Storyboarding
Summary
A storyboard is a low fidelity prototype consisting of a series of screen sketches. They are used by designers to illustrate and organize their ideas and obtain feedback. They are particularly useful for multi-media presentations.
Benefits
- Provides an overview of the system
- Demonstrates the functionality of the storyboard elements
- Demonstrates the navigation scheme
- Can check whether the presentation is accurate and complete
- Can be evaluated by users.
Method
- Use context of use and scenarios as input.
- Brainstorm ideas, this may include lists, charts, doodles, and quick notes
- Select the best ideas: re-consider the project requirements, time and resource constraints, and the target audience and end users. Select the top ideas and try to get feedback from others involved.
- Sketch each screen, and describe any pictures, images, animations, sound, music, video or text.
More information
Video Storyboard example
Multimedia Storyboarding- includes a storyboard template, with information about what elements to include Production Storyboard Examples - general background information, plus examples
Web storyboard explanation.
Variations
Storyboards can be used as a way of describing the user's everyday activities as well as the potential designs and impact they will have.
Storyboards are most flexible when they are hand-drawn, but more realism and some animation and interaction can be created by using a package like PowerPoint.
Next steps
Evaluate the storyboard.
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