Why PowerPoint is Perfect for Storyboarding

Storyboarding is a vital part of the design process, whether you’re developing a motion graphic, animation, interactive media, or an eLearning course. It allows designers, graphic artists, and developers to arrange images or illustrations in a sequence, helping them visualize the outcome before the final product is completed.

In eLearning, storyboarding is particularly important, providing a detailed roadmap for course design. It includes everything from course titles and descriptions to how content will be displayed and navigated. By giving a clear, comprehensive view of the course structure, storyboarding ensures all elements are planned out effectively.

PowerPoint (2010 and later versions) includes a Storyboarding feature designed to help developers create mock-ups for websites, apps, or eLearning courses. While not pre-installed, you can add this feature by downloading Visual Studio 2013 or a later version. Once installed, the “Storyboarding” tab will appear in the PowerPoint ribbon, providing access to a variety of helpful tools.

Here are six reasons why PowerPoint is a standout tool for storyboarding:

1. Simple to Use
Even if you aren’t familiar with programming, using the Storyboarding feature in PowerPoint is straightforward. The interface closely resembles regular PowerPoint, so creating a storyboard feels much like putting together a presentation. All you need to do is experiment with the tools, and you’ll quickly understand how to assemble your storyboard.

2. Wide Range of Shapes
The Storyboarding ribbon includes a “Storyboard Shapes” icon, giving you access to an array of customizable shapes that can be used in your mock-ups. These include:

• Various annotations like sticky notes and banners
• Windows interface elements, such as menus and browser windows
• Common controls like buttons, checkboxes, and sliders
• Minimalistic icons like “save,” “phone,” and “calendar”
• Media elements like charts and maps
• Windows app elements like search bars and command prompts

If you need even more shapes, PowerPoint allows you to find additional options online.

3. Easy Customization
Once a shape is added to your storyboard, you can quickly modify it. After selecting the shape, the “Format” tab will appear, offering options to adjust color, text, and size according to your design needs.

4. Hyperlinks for Interactivity
PowerPoint’s “Hyperlink” option allows you to add interactive elements to your storyboard. You can link shapes to websites, files, or other slides, which helps you simulate how an app or course will navigate. For instance, you can add buttons that link to different slides, allowing you to preview what happens when users click on each one.

5. Save and Reuse Your Shapes
Once you’ve created a shape, you can save it for future use. Select the shape and click “Add to My Shapes,” which will store it in your “Storyboard Shapes” library. If you need to make any adjustments to the shape, simply click “Update My Shape,” and the changes will automatically apply.

6. Easy Collaboration with Your Team
For teams using Visual Studio Team Services, PowerPoint’s Storyboarding feature simplifies collaboration. The “Storyboard Links” button allows you to connect your storyboard to specific work items, making it easier to share ideas with your development team. By saving your storyboard to a public cloud service, your team members can access it and provide feedback more efficiently, speeding up the design process.

Final Thoughts

PowerPoint’s Storyboarding tool is an intuitive, powerful way to transform your ideas into clear, visual concepts. Through its range of shapes, easy customization, interactivity, and collaboration features, it simplifies the process of designing and refining digital products. Whether you’re developing an eLearning course, a web app, or any other project, PowerPoint helps bring your ideas to life with ease.