Storytelling for Innovation: Motion Design for Human-Centered Design

It's been a while, here's a quick update on what I've been doing + a tip that will help you in your Storytelling for Innovation journey. My other coaching business where I help creative take on a personal project My Epic Bones art

My student got her first gig with an innovation consultancy! Stefanie Verhoeyen, took the plunge and decided to niche down as a motion designer. She has narrowed her focus to serving the innovation industry and the education space, and is seeing results! Learn her outreach strategies, how the first discovery call went, and what type of project she landed. Lots of great advice in here. Stefanie Ver...

Theora Kvitka, UX Researcher at Maven Clinic shares with us how illustration and video play into their process. There's a great conversation in here about what points along the way a  Freelancer might be able to come onto a project as well, and the opportunity out there in the future as the world grows to be more and more visual! Theora Kvitka (personal site) Theora Kvitka on Instagram: @theo...

Today I chat with a former Accelerator student and her journey from traditional motion design over to the innovation industry. We talk about work-life balance, as we are both mothers with young children, and designing an intentional life, which informs the type of work we take on as professional artists. Oana Nechifor Portfolio Oana Nechifor on Instagram @oananekifo Oana Nechifor on LinkedIn - Oth...

Here's 5 strategies to hunt down the types of people that would hire you for motion design in the innovation industry. I cover how to find the meetups they might be going to, LinkedIn groups, Conferences, and Open House events at Innovation consultancies. Chatting in person with potential clients is such a short cut to inspire them on what is possible for visual storytelling and get on their...

Ron Chan is a Freelance Cartoonist, Storyboard Artist and Illustrator in Portland, OR who shares his expertise creating User Experience Storyboards. We cover a lot of ground here talking about who these innovation clients are, the process of making a storyboard and why it's different, what makes a good drawing, and a bunch of tips on Freelancing as well. Ron Chan portfolio site Ron's &qu...

I was in a CVS the other day and saw construction happening to install a MinuteClinic. I looked at the door and then noticed the new HealthHUB signage. What a perfect example of a typical project I might be on as a Storyteller for innovation! In this episode, I make a bunch of guesses as their process, and share the types of illustration, video and motion design pieces that you might have made if...

Fan Sissoko is a Service Designer, Researcher & Storyteller. She shares her vast experience working for a range of companies, mostly in the public sector, and how she has pulled on her graphic design,  illustration and animation skills to tell compelling stories that move ideas forward. This is a great episode to understand more deeply what a Service Designer and Design Researcher does, and th...

If you're a Freelance Motion Designer wondering how to price your work, how to raise your rates, and all the other business stuff that comes along with going out on your own as a creative, this is the episode for you! Shea Lord, Freelance Art Director & Motion Designer walks us through how to think about money and step into our power in this industry. Shea Lord on LinkedIn Shea's Dig...

I found another Storyteller that specializes in the innovation industry! Steven Taylor has been helping companies large and small communicate their ideas for the future through illustration, animation, 3d and more! We cover what it's like to do this work, the process, how to get clients, the difference between working with start-ups versus larger companies - the list goes on! Steven is also C...

Kris Young, Design Lead at eBay, explains how his background in motion design served as a super power in the various, impressive roles and projects he's worked on. He's contributed to work at Microsoft, T-Mobile, Cisco and more in roles spanning UI Designer, UX Designer, Product Designer and now Design Lead. I love hearing how his ability to tell a great visual story aided in everything...

Michael Zarifes has worked on huge marketing campaigns for movies like The Incredibles and Cars. His impressive Art Director / Motion Design career has taken some twists and turns, and I was so excited to learn about his recent pivot into creating projects for internal use! We have a great discussion here about the pros and cons to both types of work, and what he learned inside my accelerator prog...

