Stories are fundamental to human existence. We are so much delved into stories that at times we even see our lives as stories- and the kind of story we tell ourselves about our lives can have a big impact on who we are. Stories are so fundamental to human existence that we spent our lives weaving and recreating stories. It is so fundamental to our lives that it can have a big impact on who we are. But what does storytelling have to do with UX design?
The power of Story
Stories are more than just recitation of facts, it just doesn’t provide information or statistics but they make us cry, laugh and scream- and it’s these emotional responses that make stories resonate with us. This is really valuable in UX design, where our goal is to create the best possible experience for a user. Successful stories often evoke emotions whether it’s a smile or a delight on a face or just the relief of finishing a task efficiently to make successful user experiences. Yet, by harnessing the power of story,
we can make users’ experiences even more engaging and compelling. And a well-told story can lead to action. In UX design, this means that incorporating story elements can provoke a user to take an action by responding to the link and choosing a product or service by navigating deep inside the website.
Emotional Design
At times it’s important to note that even if you incorporate story techniques into your UX design, your effort is only half of the equation, The other half completes your equation only when you are able to make an emotional connection with your users. Understand what stories your users are willing to listen to and tell the story that they are interested in.
Incorporating story into UX design
Incorporating story into UX design is more of an art than a science and UX designers should carefully consider how to utilize story elements given the projects.
Some specific story techniques to integrate into UX design.
Consider pacing
The pace of the story is important. Too much information will overwhelm your audience and too little information will bore them. This goes the same with UX. Make sure that the design process is in sync with the pace and holds your users to ensure that the information on each screen works together to pull your user into the design.
Impose Sequence
Imposing sequence provides a structure that reduces users’ cognitive load. This can be done through a workflow. A sequence in UX design is the same as a story that unfolds in a book or a movie, i.e one event comes after the other otherwise the audience will become disoriented and confused. So improving the sequence in the design process improves the users’ experience.
Keep tone consistent
Tone is crucial to stories. Tone is the voice of the author, similarly in UX design text and images must work together to reinforce the tone of a product. Tone builds familiarity and trust, whether it’s terse and businesslike, laid back and conversational, or something else entirely. So overall tone must be kept consistent throughout the UX design. As tone promotes familiarity and trust, images and words should work together to create a brand voice that people and relate to.
