The Stories We Tell

Any UX Designer worth their salt will tell you the same thing: we're storytellers. 

Since I was little, I was the kid at family dinners who would stand up and recreate the different scenes from my favorite movies. I loved being the one who recounted the varied adventures of childhood to anyone who would listen. 

The reality is that we are all storytellers. We all create stories to explain our lives, and everyday we hear the stories that other people are telling themselves, some accurate and some distorted.

As social animals, we are neurologically hard-wired to constantly examine the thoughts and feelings of people around us to evaluate where we fit in the tribe.

But since humanity began telling stories around the fire thousands of years ago, each and every great storyteller, from Homer to Hitchcock, have reached for the same goal: that profound moment when the audience loses their sense of self, and begins to see, and hear, and feel the world, from a different perspective.

It's that moment when you can feel the overpowering sense of dread as Luke Skywalker, as you face the reality that Darth Vader is indeed, your father.

It’s tears of joy and pride streaming down your face as, just when all hope seems lost, the hero refuses to qive in to despair, and she slowly stands to face the challenge, giving hope to the hopeless.

It is also the feeling horror and rage that sweep over you, when you watch videos of fire hoses and dogs being used in Birmingham, Alabama, 1963.

Empathy is a story, and each story is a thread that connects us to something bigger than ourselves.

We all want to tell our stories, and sometimes we need help. It can be difficult to distance ourselves enough to take an objective look at the pieces of the story that could be important. But that's what a good storyteller is all about: its finding ways to bring the audience in and connect with the story that's being told. It's an invitation into a deeper, more intimate understanding of the world and the billions of perspectives that inhabit it.

If this comes across fairly strong for an “About” section, I totally understand. But I’ve decided it’s important that you know what moves me, and that using storytelling to inspire compassion and empathy is a driving force in my life and work.

I just happen to tell those stories through research and design.

-Alex