bar by adding a deep sense of purpose to an experience, whatever its underlying message. The true beauty of storytelling lies in its almost magical ability to transform the perception of a small community, and engage meaningfully with a worldwide audience.
However, for stories to be memorable and meaningful they need to be real, authentic, and tailored to the specific brand. When told well, stories are able to connect with the user on a viscerally emotional level, guaranteeing an experience that goes far beyond the product itself, deep into the heart of a brand.
And that’s the story of how a brand can become more human, memorable, and meaningful.
