This article is re-posted from User Centric’s blog.
 
Coming from a background in media production, one of my most cherished design communication tools is the storyboard. Most commonly associated with laying out a rough sketch of a film, animation, or television show, storyboards shouldn’t be shoe boxed as only applicable to the media industry.

The wide variation storyboard fidelity and tools will give a good sense of the utility and versatility of a storyboard- take a look at these storyboards for gesture user interfaces, shopping for bridal outfits, an animated film, or the thousands of images on Flickr Storyboards. What these all share is that they efficiently create an overall picture of an idea, process, or thing. Ideally, the storyboard’s picture will help your audience understand your vision, and convince them that it is worth exploring further.

A friend recently approached me and told me about their frustrations in the modern board room meeting. They asked, “Why is it that when I enter a board room, and everyone has smart phones or iPads, that there is no easy way to sync them to a TV, display, or to each other?! We’re always messing with cables, servers, and files that quickly get out of sync with one another. These devices would make great collaboration tools, if only the software supported it.”

This seemed like a wonderful opportunity to sketch out some ideas using storyboards. After a few sketches using paper and pencil an idea began to take hold. That idea, a possible solution to my friend’s question and concern, is storyboarded in the following video:

Interaction Patterns for Sharing Information Across Tablets from Todd Diemer on Vimeo.