Visual storytelling is a powerful way to engage your audience, convey your message, and showcase your creativity. But how can you create a content creation sample that demonstrates your skills and style in this field? Here are some tips to help you craft a compelling visual story for your portfolio or pitch.
The first step is to choose a topic that suits your niche, audience, and purpose. You want to pick something that you are passionate about, knowledgeable about, and can offer a unique perspective on. You also want to consider what kind of story you want to tell: is it informative, persuasive, inspirational, or entertaining? How does it relate to your goals and values as a content creator?
The next step is to plan your narrative, or the sequence of events, actions, and emotions that make up your story. You want to have a clear beginning, middle, and end, as well as a main theme, message, or point. You also want to think about the tone, mood, and style of your story: is it serious, humorous, dramatic, or casual? How do you want your audience to feel and react?
The third step is to select your visuals, or the images, videos, graphics, or animations that will illustrate your story. You want to choose visuals that are relevant, appealing, and consistent with your narrative and tone. You also want to make sure that your visuals are high-quality, original, or properly sourced and credited. You can use tools like Canva, Adobe Spark, or Unsplash to create or find visuals for your story.
The fourth step is to arrange your layout, or the way you organize and present your visuals and text on the page or screen. You want to create a layout that is easy to follow, attractive, and coherent with your narrative and tone. You also want to balance the use of white space, colors, fonts, and shapes to create contrast, harmony, and emphasis. You can use tools like WordPress, Medium, or Squarespace to design and publish your layout.
The fifth step is to add your text, or the words that accompany your visuals and explain or enhance your story. You want to write text that is clear, concise, and captivating, using headings, subheadings, captions, quotes, or callouts. You also want to use text that is appropriate, accurate, and respectful, avoiding jargon, errors, or plagiarism. You can use tools like Grammarly, Hemingway, or Copyscape to check and improve your text.
The final step is to review your story, or the overall effect and impact of your visual storytelling sample. You want to evaluate your story based on its purpose, audience, and message: does it achieve your goals, meet their needs, and convey your point? You also want to get feedback from others, such as peers, mentors, or clients, to see how they perceive and respond to your story. You can use tools like Google Forms, SurveyMonkey, or Typeform to collect and analyze feedback.
In my experience, I've collaborated with creators who prioritize visual storytelling. To showcase their ability, they craft a content sample that seamlessly blends captivating imagery with a compelling narrative. This concise yet impactful approach demonstrates their proficiency in creating visually engaging stories that resonate with audiences. And it worked, the weirdest part is that it gives more insurance.