Crafting Stories with Shapes and Typography: Sharing my Workflow with Apple Keynote

 

Storytelling is a powerful way to share our identities, perspectives and connect with audiences and evoke emotions. Using Keynote, we can tell stories dynamically, combining shapes, text, and colors to create engaging and memorable content. This approach helps establish a unique creative point of view.

1. Adapting to Different Platforms

First, I adjust the dimensions of Keynote slides to fit various platforms. Keynote can be used to create posters and design animated intros/outtros for current content streams such as TikTok, Instagram Reels, YouTube Shorts, Meta, and more. This ensures our stories look great no matter where we share our creative voices. The attached Keynote file includes formatting for vertical video.

 

2. Reflecting on Identity and Developing a Creative Brand for Your Story

Storytelling starts with understanding your own identity and brand. Reflecting on this helps find the best way to tell your story, whether it's short or long form. Keynote is a tool for exploring and expressing this identity. By creating a "brand guide" (Slide 6) we can formulate consistent messages, tone, readability, and clarity for content we are creating.

 

3. Creating Intros and Outros

I use Keynote to create intros and outros for videos (co-created examples on Slides 14-16). These elements help establish a consistent visual identity and brand across all content, making your stories instantly recognizable.

4. Using Storytelling Techniques

I incorporate storytelling techniques like Pixar's Rules of Storytelling (Slide 4), classic story structures (Slide 3) and short form video structures. These frameworks guide the creation of compelling and well-structured narratives.

 

 

Resources and Examples

The attached Keynote deck includes tools, examples and guides for:

• Planning your story - types of stories (Slide 3), Pixar storytelling structures (Slide 4), short form video story structures (Slide 5)
• Choosing shapes (Slide 11), typography (Slide 9), and brand/video colors (Slide 10)
• Creating animations and transitions (Examples: Slides 14-16)

You’ll also find examples of projects we’ve created, showcasing how these elements come together to tell powerful stories.

Keynote is a versatile tool for storytelling. By creatively using shapes, text, and colors, we can craft engaging narratives that connect with audiences and elevate learner's voices. Reflecting on your identity and using proven storytelling techniques can help you create content that stands out and resonates.