The Art of Telling Stories: Harley O'Brien

Welcome to the next in the series of interviews on The Art of Telling Stories. Today we will hear from Harley O'Brien, a multimedia architect and big-picture thinker. Coming up, he will be at mLearnCon, speaking on Redefining the Document: Creating Content for a Mobile World. You can follow him on Twitter, check out his LinkedIn, or click here to visit the conference webpage. 

Harley, tell us a little bit about who you are and what you do.

I'm a multimedia architect, I deal with images, forms, and colors, but also with computer code. It's a nice blend of designer and programmer. My formal background is communications and marketing, but from a very early age I got involved with computers, and the interactivity captured me. I fell in love with the worlds you could create and control using media and programming.

How would you define the idea of storytelling?

The basic idea is to convey a story... sounds simple, but that's what makes it so exciting. It can be as simple as a short marketing message, pretty obvious, uh? But also an e-learning module where you need to communicate new concepts, or even better, an RPG or an immersive scenario!

As a Multimedia Architect, how does the work you do make an impact on the way the story is delivered or perceived?

It affects it in almost every way. I'm a firm believer of the old saying "the medium is the message." And that applies even more to interactive media. If you think about it, audiovisuals and interactive media require a lot of team work. You need graphic design, audio, music, layouts, interactions and of course, a good story!

I see a multimedia architect as the orchestra conductor that weaves it all together, carrying the responsibility to respect the essence of each of the parts and enhance it in a new whole.

What role do graphics and images play in storytelling?

Nowadays, a lot. We live in an audiovisual culture. For good or bad, not judging, it's just the way it is. Most of the world's population believe that an image is worth a thousand words :)

I think I could put it this way: "visuals" are important. Even a still image can tell a story, ask any photographer... but also the right word, the right font and the right background can be a powerful visual. See how it is all the medium? Anyway, I feel that text can be a flexible, on-demand and cost-effective media when used correctly. 

What thought process do you use to approach the way you present information to your consumer?

I think you should start with the end: what is the reaction you want? You work from there. You know your times, media, resources. Put yourself in the user's shoes. In what context will he receive the message? a video on a TV screen sitting on a couch or just 20" from a computer monitor? Maybe walking down the street on a smartphone screen?

Then you dissect the message, identify the essence, and start creating different ways of communicating it effectively. Keep in mind that "the message" can be anything, a conventional message in the case of a marketing piece, an e-learning lesson or an interactive experience in the case of an application. I would say that creating interactive media is creating user experiences, something like on-demand, user-controlled storytelling.  

Would you consider yourself a storyteller? Why or why not?

Definitely. I see myself as a user experience designer. You as a writer can identify with this. The end goal as a creator is to create a user experience. In computer lingo, there's even an acronym for that, UX Designer :-)

How do you think multimedia architecture is going to change over the next decade? In what way will that impact the way we communicate and the way we tell stories?

I think the technological aspect of it is the least interesting. I'm sure most people won't be surprised to be able to create holograms at home or use 3D printing. Our fascination threshold is pretty high. But it's the social implications I'm excited about. The Web 2.0 gave us the tools to produce content and share it with the world. Some developing countries have gone from no land lines to a cell phone in every hand and internet connections in just a few years. This moves us towards scenarios that should make us think.

With the overwhelming complexity of search, the trend to "curated" content is growing. Are we sharing our knowledge or giving up on our decision processes?

What about the cloud? It's not only for storage. A lot of "smart" devices are now windows to content that get processed in "the cloud." But remember the PC revolution of the 80s that meant breaking free from the big central computers to have your our processing power on the desktop?

I could talk for hours, but imagine a world with overwhelming audio and visuals, interactions that affect other senses but only 140 characters for text. I'm so up for that challenge! :-)

Looking for Dragons

One day, she went looking for the dragon.

She set out on food, walking through the trees.

She walked past the hidden apple tree.

And strolled through the sumac tree wood.

And stumbled into the Enchanted Forest.

She saw a bird. It wasn't singing.

When she reached a strange rock wall, she paused and looked around...

Was she lost?

She turned back. Everything looked the same.

She frowned, concerned, and began walking again.

She walked for hours.

Finally, she found an old birch tree. It seemed to be

pointing her towards something. She began to walk in that direction.

Suddenly, she stumbled into the field on the edge of the Enchanted Forest.

She breathed a sign of relief.

She began to head towards home, disappointed that she hadn't found the dragon.

