Visual Storytelling: Design Tactics for Better Engagement

May 12, 2025

Every brand competes for attention in a never-ending scroll. The question isn’t just what you’re saying—it’s how it looks while you’re saying it. Visual storytelling has become one of the most powerful tools in modern marketing—not just for aesthetics, but for conversion. A well-designed visual can stop a scroll, spark emotion, and create a narrative arc that drives action faster than even the wittiest headline.

At Hawke Media, we’ve seen firsthand how shifting from passive design to intentional storytelling can transform campaign outcomes. One standout example is our work with AC Barbeque, the brand co-founded by Cedric the Entertainer and Anthony Anderson. Their products were strong, the founders beloved—but it wasn’t until we activated their cultural narrative visually that the brand truly took off.

1. Build a Visual Hierarchy That Mirrors Your Narrative Arc

Every story needs structure. And every screen—whether it’s a landing page, ad, or email—should be built like a storyboard. At Hawke, we often treat the viewer’s eye as a camera, moving through a visual sequence with intentional pacing.

In Practice:
When redesigning the content strategy for AC Barbeque, we knew their hook wasn’t just the product—it was the people. We let Cedric and Anthony’s personalities shine front and center in visuals: dramatic close-ups of saucy ribs, behind-the-scenes images of the pair laughing on set, and packaging shots staged like premium whiskey bottles. The eye followed the story, and the brand followed the momentum.

Try This:

Use Z-pattern or F-pattern layouts to follow natural scanning behavior.
Prioritize contrast, scale, and motion to guide attention.
Apply consistent, modular design blocks to tell a story across screens—especially on long-form PDPs.

2. Lead with Emotion, Land with Clarity

Great visuals bypass logic and go straight for the gut. A photo of a barbecue feast in progress—grill smoke curling, hands mid-serve, smiles mid-laugh—says more than any bullet-pointed benefit list ever could.

From the Field:
In the AC Barbeque campaign, our content strategy used high-emotion visuals to mirror family, friendship, and soul food culture. This resonated deeply with their target audience and helped elevate their positioning from “just another celeb-backed brand” to a cultural symbol. The result? Distribution in 2,200 Walmart stores and a 25% increase in Instagram followers within weeks (source).

Try This:

Replace posed product shots with in-context imagery: people, places, real-life scenarios.
Use warm, bold tones for emotional cues (reds for passion, earth tones for authenticity).
Avoid overtly polished stock photos—opt for lifestyle imagery that feels lived in.

3. Design for the Scroll, Not the Click

In 2025, static screens are dead weight. Every scroll is an opportunity to deepen the story, every swipe a new plot point.

Best Practice:
We designed AC Barbeque’s landing experience like a digital short film—each scroll unlocked a new chapter: the founders’ heritage, the BBQ culture they were preserving, the product’s premium sourcing. By the time you reached the buy button, the brand felt more like a movement than a condiment.

Try This:

Treat each scroll zone as a stand-alone visual scene.
Use carousels and Reels like a storyboard—create setups, tension, and payoffs.
Introduce motion graphics or video loops sparingly to add depth without distraction.

4. Let Data Be the Story Arc

For B2B or data-heavy brands, visual storytelling doesn’t mean sacrificing clarity for style. It means visualizing truth in a way that humans intuitively understand.

Example:
In another Hawke campaign (see: Briggs Freeman Case Study), we helped a real estate brokerage build a cohesive digital presence using elegant data visualization—turning dry market statistics into compelling infographics that supported agent recruiting and high-value property sales.

Try This:

Use icons and charts with movement cues (e.g., arrows, paths, momentum lines).
Apply metaphorical visuals: a growth chart as a staircase, conversion rate as a rising tide.
Break up dense data with microcopy and white space for scannability.

5. Anchor the Story in Real Cultural Context

One reason AC Barbeque’s campaign resonated? It wasn’t manufactured. The founders’ story, their friendship, their love for barbeque—it was all real. Our job was to honor it in design.

Strategic Layer:
We embedded visuals into broader cultural conversations—from Juneteenth activations to behind-the-scenes content from the TV show Kings of BBQ. This built emotional capital and widened their reach without paid media doing all the heavy lifting.

Try This:

Build your campaigns around cultural calendar moments that matter to your audience.
Design visual content that feels like it belongs in the feed and on the shelf.
Encourage UGC to deepen the narrative and create visual diversity.

6. Create Systems, Not One-Offs

A strong visual identity shouldn’t be a constraint—it should be a runway. The key is consistency that still allows for creativity.

How We Do It:
At Hawke, we develop flexible brand toolkits for every visual storytelling engagement. For AC Barbeque, that meant custom color palettes inspired by smoke and spice, dynamic logo placements that worked in both vertical and horizontal orientations, and a content system that scaled from email banners to Walmart endcaps.

Try This:

Build a visual design system with variable components (modular grids, flexible type scales).
Use campaign-specific visual themes to separate launches while maintaining brand cohesion.
Sync design guidelines with your media mix for seamless omnichannel rollout.

7. Design for Accessibility—Not Just Aesthetics

The best stories are the ones everyone can understand. Yet so many campaigns leave people out simply by ignoring basic design inclusivity.

Hawke’s Approach:
Across all our campaigns—including AC Barbeque—we implement accessibility guidelines at the design stage, not as an afterthought. This includes color contrast testing, legible type hierarchies, and alt text that tells the story, not just describes it.

Try This:

Use tools like WebAIM to test contrast and legibility.
Write alt text that enhances—not just replicates—the visual narrative.
Design for keyboard navigation and screen readers, especially on interactive landing pages.

Final Takeaway: Don’t Just Market—Cinematize

Think of every campaign as a trailer for your brand’s feature-length story. Visual storytelling is your chance to captivate, persuade, and move people—all in a few seconds. And when it’s done right, your visuals don’t just support the narrative. They are the narrative.