Visual Storytelling for start-ups with Erol Gurian

17th June 2020

UKZN Extended Learning

– by Nkosingiphile Ntshangase

Visual storytelling can be a powerful tool when narrating your inspiration. Imagery is known to stimulate parts of the brain and trigger certain emotions. Internalising stories and creating connections allows us to remember stories more easily. It is important for start-ups to invest in their visual storytelling as it is easier to create a piece of marketing that their audience will not forget, by laying a foundation for a story to be told that will be remembered. Stories need to be visual as this significantly influences how your product is received, as the viewers’ mind “reads” photos faster than text.

Corporate identity is the essence of your service or product and this is what sets you apart from your competition. The look and feel of your product can then be translated into your visual identity as a business. With the overwhelming amount of information, it is critical for the important information to be disseminated to consumers in the most appealing visual format. To learn more about this UKZN Extended Learning attended a webinar conducted by world-class photographer, Mr. Erol Gurian, from München, Germany. Erol expounded upon the different elements of how to translate corporate identity into images and what makes a good photo composition.

The elements consisted of photo journalism, advertising and artistic photography which fall under the umbrella of Public Relations (PR). Journalistic visual story telling is imagery that is not staged and is as authentic as they come. Platforms such as National Geographic and many news outlets use this form of storytelling. To escape from the harsh reality of journalistic imagery, consumers tend to find advertising images more appealing. These photos often depict a “perfect world” which many would want to attain to or strive for. On the abstract side, there is artistic storytelling which can invoke ambivalence. When expressing an idea using visual language, it would be appropriate to use PR photos which encompass all the above-mentioned elements of corporate identity. These photos are used with press releases or for public relations and help to enhance press coverage in newspapers, magazines and more increasingly on social media. A good photo can tell a story and using the four-pillar rule of photo composition will capture the essence of your vision.

At UKZN Extended Learning we remain aware of the need to advance one’s corporate identity in all aspects along with the times and have taken all our workshops online as well as now offering regular online webinars. Click here to view our exciting line-up! Secondly, we are offering free online courses and are regularly partnering with organisations to increase the offerings available. Click here to view our latest offerings!