Once upon a time…: how to tell compelling stories with ArcGIS StoryMaps

 “We’re all stories in the end. Just make it a good one, eh?” ― Doctor Who: The Big Bang.

Key takeaways

• Storytelling is an essential part of the human experience. As a GIS professional, you can leverage the power of storytelling to help your GIS work reach a wider audience through ArcGIS StoryMaps.
• Using StoryMaps, you can build beautiful and compelling scrolling narratives that let you place your carefully crafted maps alongside explanatory text, images and other multimedia.
• In this blog post, discover examples of engaging stories crafted by fellow GIS users, and explore next steps to learn how to make your own.

We are surrounded by stories. They are essential to the human experience. It isn’t difficult to imagine our ancestors huddling around cave paintings telling stories by firelight. Yet, while those days are behind us, we continue to tell stories. Our movies, our books, our dinner time conversation, all satisfy a desire to connect with each other through narratives.

ArcGIS StoryMaps is another tool in our storytelling toolkit. It offers seamless integration with other ArcGIS products. It is a web-based application that enables you to create interactive and visually engaging narratives by combining maps, multimedia content and text. It helps you share geographic information in the context of storytelling.

I’m a GIS professional. Aren’t my maps enough?

Maps convey useful information. With ArcGIS StoryMaps, you can reach a wider audience. When you build a narrative around your maps, you can resonate with people on a deeper level. Stories allow you to impress upon your audience who you are, what you do and why it’s important for them.

You call tell a story to:

• share knowledge
• inspire
• build connections
• entertain
• preserve culture

• persuade

• make sense of the world

• share personal experiences

How does ArcGIS StoryMaps help me tell stories?

The ArcGIS StoryMaps builder is the interface where you can author, preview and publish a story. It weaves maps, media and text into a cohesive narrative. Immersive layouts control pacing and guide readers through locations and viewpoints. Design tools keep a polished, consistent look without requiring custom web design.

Design elements include paragraphs, headings, quotes, lists, buttons, separators, tables and code blocks. Supported media includes images, video, audio, embeds and 360-degree images. There is even an interactive swipe block that can compare maps and images by dragging a slider between them.

ArcGIS StoryMaps stories are responsive. They automatically adjust their layout and media sizing for phones, tablets and desktops, and published stories can be viewed on smartphones in a browser.

StoryMaps stories are accessible. They are aligned to Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) and support alternative text, keyboard navigation, screen reader compatibility, semantic headings and colour contrast.

This sounds nice, but what does it look like in practice?

You can use ArcGIS StoryMaps to tell all kinds of stories, from the more traditional to the whimsical.

Municipal governments like the City of Windsor are using StoryMaps to frame discussions, communicate complex topics and present important information. With their story “Taking Back the Right of Way”, City of Windsor staff delivered a presentation about rights-of-way in the city in a new and engaging way that uses interactive maps, before-and-after image sliders, animations and more. Check out the story below or read more about it on the Esri Canada blog.

It’s not just governments that are making use of StoryMaps. In Nova Scotia, Fionnuala Braun, in partnership with the Clements Historical Society, built this beautiful StoryMaps story—complete with fonts and a colour scheme that evoke a historical context—to reveal the hidden village of Clementsport. Now obscured by a changing landscape, the village is remembered mostly in photos and audio recordings from its former residents, which Fionnuala set alongside text and a reconstructed map of the area. View the story below, or listen to our podcast episode where she discusses her work.

You can use StoryMaps to show off just about anything—including your favourite marine molluscs! In this fun, colourful story from Esri’s StoryMaps team, see the power of StoryMaps in action as you explore the wild and wonderful world of nudibranchs. These colourful ocean molluscs live in marine environments the world over, but thanks to StoryMaps, you can visit them right from the comfort of your own home.

For more examples, dive into the ArcGIS StoryMaps gallery.

How can I get ArcGIS StoryMaps?

All you need is an ArcGIS account. Access StoryMaps from ArcGIS Online or ArcGIS Enterprise.

Where can I learn more?

Creating Stories with ArcGIS is a two-day instructor-led course from Esri Canada. Learn more about ArcGIS StoryMaps, look at some more stories in the ArcGIS StoryMaps gallery, then sign up for the course and we’ll learn how to build them together.