Visual Storytelling: Examples and Tips for Success

Reading a recipe will give a great sense of the flavors, time and ingredients needed, and methods used to make it. But watching a short video where you see the recipe being made—bright visuals, a clear storyline, and a compelling finished dish—grabs your senses from the first frame. Which one is more likely to hold your attention?

Psychologist Allan Paivio developed the theory of the picture-superiority effect to describe why visuals are more memorable words alone. It contends that visuals are stored in our minds both as images and as words describing the image. And, well, two ways of remembering something are better than one.

Let’s take a deeper look at how you can leverage visuals to make your brand and products come to life.

What is visual storytelling?

Visual storytelling is the use of visual media to communicate a narrative. Rather than relying on words alone to get a brand’s message across, visual storytelling uses imagery to capture the interest of a target audience.

Visual content can include still imagery like photographs, illustrations, and graphics, as well as moving media like videos, GIFs, and animations. The best method of visual storytelling will depend on the context. For example, it might be helpful to have photos to show your product in use, infographics to highlight product benefits, and videos to depict your brand’s world and the lifestyle customers can enjoy with their purchases.

Examples of visual storytelling

• Photography
• Infographics
• Interactive sliders
• Animation
• Videos

When developing content across multiple platforms, there are numerous ways to incorporate visual narratives. Let’s take a look at a few examples of visual communication in different mediums.

Photography

This image on the Beefcake Swimwear homepage is an excellent example of visual storytelling through still photography. The colors of the brand’s swimsuits highlight its vintage aesthetic, while the natural green hues of the background evoke its commitment to sustainability. The joyful expression on models with different body types reflect the brand’s commitment to “helping beefcakes all around the world feel comfortable and confident since 2017.”

When developed with intention, still photography can capture your audience’s attention and tell a story without having to rely on a traditional narrative structure.

Infographics

Another great example of visual storytelling is the Bombas Impact Report, an immersive explanation of the clothing company’s philanthropic process. Bombas’ promise to customers is “one purchased = one donated.” In other words, for every item of clothing you purchase, the company contributes a garment to someone in need.

This map from the report demonstrates the geographic span of Bombas’ 3,500 giving partners and highlights the communities receiving donations. Infographics like this simplify complex data and highlight key insights at a glance. It grabs the viewer’s attention and makes it easier for them to quickly understand the message conveyed.

Interactive sliders

An interactive slider is also visual storytelling. Take this example on the Hippeas’ Bohemian Barbecue Chickpea Puffs product page that creatively demonstrates what makes its snacks unique. By sliding the control all the way to the right, you see a cluster of chickpeas that look as though they might spill out of frame. Sliding to the left reveals a finished chickpea puff as it looks right out of the bag. This slider keeps the audience engaged by giving them something to click on, while also providing a visual representation of the brand’s use of whole ingredients.

Animation

Household cleaning supply company Mrs. Meyer’s uses animation to convey its mission and origin story to customers in a fun and visually simple way. The video combines stick figure animation with audio narration to tell the story of Mrs. Thelma A. Meyer and her daughter. This minute-long video illuminates the brand history and makes its founder more relatable. It also establishes product credibility and highlights the care put into the product’s development.

Videos

On the homepage for Swedish skin care brand L:a Bruket there is a video combining sequences of people bathing in nature with L:a Bruket products. Above the short movie reads the text, “L:a Bruket, innovation driven by nature.”

The video reinforces L:a Bruket’s mission by connecting its products to their natural origins—visually aligning key elements drawn from the earth with the brand’s promise of holistic body and skin care. Video content like this provides a more captivating way to present the brand’s values and intentions to its customers.

Visual storytelling tips

• Create a brief to guide your approach
• Aim for relatability
• Show, don’t tell
• Use the tools you have

When it comes to producing your own visual content, follow these tips for telling visual stories in marketing.

Create a brief to guide your approach

To create a visual narrative that’s both attractive and compelling, start by defining exactly what story you want to tell. One of the most effective ways to do this is by creating a brief before you produce any visual content. This document should outline your objective, key messages, intended audience, and the emotions you want to evoke. By setting these parameters early, you ensure your visual content aligns with your brand’s mission and communicates your product’s purpose without confusion or mixed signals.

Aim for relatability

There are countless examples of visual storytelling depicting brands idealistically—and unrealistically. Creating content to reflect the realities around what your product is and how your customers use it will make your message stand out. Doing this makes your brand feel more relatable and rooted in the community it markets to.

When developing visual marketing campaigns for Bandit Running, cofounders (and brothers) Nick and Tim West say they believe that there is power in prioritizing the truth.

“We’re really good at Bandit at taking the mundane moments of running and showing you actually how special and lovely and elegant and fun they are,” says Tim on an episode of the Shopify Masters podcast.

Check out Bandit’s website and social media pages: you’ll see lots of content featuring people running, often alone and exhausted, yet still finding a sense of joy in their practice. This is effective because it shows consumers that they’re buying products from people who share and value their same lifestyle.

Show, don’t tell

Visual storytelling works best when you let the imagery do the heavy lifting. Rather than cluttering your stories with text and extrapolation, communicating through visual elements allows consumers to internalize your message on a sensory level.

Canyon Coffee shows instead of tells. Without saying words like “morning” or “mindful,” this marketing image on the company’s About page evokes each of these ideas. The soft, natural lighting implies that it’s morning, cofounder Ally Walsh’s focus on her coffee grounds demonstrates mindfulness, and the ease with which this action takes place suggests this is a standard part of her morning routine.

With this creative direction, Canyon communicates its company’s values without making viewers read them all. Showing instead of telling gets your company’s message across without leaving anything to the consumer’s imagination.

Use the tools you have

With a clear message and a good story, you don’t need professional photo or video shoots to create visual content that resonates with consumers.

In 2020, Selena Gomez’s makeup brand, Rare Beauty, was preparing to launch in the midst of the pandemic. When health and safety restrictions made traditional campaign shoots impossible, the company utilized the tools at their disposal to get their brand off the ground.

On an episode of the Shopify Masters podcast, chief marketing officer Katie Welch recalls the challenge.

“We built a brand via an iPhone because we had to,” she says.

Rare Beauty’s mission is to enable customers to use its makeup to embrace their own unique looks. Its incorporation of iPhone-shot tutorials and customers’ social media posts into the brand’s marketing supports this by highlighting existing examples of beauty rather than setting a beauty standard for others to aim for.