I’ve been studying drawing and comics (or bande dessinée), and as always, I end up relating it to design. Even though they’re different formats, a lot of what works in comics—and even in cinema—can be applied to UX Design. At the end of the day, both fields have a similar goal: guiding someone through an experience, whether it’s reading a story or navigating a digital product. One of the materials that helped me understand narrative structure in a more practical way was the “Ebook Como Escrever Histórias – 2021”, which explains how to build a story that keeps the reader engaged from beginning to end. And in UX, this translates to creating engaging and intuitive flows.

The most obvious connection between UX and comics is storytelling. In design, we use narrative all the time—onboarding, user flows, email campaigns, push notifications—everything needs a well-structured beginning, middle, and end. Without a solid story, a comic is just a collection of images with no cohesion. In UX, without a well-thought-out flow, a product becomes a confusing series of screens that don’t make sense to the user. And since we’re talking about well-structured storytelling, I have to mention Watchmen. Yes, I know it’s an obvious choice, but it’s impossible to ignore. The way Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons embed the Tales of the Black Freighter into the main storyline is a brilliant example of metanarrative and flow. At first, the comic-within-the-comic seems random, but as the story progresses, it mirrors the dilemmas of the main characters, creating a deeper connection that only fully reveals itself at the end. It’s a perfect example of how to guide the reader through a well-crafted experience. Another comic that does this exceptionally well is Daytripper, by Brazilian creators Fábio Moon and Gabriel Bá, which uses standalone chapters to tell a larger story, masterfully connecting the pieces in the end.

In the digital world, we see storytelling applied to UX all the time. Duolingo, for example, uses storytelling to turn language learning into a gamified and engaging experience. It creates challenges, characters, rewards, and a sense of progression that makes users feel like they’re advancing on a journey. Spotify Wrapped is another excellent example: it takes user data and transforms it into a personalized story, making each person’s music experience feel unique. On the other hand, Facebook has taken the opposite path. Despite being a giant in the digital space, the platform has undergone so many disjointed changes that the user experience has lost consistency. The result? Confusing navigation and a product that no longer feels like it has a clear identity. Just like in a poorly written comic, when a digital product’s flow doesn’t make sense, people get lost and give up.