Everyone is a Storyteller

I’ve jumped on the LinkedIn trend of design professionals positioning themselves as some variation of professional “storyteller.” I get it, it’s a buzzword that increasingly appears in job postings and may be key to ATS filters. And it sounds elevated and interesting. But at first it made me feel cringey, like a code word to fit in. After some marinating on it, I developed my own meaning for that title.

When I call myself a visual storyteller, I see it as part of my process. Design can imply story, or more accurately support it through identities, settings, and props. I create the world that the story exists in. Or more accurately, that a family of stories live in — stories created by the customer, participant, or users. These stories evolve and change outside of my control.

As a brand strategist, I help clients think through their brand values, mission, key touch points, and ideal customer profile. We articulate the behaviors and relationship we strive to nurture with them through potential stories of how those interactions could occur. When presenting concepts, I use story to frame designs and help clients envision our intended impact of each direction. These stories are internally focused — not expressed directly to the audience.

Everyone is a storyteller — we all weave the narratives of our lives, writing our own story every day. It’s how our brains work and why it’s effective in branding and marketing. Good stories get and hold our attention, especially in a fast-paced world. But no two people experience things in exactly the same way. A brand story is multifaceted and built over time by the people it attracts. They build the community behind the brand. As an effective designer, I adjust and support that evolving brand as I become a story listener and story farmer reflecting their voices.