Then, out of the corner of her eye she saw a splash of red, 

amid the green wash of green and brown that surrounded her.

It was beautiful.

Then she looked up.

She saw something in the trees.

She moved closer.

A wall? She began to follow it.

It was the Lost Fortress!

Her mind began to spin castles and adventures...

...and suddenly there were knights and witches

and fairies and animals...

...and there was her dragon.

Art of Telling Stories: Amber Anderson

The next guest in the series of interviews on The Art of Telling Stories is Amber Anderson, a graphic designer and animator. Amber is always looking for new people to work with and new projects to work on - and asking questions is always free! You can find out more about Amber and her services by visiting her website.

Amber, tell me a little bit about who you are and what you do.

I am a self-educated designer, animator, developer, and programmer that believes design and visual appeal are a mainstay in any marketing or branding effort, with eight years of professional experience in the fields of information technology, social media, website design, e-marketing, branding, animation, website development  project management, and graphic design. I create and design end-to-end solutions with standards-compliant code with an emphasis on identity branding, efficacy, cross-platform browser compatibility, interactivity, accessibility, and search engine optimization. 

How would you define storytelling?

When I think of storytelling, I think of someone expressing themselves creatively using an outlet such as writing. When someone says storytelling, I think of a fable, or someone taking inspiration from a fairy tale.

In what way can images fit together to help tell a story?

Images and graphics are key elements of supporting and/or singly expressing a point inside a story. They give the audience something to envision and imagine when exploring an idea or concept. They also give the reader an identification point of a way to feel connected to the author and the author's vision.

How do you decide what images or colours tell a part of a story and what ones don't?

It depends on whether I'm using graphics to tell the story or graphics to support the story. When using graphics to tell the story, I go on my own gut instinct of what I feel and what I see when I review the content. When using them as support for an existing story, I pull key words, scenes, feelings, characters, and seasons, along with other components from the story to visually express the writer's vision.

I use all of these elements to visually format the story. That can be anything - changing fonts, sizes, colours, graphics, layouts, margins - formatting is everything. Formatting is what makes the document visually come together. It's what makes it easy to read, it's what makes the story come alive, it's taking your vision combined with the author's vision and making it tangible for someone to be able to connect to.

What is your favourite design work that you've done?

My favourite projects are ones that I get a hand in all the way down the line. I would have to pick something where I got to do some formatting of text, graphic design, story boarding, animation, framework design - any project where I get to touch it from beginning to end. For example, I recently worked on a project for a client that was producing multiple toolkits to provide a variety of programs working towards similar goals but in different locations, in order to have access to tools and resources to help them better implement their events and assist their clientele. On that project, I designed the framework, the templates for the documents, created their branding style, worked on story boards, and developed tutorial animations for the final product, created visual graphics for reports, and more.

In what way does branding tell a story?

Branding expresses the vision of that individual (or organization). It expresses not only how they see themselves, but how they want to be seen by other people. Branding is a stylistic consistency that allows customers to identify with, feel connected to, and know that they can have faith in the company or organization and its products.

What is your favourite colour and why?

If you had asked me that question twenty years ago, I would have told you anything but pink. If you asked me that question today as a 32-year-old woman, I would tell you that my favourite colour is pink. I used to run away from anything that labeled me as a girl when I was younger because I thought that meant constraints, keeping me inside a box, holding me to a standard, having to be a part of a societal norm. As an adult, I realized that being a girl and liking pink are probably two of the most powerful things that I own. I learned to embrace my gender but not conform to the societal norms or stereotypes, and instead created my own way of thinking that didn't necessitate the colour pink, but still welcomed it. The colour pink signifies to me where I started and how far I've come professionally and personally. It's a reminder to me as to how strong we all really are. 

Similarly, what colour do you use the most frequently when designing and why?

Grey. It's a neutral colour, it's a complimentary colour, and it doesn't overpower or take over a program or organization's already established colour pallette. It's a way to add in lines, colours, and graphics with a calming appeal which doesn't clash.

Is there anything else you would like to share?

Creating a brand for your business or organization is important. It's as important as buying a house. It's something that is going to be with your business for a very long time. Don't settle. Don't find one designer and think that you have to stay there. Don't take no for an answer. Don't lose your vision because someone is trying to tell you that you're ideas aren't valid or that you're wrong. Your brand is a part of you. It should be a reflection of you and it should tell your story.