Once you get the project, here's everything you need to know in order to be your client's best buddy. I learned a lot of what I'm sharing with you the HARD WAY, and I don't want you to make the same mistakes I did. If you employ these 6 things, your innovation clients will absolutely LOVE you! FREE Workshop - Sept. 12th-14th GIVEAWAY DETAILS: Enter the Workshop GIVEAWAY! Send a...

Merritt Robinson, Head of Design, Americas at Bain & Company shares her wisdom about how visual storytelling reduces the barriers to comprehension and the very act of creating an artifact such as a video is part of the synthesis work - not just a nice to have. In being forced to create something visual, you're asking the team to find clarity, which leads to the right idea faster. I also l...

The busy season is coming (Sept-Jan). Learn how to prep for the discovery call so that you're armed and ready to impress your potential clients and get these super fun gigs! Free Masterclass Storytelling for Innovation Accelerator - presale 30% OFF send this Thursday, Aug. 18th Soft Skills Uplevel Leeanne on Instagram

If you're wondering what a UX Designer does and why being able to draw people is a valuable skill to have if you do this type of work...check out this episode! Bryant Hodson, Senior UX Designer at Lucid shares his story and the unicorn value he brings to the team by being able to create experience storyboards for user research and testing.  Thank you for a great conversation Bryant! Bryant Ho...

Head of Design Strategy at Fidelity Investments, Yuhgo Yamaguchi, shares key points in the process of creating new digital experiences where low fidelity character stories come in really handy! A lot of UX Designers are familiar with wireframing, experience storyboards and mocking up animated wireframes and even fancy animations of what the app or site will look like, but using motion design to br...

Head of Innovation Delivery at EPAM Continuum, Heather Reavey, shares how to be a sought-after collaborator with human-centered design teams. We have an interesting chat about ownership, and how it's so important for the Storyteller to steer the video ship...while at the same time allowing for co-creation. Also some really cool thoughts about how the level of fidelity of the video, illustrati...

Associate Partner and Creative Director, Mandy Stehouwer at Prophet, a growth and transformation consulting firm gives some great examples of how they use video and motion design. I love how Mandy explains the reasons why they might go with a scrappy in-house approach to storytelling and why they might need to bring on a Specialist. Thank you so much for this amazing conversation Mandy! Mandy Steh...

Lee Moreau, Founder and Director of Other Tomorrows shares with us how using video, animation and illustration at key points in the design thinking process can not only help key stakeholders and executives making decisions easily digest ideas for the future, but help the project teams working on the ideas better understand what they're creating. I love how Lee explained the benefits of and ca...

Phil never would have guessed he'd be a Metaverse Architect, even just a year ago. He started his career as a motion designer, then got into ux design. Through an unwavering passion for 3d, he became known as "the 3d guy" over at EY, which put him on the path to now be a prominent fixture on their Metaverse team helping companies explore possibilities for real world application and...

Phil Lashley shares his experience navigating the possibilities out there for motion designers and the steps he's taking to pivot over to the innovation industry with his work. We chat about everything from crafting a meaningful story to mindset tools to ease the anxiety that often comes with pivoting careers or stepping into the world of Freelance. Phil Lashley Phil Lashley on Instagram FREE...

Today we get a look inside working at an innovation consultancy with Creative Director / Motion Designer, Robert Hodgson. He shares his journey shifting from broadcast and VFX over to R&D and now this new territory of innovation. We cover what it's like to shift your mindset into making your work "not look so good," the different types of skills used at EPAM Continuum - 2d chara...

Today I give you a run down of the different types of visual storytelling projects that human-centered design teams might need. I Talk about where these fit in within the design thinking process and why they are needed. I cover everything from editing customer insight videos to illustrating experience storyboards to animating final presentation videos all the way to the more high-end side of thing...

Kord Brashear, Senior Director, Corporate Innovation Team at UnitedHealthcare gives us some great insight into what organizations need in order to move ideas forward.  Kord helps us understand how visual storytelling gives teams a self-contained piece of just the right amount of information to socialize ideas. My favorite quote from Kord in this interview - "it takes too long to have the conv...