Whitney Quesenbery

The Power of Story: Creating empathy and connection in our products

Date: This event took place live on April 19 2013

Presented by: Whitney Quesenbery

Duration: Approximately 60 minutes.

Cost: Free

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Description:

Stories are a natural part of user experience. They help create connections between a design team and the people who will use the product. You've probably been telling stories all along - but haven't thought about how to use them effectively as part of your UX practice.

Stories can help us learn about people, culture, and context - why, when, and how our products might be used - and share this connection with the team in form of personas and stories. They put a human face on data in the form of personas and their stories. They can generate and explore design ideas, and can be the basis for collaboration and innovation. Most importantly, they help teams keep people in the center of their vision.

We'll start with how and why stories work, and then look at some examples of how they can be woven into a powerful user experience that connects with the audience.

This webcast will help you get started with using stories, by showing you:

  • How and when you can use stories in UX
  • Why stories are a good way to share user research and cultural concepts
  • How much practical and cultural information can be communicated in a short narrative
  • How to shape stories for particular audiences

About Whitney Quesenbery

Whitney Quesenbery combines a fascination with people and an obsession to communicate clearly with her goal of bringing user research insights to designing products where people matter. She's written two books on the subject - Storytelling for User Experience: Crafting stories for better design and Global UX: Design and research in a connected world - to help practitioners keep users in mind throughout the creative process.

She's also passionate about Usability in Civic Life. Whitney has worked with election officials on usability and design of ballots and other election materials. Before she was seduced by a little beige computer into software, usability, and interface design, Whitney was a theatrical lighting designer on and off Broadway, learning about storytelling from some of the masters.

She is currently working on a new book with Sarah Horton, A Web for Everyone: Designing accessible user experiences.

Follow Whitney's practical UX advice anytime on Twitter @whitneyq or find her next event on Lanyrd.