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Art of Ueno

Everyone I talk to these days seems to agree that tech companies must have a great story. So why is it that so many tech companies seem unwilling to commit time, energy, and resources to making sure they have the story they need?

Storytelling requires more than someone, somewhere, at some time, shrugging and saying, what are we even talking about again? Strong stories are not made at the last minute, in dank basement rooms by team-deprived individuals with no access to what’s really going on. The words and the ideas they represent cannot come at the end, after products have been designed and built. Don’t call in a writer at the 11th hour and say, can you please replace the lorem ipsum with whatever you can think of (and it can’t be more than four words).

My friends: the words, the design, the technology — it should all be working in service to the story of your company. A story that your CEO can tell beautifully wherever she goes. A story that makes sense to all your employees, so that they can easily explain to their friends and family what they are working on and why. And maybe even sign up.

I borrowed this from Andy Raskin’s site because it’s so right.

Your story embodies your strategy, it implies audience, value, and long-term goals. Everything your company does or makes can ladder up to your story. Products, features, values, partnerships, marketing, there is no nook your story won’t creep into, no corner it won’t shape. Your story is the umbrella that keeps the whole thing from getting drenched.

This needs to be the work of a creative storyteller (who probably won’t have an MBA), or a story artist, editorial director, conversation or instructional designer, or maybe a content strategist. Whatever we’re calling that person these days, they will usually have a background in writing and narrative, can understand dramatic structure and will know how to make people feel something. With them comes the death knell of lorem ipsum; they will create, oversee, manage and maintain your company story.

When people need landing pages, campaigns, social media strategy or are thinking about user experience in an app, I always ask: What’s the story? Because it’s the story that people remember, what they will Tweet about, and why they will share it with their friends. The meaning. The feeling. Not words on a nicely designed background. Not even cool animation with nothing to hold it together. We all need story.

You already know this.

Our personal narratives are the foundation of everything we tell ourselves, and they guide how we walk our paths. Stories are how we justify why we ended up where we are. They are the tunes we hum to our friends at brunch at 2 pm on Sundays. Great stories are what make us take action or seek change. They put us to sleep at night, and they are the reason we get up and go out into the world to find what we love.

Almost from the beginning, as soon as there is an idea, and a little baby LLC is formed, there is a story waiting to be given form and life and shape and design. To have and to hold its position in the market. With time, effort, people power and resources, stories grow strong. With the support, encouragement, and sign off from the CEO (who will tell it the most) stories get powerful and expand; they take on a life of their own. Then they can support smaller stories, no less important, that explain other necessary parts of the company.

It’s time for something new.

I came to Ueno to design beautiful stories for all companies. From the alchemy of air-tight strategy, lovely images, though-provoking content, memorable sound, and seamless technology, we will team up with you to get your story articulated, make it resonant and build the structural foundation your company needs to succeed.

Zoe Finkel |Content Creative Director @ueno