What is a Storyboard?

Storyboard – We all have seen or heard of Storyboards, we used to love them as kids. All the comics we used to read in our childhood are good examples of a Storyboard.

A Storyboard is a collection of visual elements set to depict any information visually, mostly it is used to depict a story or a process. But for designers, it’s a bit different, Storyboard is a way to map our user’s journey with the application or website in simple sketches or illustrations. Each illustration in a Storyboard would represent a unique step taken by the user at every stage of the website or application.

In this article we will be talking about what is a Storyboard, why we need it, and the Types and Uses of a Storyboard.

What is a Storyboard?

A Storyboard is a collection of visual elements set in order to depict any information visually, mostly it is used to depict a story or a process. It is very similar to how a comic works, anyone can view the illustrations from left to right in chronological order to understand the process or information being portrayed. But Storyboard holds a different significance for designers, for designers Storyboard is a way to map our user’s journey with the application or website in simple sketches or illustrations. Each illustration in a Storyboard would represent a unique step taken by the user at every stage of the website or application.

For designers, Storyboard are used to communicate the goals of the design with other designers and other teams, it enables the entire organization to focus on the same goals for the UX design and especially the user journey. Storyboards in UI/UX are from the designers to the designers.

Why do we need a Storyboard

Storyboard allows the creators to visualize the narrative flow of their project which helps in identifying any inconsistencies or voids in the story which were previously seen.

By providing a visual reference that everyone can understand, it helps in reducing the chances of misinterpretation and ensuring that everyone is on the same page. This allows creators to make necessary corrections early on, saving time as well as reduced production costs.

Types of Storyboarding

The types of Storyboarding can be broadly divided into six major categories:

1. Digital Storyboarding: The modern form of storyboarding where the Storyboards are designed and created on digital software rather than pen and paper.
2. Traditional Storyboarding: This is Traditional Storyboarding technique where the designer creates and designs storyboards on paper using pen rather than digitally.
3. Video Storyboarding: In Video Storyboarding, designers use video form content or animated illustrations as their Storyboards rather than static images.
4. Written Storyboarding: In this form of Storyboarding, designers rather use written description of the process rather than depicting it using illustrations.
5. Sketched Storyboarding: This is one of the most popular form of Storyboarding where the designers rather than having perfect illustrations, uses rough sketches for depicting the user journey.
6. 3D Storyboarding: 3D Storyboarding is the technique used when the user journey involves of VFX or 3D sequences, this is not common with web design rather used in XR Storyboards.

Purpose of Storyboarding

Storyboarding is simply the entire process of designing a Storyboard. When we say what is the Purpose of storyboarding? it may depend on the team, individual designer or the organization.

Purpose of storyboarding can be different from different designers, teams, and organization but in the core of storyboarding the purpose is to present the user journey in the form of illustrations.

The Purpose of storyboarding is to communicate the goals of the design and bring the entire team on the same page, all the designers and stakeholders must understand and work towards the same goal in the design. Storyboarding enables the entire organization to focus on same goals for the UX design and specially the user journey.

How to Create a Storyboard

The Storyboard represents the user journey on the website or application and it can be created based on an example of a Login Storyboard as following:

1. Starting point for user test flow: We would draw up a low fidelity sketch, in our example we will start with a Login screen. We can draw a low fidelity sketch of a mobile device with a login screen, it would include a couple of fields like CTA (Call To Action) log, a small interface for forgot password etc.
2. Select feature: Storyboard is essential showing the user journey in a few rectangles. So the second step would be to draw a rectangle about the feature we want our imaginary user to click in his or her user journey. And we keeping on moving from one rectangle to another where each rectangle represents a part in user journey.
3. Select Product: In our example, in the next step the user selects a Product (let’s call it Product A). To show it visually, we will create an interface of various products our application or website has to offer and highlight the product we want our imaginary user to choose.
4. Payment: The next step in our example would be to design the Payment interface, after selecting the product in the real website or application, the user will get a Payment’s gateway and it will have to design a rough sketch for in the this step.
5. Receive confirmation: The final step would be to represent an interface visually in our Storyboard where the user finishes the Payment and get a confirmation message or a Thank you note from our side. This would require another rectangular box representing the rough sketch of the interface for confirmation.

