This week we were learning about some tools that we can use to help us within a design project. Today we were looking at storyboards and sitemaps, which helps us find a solution for the problem that we are trying to solve.
A storyboard is a way of showcasing a story in a quick and cheap way. Usually done on paper, it shows the narrative of a story helps people to visualise how a product will affect people. They contain squares that showcase each stage of the narrative, making it more memorable and engaging. Creating storyboards also help us to step into customers shoes, and understand how they think and what they need/want. They tie user stories and user personas together and allow designers to get a good grasp of their user and how they can help them. Storyboards are great for communicating our ideas quickly and simply to other designers, engineers, clients, and users. When creating storyboards, we want to be authentic with the user and engage them emotionally, to entice them and make a connection between the brand and the user. 4 things to consider when creating storyboards are:
When designing storyboards, we can use different visual techniques to hint towards and show what is going on. We can use arrows to point towards something and direct the viewer where to look and what to prioritise, or we can use faces to convey emotions, for example a smiley face or a sad face. We can also write down some words to further explain on what the picture is showing, this can help the user fully understand what they are seeing.
We then got into groups and done a task in class where we had to create our own storyboards, telling a story to do with our current project autonomous vehicles. We then jotted down some ideas for a user story and the different stages of the plot. Our group came up with the idea of a child that was anxious to go to school, as her mum can’t take her because of work. To solve this problem the mum orders a autonomous taxi to pick up her child while she’s at work. The mum is able to check the progress of the journey on her phone, until her child arrives. We done this on Miro.
I then looked at one of the articles that was recommended to us to read. It was about how the Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky took inspiration from Disney’s technique of storyboarding. He seen who they used storyboards to create the story of Snow White, and he wanted to try and implement this into Airbnb to tell a story of the different experiences a customer has when staying in an Airbnb. The storyboards helped them to understand what was going on inside the head of both customers and hosts. This meant that they were able to design for them and to make the experience of staying in an Airbnb more enjoyable for both the customer and the host. These storyboards help everyone who is working in Airbnb stay on the same page, making sure they are all designing for the same purpose and the same end goals. This article was quite interesting as an unexpected brain storming method completely changed how Airbnb done business and how they put both customers and hosts first, doing this by putting themselves in each of their shoes.
How Snow White Helped Airbnb's Mobile Mission - Fast Company
A sitemap is a hierarchical structure of a digital product. A sitemap is a tool that has been used for a long time, from web design to UI design. It shows all of the screens and sections that will be included in the UI, with the top being the home page which splits up as we go down the sitemap. These are used to get a clear understanding of what will be included in the UI before development can start.
