Visual Storytelling

Visual Storytelling is the art of using language and images to convey a narrative account of real or imagined events. Historically, humans have used this sharing of experience to pass on knowledge, beliefs, values, secrets and information. Through stories we explain how things are, why they are, and our role and purpose. Stories are the building blocks of knowledge and the foundation of memory and learning. Stories connect us with our humanness and link past, present, and future by sharing all of the possible consequences and outcomes of our behavior and actions.

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Visual Storytelling combines the narrative text of a story with creative elements to augment and enhance the traditional storytelling process. By design, it is a co-creative process resulting in an intimate, interpretive expressive technique. Visual Storytelling passes on the essence of who we are and utilizes both language and art. Stories are a prime vehicle for assessing and interpreting events, experiences, and concepts from minor moments of daily life to the grand nature of the human condition. It is an intrinsic and basic form of human communication. Our ancestors as far back as the cave man have been using visual stories to document and record experiences. Today, the visualization of our personal stories is an integral and essential part of the human experience.

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Debbie has created a one or two-day workshop to work with students interested in exploring the art of telling a story through a unique combination of images and words. In the workshop, we investigate the ability stories have to honor the diversity and commonality of our collective human experience. She has worked with students of many different ages, from high school to graduate students.

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In the workshop, we do the following:

– Work to define and refine the basic narrative structure of a story
– Plot the visual arc of a story
– Create the visual language of the story

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The workshop will result in the creation of a visual story for each participant.

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Requirements of participants:

Each participant of this workshop should come to the workshop with a first draft of a story or essay of approximately 500-900 words. In addition, the participants should come with creative tools they would like to use to visually express their story, i.e., paint, canvases, boards, colored pencils, crayons, chalk, chalkboard, yarn, thread, fabric, paper, journals, photographs, etc. For examples, please look at Look Both Ways: Illustrated Essays on the Intersection of Life and Design, by Debbie Millman.

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Images from past workshops:

ND2C Conference in Pakistan, 2017
Visual Playground in Bucharest, 2017
ING Conference in Dubai, 2017
High School of Art & Design, New York, 2014
Anderson University, South Carolina, 2013
AIGA Austin Design Ranch Visual Storytelling Workshop, 2011
University of Utah, Utah, 2010
University of Hartford, 2010
Academy of Art University, San Francisco, 2009 (and another set)