Can a comic book change how we work?
Influencing change by ditching slides for a compelling story
VIVEK SAIGAL
Problem
Teams were frustrated with being handed projects too late to make a real difference. We needed everyone involved from the start, and needed something more inspiring than another boring slide deck to make it happen.
Solution
We turned our design team's daily challenges into a comic book, and it brought people together in the way we hoped for.
Then it became a way to recruit new talent. ↓
A design director approached me with some concerns: content designers were brought in too late on projects. They had no time to contribute to the outcome in a meaningful way.
As a visual designer, I could relate. Sometimes I was put on a project with only enough time to polish someone else’s designs.
If only we all started working on something at the same time. Imagine the impact each team member could make, not to mention the benefit to our customers.
The director, a few content designers, and I decided to show our design community a better way to work together.
If we were going to change behavior, we needed something better than just another slide deck; they rarely inspire anyone.
We started throwing around some creative ideas. The director imagined a “choose your own adventure” story that mirrored the daily struggles of the design team. Other people thought visuals would help the narrative. I threw out the idea of a comic book, kind of as a joke.
A day later, everyone loved that idea.
We believed that if readers saw themselves in the characters, they'd relate to them. They'd see the benefits of working together versus alone.
We knew the set-up had to be relatable for every designer, no matter their title or group: “designers try to solve a customer problem.”
We decided to show two approaches to a single task based on our own experiences.
I saw a visual opportunity in drawing the two stories side-by-side. Since they had two different endings, it made sense to draw them in two different styles.
The happy path
The team is working together from the start and it all worked out.
The unhappy path
Everyone is brought in one-by-one and, predictably, things didn’t end well.
The happy path
The happy path is all clean lines and lush full color paint strokes. The camera looks up at the characters as if they’re heroes.
The unhappy path
The unhappy path is rough lines in only two muted colors. The camera looks down on the characters.
In January 2019, all designers and new hires at Intuit got their hands on the comic book and many reached out to me with positive feedback.
Since its release, we've heard more designers say they’re being included at the start of a project.
Comic book back and front covers.
The comic book wasn’t a hobby or side project-–it was something to inspire and influence the entire org to be better together. It’s my contribution towards improving Intuit’s culture. The following quote says it best:
“I interviewed a candidate yesterday who said she looked at the comic and decided she wanted to work here.”
Tina O’Shea
Director of Content Design Systems, Intuit
