The Power of Storytelling

Chiara Aliotta

Your instructor: Chiara Aliotta

Workshop includes:

🔖 Examples to take away
🗣 Interactive sessions
📺 Workshop recordings
🎤 Dedicated Q&A time
🏅 Smashing Certificate

Unfortunately, this workshop is fully sold out! But you can join the waiting list in case a ticket becomes available:

Workshop, 5×2h + Q&A • Tue & Wed, May 30 – June 14 2023
09:00 – 11:30 AM PT • 18:00 – 20:30 CET • Check your time zone ⏰

What is storytelling, and how can stories help UX designers create remarkable experiences?

Storytelling is more than a marketing buzzword. Storytelling is much more than a justification for technical creative decisions… a trap many designers fall into when words like “design thinking” and “user-centric” sound too technical and cold. When used appropriately, storytelling creates powerful and memorable digital experiences. In this workshop, we are going to discover how!

Here’s What You Should Be Expecting:

Interactive live sessions
5 × 2.5h live sessions

Practical insights
Apply the fundamentals of storytelling

Hands-on exercises
With reviews by your teacher

Life-time access
To all video recordings and examples

Dedicated Q&A time
To ask all your questions

Smashing Certificate
A well-deserved reward for your work

Taking practical examples from classic storytelling methodologies used in well-known books and movies, together we will explore the fundamentals of storytelling, then apply them to UX design.

You will also learn how to balance the technical side of storytelling with the creativity required when designing experiences for digital products.

Whether you are working alone or as part of a team, you will be able to apply the ideas you master in this workshop to map truly remarkable user-centred experiences.

You will also be able to present your ideas in a clear and irresistible way, to gain genuine buy-in!

We’ll Cover:

Master essential storytelling elements.
Learn the fundamentals of storytelling through real and famous examples (movies and books) and see how they relate to UX design – often in surprising ways!

Recognise the narrative structure.
We will travel back in time to Ancient Greece, where we will analyse different dramaturgical structures. Then, we will understand how dramaturgy serves our work as “designers of experiences” and how it relates to today’s user journey.

Map a compelling user experience using storytelling fundamentals.
Forget the user journey map as you know it! Through storytelling, we will divide the user experience into a narrative structure that is easy for everyone to follow and understand, from interface designers and developers to clients.

Create an Oscar-worthy experience!
Work on a real-life case study of a digital product to learn how the user experience can be translated into a low-fidelity mockup (wireframe).

Test the narrative.
We will employ the same storytelling techniques of prominent writers and directors to test the user journey against the wireframe and eventually, the final user interface.

Understand what makes a great story.
Examine the deep emotional connections evoked by stories, to obtain genuine buy-in from colleagues, clients and stakeholders.

Who is this workshop for?

This workshop is for web designers, user experience designers, product designers, project owners or managers. Non-designers (such as entrepreneurs, startup founders, company owners). Anyone who interacts with designers, and/or wishes to illustrate their ideas using storytelling techniques.

Note: a basic knowledge of UX and UI design is required.

About Chiara Aliotta

An award-winning designer, Chiara Aliotta is the founder of Until Sunday, a creative agency that encapsulates her obsession with colour, typography, and detail.

Chiara wears many creative ‘hats’, with years of experience as a graphic designer, art director, and brand consultant under her belt. Not only does she write and speak regularly about design-led storytelling, she has also directed impactful visual brand development for renowned global organisations.

Whether she’s creating an immersive digital journey or a compelling design for print, Chiara’s ideas are characterised by the enduring power of storytelling. She skilfully combines her deep understanding of classic tales, with an instinctive sense of what makes a story memorable, to create user experiences that pack an emotional punch.

Born in Italy, Chiara now resides on the beautiful island of Syros with her husband, with whom she co-runs an art gallery and a personal lifestyle project, The Pattern Tales.

And because at Smashing Magazine, cats are the protagonists… Her beloved cat Kissa provides inspiration… and the occasional cuddle!

Time & Schedule

This workshop is divided into 5 interactive and easy-to-follow sections. Each one will teach you how to apply the fundamentals of storytelling in UX design for digital products. At the end of each day, participants can dig further into the takeaways by reviewing the slides and resources, and by completing practical tasks.

Tue, May 30, 09:00 – 12:00 AM PT (18:00 – 21:00 CET)
Wed, May 31, 09:00 – 12:00 AM PT (18:00 – 21:00 CET)
Tue, June 6, 09:00 – 12:00 AM PT (18:00 – 21:00 CET)
Wed, June 7, 09:00 – 12:00 AM PT (18:00 – 21:00 CET)
Wed, June 14. 09:00 – 12:00 AM PT (18:00 – 21:00 CET)

You can always re-watch the sessions at a more convenient time and follow the workshop at your own pace.