The Storyboarding flow we designed could often times be quite complex depending on what the focus of the sprint is but the basic idea remains the same.

Uses of Storyboards

Storyboards are turning into a best practice for many designers now because of its immense importance, the question about why de need to design Storyboards can we answered under the following points:

• Setting the right goals: One of the most important things that we as designers need to remember during throughout the design process is the goals of the product, the questions and the user journey that has been decided on day one. Storyboards make us think about the user goals in the early stage of the design.
• Blueprinting our design: With Storyboards we as designers make it clear to the team what elements there will be used in the final design, the idea behind Storyboards is to have a blueprint of the product so that we can later create a prototype easily and with everybody’s consensus.
• Representing the User interface flow: Storyboards are used as user interface flows and that is the code use case of Storyboards. Storyboards are one of the best ways to represent a User interface flow specially in a team that not only has designers for also people from different backgrounds. Storyboards are a better representative of User journey than written documents.
• A tool of communication: Not only Storyboards help us filter out the noise in the design, it is the most effective way to communicate the design style with out team and the stakeholders, specially people who are not from design background. With Storyboards, its simpler to communicate and collaborate with people from non-design background.

Advantages of Storyboarding

Some of the Advantages of Storyboarding are:

• Visual Planning: It helps to visualize the narrative flow, making it easier to plan and organize scenes.
• Communication: Enhances communication among team members by providing a clear visual reference.
• Early Issue Identification: Allows for the identification of potential issues early in the production process, saving time and resources.

Disadvantages of Storyboarding

Some of the Disadvantages of Storyboarding are:

• Time-consuming: Creating detailed storyboards can be time-consuming, especially for complex projects.
• Rigidity: It may lead to a sense of rigidity in the creative process if adhered to too strictly, limiting spontaneous creativity.
• Skill Requirement: Requires some level of skill in drawing or visual representation, which not all team members may possess.

Conclusion

Storyboards are a way to map our user’s journey with the application or website in simple sketches or illustrations. Each illustration in a Storyboard would represent a unique step taken by the user at every stage of the website or application.

Storyboards are one of the best representative of User journey, they give us clarity as designers to what should be done step by step during the wireframing and prototyping of the design.

Make sure to remember the points we discussed in this article while designing Storyboards for your next project.

What is a Storyboard? – FAQs

What is in a Storyboard?

A storyboard typically includes sketches or images representing each scene or shot in sequence, accompanied by brief descriptions or notes detailing the action, dialogue, camera movements, and other relevant information.

How can I write a Storyboard?

1. To write a storyboard, start by breaking down your narrative or concept into key scenes or moments.

2. For each scene, draw a sketch or use images to visualize it, adding brief annotations for dialogue, actions, camera angles, and transitions.

3. Ensure your storyboard flows logically from start to finish, clearly conveying the story or message you intend to communicate.

Are Storyboards necessary?

While not strictly necessary for every project, they significantly streamline workflow and contribute to the overall quality of the final product.

What are the reasons filmmakers use Storyboards?

Filmmakers use storyboards to visualize scenes, plan cinematography, and communicate their vision effectively across the production team. They also aid in budgeting, scheduling, and pitching ideas to stakeholders.

What are the benefits of Storyboard in multimedia?

Storyboarding in multimedia provides content visualization, fosters efficient team communication, and facilitates creative planning, resulting in time and cost savings during production.

What is a thumbnail Storyboard?

A thumbnail storyboard consists of rough, small sketches that outline the key scenes or sequences of a project, providing a quick visual reference of the narrative flow or major transitions.

What are the types of Storyboard?

• Thumbnail storyboard
• Linear storyboard
• Vertical storyboard
• Script storyboard
• Digital storyboard
• Animatic storyboard