SlideShare una empresa de Scribd logo
1 de 213
Descargar para leer sin conexión
by Jeff Whitfield
The User Experience
of Comic Books
User Experience of Comic Books
User Experience of Comic Books
User Experience of Comic Books
User Experience of Comic Books
User Experience of Comic Books
User Experience of Comic Books
User Experience of Comic Books
User Experience of Comic Books
User Experience of Comic Books
User Experience of Comic Books
I LOVE COMIC BOOKS!
User Experience of Comic Books
My Collection
80+ small comic boxes
5 shelf units
Over 8900 comics and
trades
$42,000 est. value
Alexander
Whitfield
Inheritor of the Whitfield
comic book collection
The User Experience
of Comic Books
Everything I Learned
About UX I Learned
From Comics
See What I
Mean
How To Use Comics to
Communicate Ideas
!
by Kevin Cheng
Have you ever read a comic book
and thought, “Wow! What
a great user experience!”?
What We’ll Talk
About
What is a comic book?
Some UX lessons
Insight on my design philosophy
Learn more about the comic medium
What is a Comic Book?
Terry Moore
When you put words and
pictures together and allow
them each to do what they
do best, you get something
that is more powerful than
just words and pictures
alone.* 

*paraphrased
Understanding
Comics
by Scott McCloud
User Experience of Comic Books
LESSON:
!
Avoid Unnecessary
Jargon
Comic Book
AJAX
Web 2.0
HTML5
Graceful
Degradation
Progressive
Enhancement
SaaS
Graphic Novel
Real language terminology means better
communication as to what it is
A Contract with
God
by Will Eisner
1978
!
First use of the term
“graphic novel”
Marvel Graphic
Novel
by Jim Starlin
1982
!
Widespread use of the
term “graphic novel”
How do you explain 

the longevity of the
comic book?
The Birth of 

the Superhero
The Golden Age
Early Comics
1930’s
!
Reprints of comic strips
Superman
By Jerry Siegal and Joe
Shuster
!
June 1938
Batman
By Bob Kane
!
May 1939
World War II
Boost in comic book sales
Captain
America
By Joe Simon and
Jack “the King” Kirby
!
March 1941
Ingrained in
Pop Culture
Stan “The Man” Lee
and
Jack “The King” Kirby
The Marvel Age 

of Comics
The Silver Age
Fantastic Four
by Stan “The Man” Lee and
Jack “The King” Kirby
!
November 1961
The Incredible
Hulk
by Stan “The Man” Lee and
Jack “The King” Kirby
!
May 1962
Thor
by Stan “The Man” Lee and
Jack “The King” Kirby
!
August 1962
Spider-Man
by Stan “The Man” Lee and
Steve Ditko
!
August/September 

1962
Iron Man
by Stan “The Man” Lee and
Jack “The King” Kirby
!
March 1963
The X-Men
by Stan “The Man” Lee and
Jack “The King” Kirby
!
September 1963
LESSON:
!
Understand 

the Medium
Evolution of the
Comic Book Cover
Overcrowded
Newsstands
Amazing
Spider-Man #1
By Stan “The Man” Lee
and Steve Ditko
!
March 1963
User Experience of Comic Books
Added character
avatar to corner!
User Experience of Comic Books
User Experience of Comic Books
User Experience of Comic Books
User Experience of Comic Books
User Experience of Comic Books
User Experience of Comic Books
User Experience of Comic Books
User Experience of Comic Books
User Experience of Comic Books
User Experience of Comic Books
User Experience of Comic Books
User Experience of Comic Books
User Experience of Comic Books
User Experience of Comic Books
User Experience of Comic Books
User Experience of Comic Books
User Experience of Comic Books
User Experience of Comic Books
User Experience of Comic Books
User Experience of Comic Books
User Experience of Comic Books
User Experience of Comic Books
User Experience of Comic Books
User Experience of Comic Books
User Experience of Comic Books
User Experience of Comic Books
Nearly 30 years
later, they finally
get it right!
LESSON:
!
Adapt To Change
Evolution of Storytelling
Psychedelic
60’s
Pop Art
Roy Lichtenstein
Andy Warhol
More sophisticated 

audience
Old-School
Rules
Creators limited to 30 years
of drawing within simple
boxes
!
* Ex. Amazing 

Spider-man #60
Jim Steranko
Comic Book Writer/Artist
!
Famous for his work on
“Nick Fury, Agent of
S.H.I.E.L.D.”
in the 1960’s
!
The “Jimi Hendrix 

of Comics”
Strange Tales
#166
March 1968
!
The “Maze” page
User Experience of Comic Books
User Experience of Comic Books
User Experience of Comic Books
User Experience of Comic Books
User Experience of Comic Books
Nick Fury,
Agent of
S.H.I.E.L.D #1
June 1968
“Who is Scorpio?”
!
Opening sequence with
3 silent pages
User Experience of Comic Books
User Experience of Comic Books
User Experience of Comic Books
G.I. Joe #21
March 1984
“Silent Interlude”
User Experience of Comic Books
User Experience of Comic Books
User Experience of Comic Books
User Experience of Comic Books
LESSON:
!
Challenge Perceptions
Batman: The
Dark Knight
Returns
by Frank Miller
with Klaus Janson and Lynn
Varley
!
March 1986
User Experience of Comic Books
User Experience of Comic Books
User Experience of Comic Books
User Experience of Comic Books
User Experience of Comic Books
WHICH ONE WOULD YOU BUY?
Other Books
that challenged people’s perceptions
on what the comic book medium can do.
Watchmen
by Alan Moore and Dave
Gibbons
!
1986—1987
User Experience of Comic Books
The Sandman
by Neil Gaiman
!
1989—1996
User Experience of Comic Books
User Experience of Comic Books
User Experience of Comic Books
LESSON:
!
Keep It Simple
Sin City
by Frank Miller
!
1991—1999
User Experience of Comic Books
User Experience of Comic Books
User Experience of Comic Books
User Experience of Comic Books
User Experience of Comic Books
LESSON:
Content Strategy
The Comic Book
Crossover Event
Crisis on
Infinite Earths
by Marv Wolfman and
George Perez
1985—1986
!
Effort to fix 

