One of My Favorite Examples of Story Telling In Design

The last thing I would think of as an example of good story telling is product packaging. But then, why not? Products have to tell a story.

In Whole Foods recently I happened to pick up a bottle of Columbia Gorge Organic Juice. (It was delicious if you are wondering.) I noticed a yellow stripe, I refer to as the yellow brick road, stretching across the front of the bottle around the sides. This made me turn the bottle. I was then lead on a magical journey of discovery, first learning about the nutrition facts and then the story of how this juice came to be.

What made this story telling successful is that it was a discovery: I wanted to turn the bottle and I was dancing along a whimsical path as I learned.

Though a bottle of juice, it illustrates that story telling can and should have an element of discovery and fun. Especially when you want to teach people something.

This story telling example is not perfect but compared to every other juice, it sold me.