Storyboard
What is a Storyboard?
A storyboard is a sequence of illustrations or images representing key moments in a user's experience with a product or service. Originating in film and animation, storyboards have been adopted in UX design as a method to visually communicate user scenarios, map interactions, and align teams around a shared understanding of the user journey.
Think of a storyboard like a comic strip that tells the story of how someone uses your product - it shows the key moments, what the user is thinking and feeling, and the context where everything happens. Just as filmmakers use storyboards to plan scenes and communicate their vision, UX designers use storyboards to plan user experiences and communicate their ideas to teams and stakeholders.
Originating in film and animation, storyboards have been adopted in UX design as a method to visually communicate user scenarios, map interactions, and align teams around a shared understanding of the user journey.
Why Storyboards Matter
Storyboards help you visualize user journeys by making abstract user flows tangible and relatable, build empathy by creating a narrative around users and their contexts, and communicate concepts by explaining ideas to stakeholders without requiring technical understanding.
They also help you identify pain points by uncovering issues in the user experience by walking through it step by step, align teams by creating a shared vision of how users interact with a product, and focus on context by illustrating when, where, and why users engage with products.
They also help you validate concepts by testing scenarios with users before significant investment.
Purpose and Benefits
Storyboards serve several key purposes in the design process:
Visualizing user journeys makes abstract user flows tangible and relatable.
Building empathy creates a narrative around users and their contexts.
Communicating concepts explains ideas to stakeholders without requiring technical understanding.
Identifying pain points uncovers issues in the user experience by walking through it step by step.
Aligning teams creates a shared vision of how users interact with a product.
Focusing on context illustrates when, where, and why users engage with products.
Validating concepts tests scenarios with users before significant investment.
Types of Storyboards
Different types of storyboards serve various purposes in the design process:
Concept storyboards are high-level narratives that explore a product concept or value proposition.
User journey storyboards provide detailed views of a user's end-to-end experience with a product.
Task-focused storyboards are specific illustrations of how users complete particular tasks.
Emotional journey storyboards emphasize user feelings and reactions throughout an experience.
Day-in-the-life storyboards provide broader context showing how a product fits into a user's daily activities.
Before-and-after storyboards contrast current experiences with proposed solutions.
Elements of Effective Storyboards
Well-crafted storyboards typically include several key components:
Characters are representations of users with relevant characteristics.
Setting is the physical and social context where the interaction occurs.
Sequence is the chronological progression of events.
Narrative is the underlying story connecting the frames.
Actions show what users are doing in each frame.
Thoughts/emotions show what users are thinking or feeling (often in speech bubbles).
Pain points show challenges or friction in the experience.
UI elements are simplified representations of interface elements when relevant.
Captions provide brief explanations of what's happening in each frame.
Creating a Storyboard
The process of storyboarding typically involves these steps:
Define the scenario by determining which user experience to illustrate.
Identify key moments by selecting the important points in the journey to visualize.
Sketch frames by creating simple drawings for each key moment (artistic skill is less important than clarity).
Add context by including environmental details and emotional states.
Review and refine by gathering feedback and improving the storyboard.
Share and discuss by using the storyboard to facilitate conversation about the user experience.
Storyboarding Techniques
Various approaches can be used to create effective storyboards:
Sketching involves hand-drawn illustrations on paper or whiteboard.
Digital tools include specialized software or general illustration applications.
Photo-based storyboards use photographs instead of illustrations.
Template-based storyboards use pre-made templates with standard layouts.
Collaborative storyboarding involves team sessions where multiple people contribute.
Sticky note storyboards use a flexible approach with repositionable notes.
Storyboards vs. Other UX Methods
While complementary to other UX techniques, storyboards have distinct characteristics:
Storyboards vs. user flows - storyboards add context and emotion beyond the functional steps shown in user flows.
Storyboards vs. wireframes - storyboards focus on the narrative and context rather than UI specifics.
Storyboards vs. journey maps - storyboards are more visually oriented and often less detailed than comprehensive journey maps.
Storyboards vs. prototypes - storyboards illustrate the concept and context while prototypes demonstrate the functionality.
When to Use Storyboards
Storyboarding is particularly valuable at certain points in the design process:
Early ideation when exploring concepts before significant investment.
Stakeholder communication when explaining concepts to non-technical audiences.
Cross-functional alignment when creating shared understanding across teams.
User testing preparation when setting up scenarios for evaluation.
Marketing and promotion when communicating value propositions to potential users.
Getting Started
If you want to improve your storyboarding, begin with these fundamentals:
Start by defining the specific user scenario you want to illustrate.
Identify the key moments in the user's journey that are most important to show.
Create simple sketches for each moment - don't worry about artistic skill, focus on clarity.
Add context by including environmental details and emotional states.
Use the storyboard to facilitate conversations about the user experience.
Remember that storyboards are about visual storytelling - they bridge the gap between abstract concepts and concrete user experiences. The key is to focus on the narrative and context rather than getting lost in details. When created thoughtfully, storyboards become a powerful tool for helping teams design products and services that truly meet user needs within their actual contexts of use.