IxDF Europe: Storytelling by Design

​The designers who tell the best stories do the best work and get recognized for it.

​Forbes recently declared that storytelling has become the corporate world's most profitable skill, advising companies to "stop selling props and start directing scenes." But storytelling isn't just a marketing skill, it's a core design skill. It shapes how products feel in a user's hands, how design decisions land in a boardroom, and how careers take off.

​Presented by IxDF Europe, this online event brings together three experts to explore narrative architecture across the full arc of a designer's practice: in the product, in the meeting room, and in the portfolio.

​Three talks. One throughline. Join us and sharpen the skill that sits underneath everything you do as a designer.


The Lineup:

​(1) Creating Products and Services — Storytelling in Design

​Speaker: Anna Dahlström
About the Talk: To every great story, there’s a bit of magic involved, and so there is for products and services that just work—delivering the right content, answers, interactions, and notifications at just the right time, on the right device, and to the right user.

​Drawing on tried and tested storytelling principles from film and fiction, this talk explores how we can use storytelling to instill that bit of magic in the products and services we create. This is especially crucial in an era where AI is making the once impossible feel natural and deeply personalized. Anna will share why storytelling and AI go hand in hand, and how it can provide practical frameworks for building better, more trustworthy, and ethical experiences that move users into action and result in healthier bottom lines.

​Bio: Anna Dahlström is a strategic UX and storytelling consultant and author of Storytelling in Design (O’Reilly). With 23+ years of experience across startups, global brands, and agencies, she helps organisations and teams break down silos, solve the right problems, and create cohesive, human-centred products and services, as well as apply the power of storytelling to confidently present work, influence stakeholders, and drive action.

​Anna is a seasoned speaker and have given talks and workshops at events including SXSW, UX London, and Web Summit. She’s also the founder of UX Fika and host of The UX Fika Podcast and a mum of two.

​Add her on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/annadahlstrom/

Storytelling in Design: Defining, Designing, and Selling Multidevice Products on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Storytelling-Design-Principles-Designing-Multi-Device/dp/1491959428



(2) Articulating Design Decisions

​Speaker: Tom Greever
About the Talk: Every designer has had to justify designs to non-designers, yet most lack the ability to explain themselves in a way that is compelling and fosters agreement. The ability to effectively articulate design decisions is critical to the success of a project, because the most articulate person often wins. This session provides principles, tactics, and actionable methods for talking about designs with executives, managers, developers, marketers, and other stakeholders who have influence over the project with the goal of winning them over and creating the best user experience.

Bio: Tom Greever has been designing interfaces and leading design teams for over 20 years. His experience as a UX designer and executive design leader has given him a broad perspective on how better communication yields great design. He has led design teams in multiple environments, from small start ups to large enterprises. His popular book, Articulating Design Decisions, has helped thousands of designers improve their skill at getting support for their design work.

​Add him on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tomgreever 

​Workshops: https://tomgreever.com/articulating-design-decisions-workshop/ 

​Articulating Design Decisions on Amazon: https://amzn.to/2E3mFJj



(3) Five UX Principles to Create a Story Driven UX Portfolio

​Speaker: Sarah Doody
About the Talk: In this workshop, you'll learn how to apply UX and Product Strategy to your UX portfolio so you can stand out and get more interviews. Most portfolios don't give UX recruiters and hiring managers what they want. By applying principles from UX research, product strategy, content strategy, content design, and visual design, you can create a portfolio that stands out. 

Bio: Sarah Doody is a UX Researcher & Product Designer with 22 years of experience. She is also the founder and CEO of Career Strategy Lab, a UX job search and career coaching company where she helps UX and product people get hired or promoted with average 5-figure salary increases. She is also the host of the podcast, Career Strategy Podcast that offers weekly tips and case studies about what’s working in the UX job market and hiring right now. Sarah also speaks at conferences worldwide including UXLX, UX London, AIGA, Productized, Front, Industry, and more.

​Add her on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarahdoody/

​Websites: https://www.sarahdoody.com/
https://www.careerstrategylab.com/

​The Product of You: https://www.sarahdoody.com/the-product-of-you/

​About IxDF

​Since 2002, we've helped people build timeless design skills and careers they genuinely love. With over 1,148,840 enrollments and the combined expertise of 238 industry leaders, IxDF has become the benchmark for design education worldwide.

​We're also a community with heart and soul, in 495 cities and 105 countries. In a world that's becoming more artificial, lonely and competitive, we bring the heart back into career transformation and give our members a place to belong.

​Learn more: https://ixdf.org/why-learn-design-with-ixdf