I've never been much of a twitter user but I did have my fair share of blogs. If this is about sharing random sketches, random thoughts also deserve a half decent space to live in. This is what this page is about, sharing my design thoghts? Maybe just some half completed thoughts. TBD exactly what it becomes.

I’ve been trying to think what my design vision is. I don’t think this will be a definitive answer, but when asked, what do I love about my job, I wanted to be able to somewhat answer to it.

When I was young, I wasn't great at expressing myself with words. I started drawing and later studied arts. Gradually, words became less of a problem.

I learned about "concepts" and became fascinated by them, finding stories, ideas, images, or metaphors that build the foundation for any design student to learn how to think and justify their reasoning. I gained confidence and wanted to use this new knowledge and these new skills as a tool to make something for society.

As a young designer, I dreamed of working for cultural industries or making books. That was what I was taught, and it felt like it had a significant impact at the time. This idea became less concrete and more abstract… to have an influence on something or someone.

Designing purely out of feeling is great, but creating research and diving deep into a somewhat random topic to help make decisions and achieve an end goal… that’s one of the most satisfying aspects of design for me. Finding the best way to take an idea or starting point, to a receiver.

Assessing the viability and constraints of a project adds a challenge that makes it even more exhilarating. Collaborating with people and having much-needed conversations to challenge conventions and create new ideas is essential.

Having fun while designing is the key to the best results. You can't always do what you like the most, but can I find aspects of a project to make it fun for me? Can that be my personal challenge?

So then I asked some way more intelligent but way less complex thing what words could I use to summarize it. It said: Expression, Research, Communication, Innovation, Adaptation.

I think I agree.

Am I tired of scrollytelling?

I’ve been meaning to write this for a while. I was annoyed about what people like to call “scrollytelling”, or better, the overuse of it. Funny name aside, the first impactful experiences I had with this kind of content were pages like *NYT* stories. They didn’t just present information, they dove deeper into a topic, using layers to unravel the story itself. I was happy. But then, it sort of went sideways. And I mean sideways, all kinds, for everything.

So, I guess the first thing I should do is define for myself what scrollytelling actually is. That way, I can be more decisive about which websites fit into that category, and which ones are good and which ones, well, aren’t.

Google says, “Scrollytelling is a digital storytelling technique that combines scrolling with multimedia elements to create an engaging and immersive reading experience.” Okay, but does that mean anything goes?

There are different techniques: graphic sequences, animated transitions, pan and zoom, moviescroller, show-and-play. That narrows it down a bit, but it still focuses too much on technique rather than the thought or intention behind a website.

Intention. What a word... I should think about it more often because it’s often what makes or breaks a digital experience. What is the intention behind a website? And I don’t just mean if it’s designed to sell a shoe collection. I mean, what sensations is the brand trying to create for the user? What story are they trying to build? If we’re talking about shoes, is it a story of luxury? A story of running around and being an explorer?

But back to scrollytelling. To me, it’s about being clever with its use. It’s about actually doing storytelling in the format of a scroll, or using the scroll to strengthen the story. It allows for a logical buildup of layers and even highlights aspects that matter most.

Scrollytelling done right is meaningful.

Scrollytelling done NOT right, it’s just a performance.