THE ART OF STORYBOARDINGIRIS AMELIA FEBRES M.A., EMERSON COLLEGE DIRECTOR, SOLUTIONS ARCHITECTURE, APTARA

THE BOOK: WHAT’S IN IT?

COVER FRONT MATTER

INTERIOR BACK MATTER

COVER FRONT MATTER

INTERIOR BACK MATTER

LINEARITY

WE LIKE LINEARITY — ESPECIALLY IN EBOOKS.

EBOOKS NEED LINEARITY ✓ GROUNDING THE READER

FROM HOW TO COOK EVERYTHING FAST (HOUGHTON MIFFLIN HARCOURT)

• MAINTAINED HIERARCHY DESPITE INCREASED FONT SIZE

• HEADERS FOR HIERARCHY • INDENTS • RULES

WHAT ABOUT FIXED-LAYOUT?

FIXED-LAYOUT EBOOKS ARE COMPLICATED. ✓ DRIVEN BY PRINT DESIGN ✓ HEAVY USE TEXT/IMAGE ELEMENTS ✓ INCLUSION OF NON-TEXT/IMAGE ELEMENTS !WHILE SEGMENTS ARE NOW STATIC, LINEARITY IS STILL REQUIRED.

COVER FRONT MATTER

INTERIOR BACK MATTER

LINEARITY

FROM I’M JUST HERE FOR THE FOOD — AMAZON SITB PREVIEW (STEWART, TABORI AND CHANG)

• HEAVY DESIGN ELEMENTS

• POTENTIALLY UNNECESSARY DESIGN ELEMENTS (FOR ELECTRONIC) — RETRO “SIDEBAR” DESIGNS

A PLAIN JANE EBOOK TRANSITION. GOOD — BUT NOT GREAT.

NOTE THAT THIS LIST IS LIKELY NOT SEMANTIC. (CANNOT CONFIRM DUE TO DRM)

LET’S SWITCH GEARS: FXL (CUE TO BOOK + DESKTOP) DESIGNING BRAND IDENTITY

SOLUTION TO THE HEADACHE: STORYBOARDING

A STORYBOARD IS A GRAPHIC ORGANIZER IN THE FORM OF ILLUSTRATIONS OR IMAGES DISPLAYED IN SEQUENCE FOR THE PURPOSE OF PRE-VISUALIZING A MOTION PICTURE, ANIMATION, MOTION GRAPHIC OR INTERACTIVE MEDIA SEQUENCE. (WIKIPEDIA)

A STORYBOARD IS A GRAPHIC ORGANIZER IN THE FORM OF ILLUSTRATIONS OR IMAGES DISPLAYED IN SEQUENCE FOR THE PURPOSE OF PRE-VISUALIZING A MOTION PICTURE, ANIMATION, MOTION GRAPHIC OR INTERACTIVE MEDIA SEQUENCE. (WIKIPEDIA)

✓ COMICS

Image taken from http://home.earthlink.net/~copaceticcomicsco/MakingComics.html

Image taken from http://austinkleon.com/wp-content/uploads/2006/06/016.gif

5 STEPS FOR STORYBOARDING (WILL VARY BY DESIGNER*)

*YOU

1. ASSESS YOUR CONTENT (DEEP BREATH — TAKE IT ALL IN)

2. ATTACK YOUR CONTENT (EXHALE — DEEP DIVE)

3. “CHUNK” THE ELEMENTS (SIFT & FIND PATTERNS)

4. ORGANIZE YOUR FINDINGS (ESTABLISH LINEARITY)

5. SKETCH IT OUT (VISUALIZE YOUR WORK)

SAMPLE STORYBOARD EXHIBIT A

ASSESS YOUR CONTENT

ATTACK YOUR CONTENT

✓ COLORFUL, ENGAGING TO READER ✓ STRUCTURE ✓ OPPORTUNITIES FOR INTERACTIVITY

✓ SPREADS INTERFERE WITH HIERARCHY ✓ INCREDIBLY COMPLEX ✓ MULTIPLE LAYERS/LEVELS OF CONTENT

AN EXAMPLE: ~300 PAGES

EXTREMELY PRINT-CENTRIC REFERENCES TO SPECIFIC PAGES

COMPANION WEBSITE !

FIND PATTERNS

CHAPTERS CONTAIN • OPENING SPREADS WITH COLOR SCHEMES • EXERCISES • KEYS & LEGENDS • DEFINITIONS • TABLES & CHARTS • ILLUSTRATED LISTS & STEPS • ELEMENTS CROSSING THE GUTTER

SKETCH

SAMPLE STORYBOARD EXHIBIT B*

*YOUR TURN

PICK A COMPLEX PRINT BOOK AND FOLLOW THE STEPS.

ANNOTATE. SKETCH. IMAGINE.

STORYBOARDING TIPS

WORK FAST — DON’T OVERTHINK!

DON’T BE AFRAID TO START OVER.

TRY DIFFERENT MEDIUMS.

GET A SECOND PAIR OF EYES.

STEP AWAY FROM YOUR STORYBOARD.

ADJUST YOUR LAYOUT AS NEEDED.

CONTACT !

WEB IRISAMELIA.COM IRISDOODLES.COM !

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SOCIAL TWITTER LINKEDIN

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EMAIL IRIS_FEBRES @EMERSON.EDU

THANKS!