STORYTELLING (AND OTHER STUFF)

CHALLENGE & SELECTION

As an art director, it’s always a challenge to make (some) clients to understand the train of  thought that led us to the final result or to the solution of their design problem.  Some of them,  don’t know much about design, advertisement or branding and as all of us, they have an ego, an  ego that lifts barriers when told what to do with their businesses. It is our job to let them know  that they can trust us, that we are not capricious and that the work we do is based on data  gathered from them and marketing investigations. But it is easier said than done, here’s how  storytelling helps us prepare the mind of our clients and makes them feel part confortable and  part of our design process.

Chapter 1: In our first meeting with the clients, we use Simon Sinek’s Golden Circle.   Chapter 2: After the Golden Circle, we use a tool of or own that reveals analogies between their  brand of project and things which they are fond of such as a movie or a song. And that’s the end  of our kickoff meeting.

Chapter 3:  After the kickoff meeting, we take all the data and insights gathered during  Chapters 1 and 2 we create what we call “The Pyramid” which is build by four key insights that  were revealed during the first sections.

Chapter 4: Design. During this stage, with all our data collected, we enter the design process.

Chapter 5: Storytelling, it’s on this stage that our tool comes to save the day. We invite our  clients over for the presentation. We’ve been writing our story with them since day one, it’s now  time to tell them that story.

APPLICATION

In a Keynote presentation, we use visualization to show them our final Golden Circle.

Then, we go through all the data gathered during the analogy workshop, visualized beautifully.  We show them the question, their answers and the analogies revealed, for each analogy there is  a conclusion or insight about the brand vision.

After reviewing the conclusions, we take a look at “The Pyramid” (visualized on a real pyramid)  that holds the four key insights revealed so far that describe the nature of the brand or project.

Finally, after looking at everything revealed so far, we show them our design proposal. Starting  by reading a small brand manifest while a background video and music plays, we make an intro  that is crafted with ideas and insights that our very own clients shared during the first chapters  of our story. The manifest is often finished with an animation of the logo or key visual for the  project which in the next minutes we will explain as a whole and then piece by piece showcasing  how the answers they gave us, helped us shape the final product.

After this we will review brand guidelines such as color palette, typographies, iconography and  graphic language that is all visualized separately and finally altogether in our collateral materials  sections, which includes applications of our brand visualized with very realistic mockups. Our  story ends, with a slide that gathers every part of the design proposal, creating a look and feel  slide that serves as a “The End” slide to our storytelling.

Success in the storytelling tool it is not found in the approval of our project but in the  understanding of the process and train of thought. Aesthetic dislike has to do most of the times  with other facts such as color and form, but the understanding of the place we came from it’s  very valuable and translates into constructive feedback that helps us navigate to the next  stages with a solid concept.

The storytelling tool is the solid ground in which our presentation is built. It permits our clients to  understand our creative process since day one and grants them with a sense of ownership since  they were present in day one. As said in the course, it puts our clients and their experience in the  workshop front and center and with that in mind, they hop in in the journey that is the creative  process.

INSIGHT

Even though my use of this tool is focused on clients, it applies for ourselves too. Each brand, has  a unique story behind it that is worth telling if told right. And we are the first one’s to know that  story. It is something given from clients to us. It also gives us the vision of our client and his/her  needs.

Also The storytelling tool reveals honest reactions at the end of the presentation because our  clients are more in touch with what they think and know because they are part of the journey.  “That’s exactly what I had in my mind!” is a common reaction because the project was built with  what they had on their mind, their story. “I get the concept and love it! I just don’t like orange for  the color.” can be another honest reaction, understanding the process and concept but not in  love with the aesthetic.

APPROACH

It is always a fun challenge to constantly find new ways of telling these stories. Depending on  the nature of the project, we can find new ways to use storytelling. Using music, videos, props,  costumes, format of the presentation are some examples of ways to change the way we  implement this tool.