continuity issues
Secret Wars
by Jim Shooter, Mike Zeck,
and Bob Layton
1984—1985
!
Effected nearly every
Marvel character
52
DC Comics
2006—2007
!
52 issues, published weekly
for one year
!
Aftermath of 

Infinite Crisis
Marvel has movies planned
through 2028
User Experience of Comic Books
User Experience of Comic Books
User Experience of Comic Books
User Experience of Comic Books
User Experience of Comic Books
User Experience of Comic Books
User Experience of Comic Books
User Experience of Comic Books
User Experience of Comic Books
User Experience of Comic Books
User Experience of Comic Books
User Experience of Comic Books
User Experience of Comic Books
User Experience of Comic Books
User Experience of Comic Books
User Experience of Comic Books
User Experience of Comic Books
User Experience of Comic Books
User Experience of Comic Books
User Experience of Comic Books
LESSON:
Avoid Eye Candy
Failures of the Industry:
The 1990’s
X-Men #1
by Chris Claremont 

and Jim Lee
October 1991
!
Best-selling comic 

book of all time!
!
Sold over 8 million 

copies
User Experience of Comic Books
User Experience of Comic Books
User Experience of Comic Books
WAS IT THAT GOOD 

OF A COMIC?
OR….WAS IT JUST
GOOD MARKETING?
OR….WAS IT JUST
GOOD MARKETING?
Birth of the 

Speculator Market
Superman #75
January 1993
!
The Death of Superman
User Experience of Comic Books
Superman #75
Collector’s Edition
!
Caused marketing frenzy
User Experience of Comic Books
Over-saturated Market
Emphasis on the “next big thing”
!
Too many special covers
!
Too many issue #1’s
User Experience of Comic Books
User Experience of Comic Books
User Experience of Comic Books
User Experience of Comic Books
User Experience of Comic Books
User Experience of Comic Books
User Experience of Comic Books
User Experience of Comic Books
User Experience of Comic Books
User Experience of Comic Books
User Experience of Comic Books
User Experience of Comic Books
User Experience of Comic Books
User Experience of Comic Books
User Experience of Comic Books
None of this focuses on
what’s the most
important part of the
comic book user
experience…
TELLING THE
FRICKIN’ STORY!!
BIGGEST LESSON:
!
Know Your Audience
Eric Stephenson
Publisher, Image Comics
“The biggest problem with comic
books is that even now, even after all
the amazing progress we’ve made as
an industry over the last 20 years,
the vast majority of people have no
idea whatsoever about how much the
comics medium has to offer.”
- Eric Stephenson

2014 ComicsPRO Annual 

Membership Meeting
Question:
!
How do you get people 

to buy comic books?
Answer:
!
By introducing potential 

new readers to the world 

of comic books.
FINAL LESSON:
!
Expand Your Horizons
History
!
Maus
by Art Spiegelman
User Experience of Comic Books
Humor
!
Axe Cop
by Malachai Nicolle and
Ethan Nicolle
User Experience of Comic Books
Fantasy
!
Bone
by Jeff Smith
User Experience of Comic Books
Fantasy
!
The Unwritten
by Mike Carey and Peter
Gross
User Experience of Comic Books
User Experience of Comic Books
User Experience of Comic Books
Drama
!
Strangers in
Paradise
by Terry Moore
User Experience of Comic Books
User Experience of Comic Books
User Experience of Comic Books
User Experience of Comic Books
User Experience of Comic Books
User Experience of Comic Books
User Experience of Comic Books
Crime
!
Thief of Thieves
by Robert Kirkman 

and Nick Spencer
User Experience of Comic Books
User Experience of Comic Books
Horror
!
The Walking
Dead
by Robert Kirkman
User Experience of Comic Books
User Experience of Comic Books
Science Fiction
!
Alex + Ada
by Jonathan Luna and 

Sarah Vaughn
User Experience of Comic Books
User Experience of Comic Books
Summary
Avoid Unnecessary
Jargon
Understand the
Medium
Adapt To Change
Challenge
Perceptions
Keep It Simple
Content Strategy
Avoid Eye Candy
Know Your Audience
Expand Your
Horizons
Go read some comics!
!
Share your experience
with others!
http://thejeffwhitfield.com
@jeffwhitfield
jeff@soulcraftgroup.com

Más contenido relacionado

Último

Math Group 3 Presentation OLOLOLOLILOOLLOLOL
Math Group 3 Presentation OLOLOLOLILOOLLOLOLMath Group 3 Presentation OLOLOLOLILOOLLOLOL
Math Group 3 Presentation OLOLOLOLILOOLLOLOLkenzukiri
 
AMBER GRAIN EMBROIDERY | Growing folklore elements | Barbara Rakovska
AMBER GRAIN EMBROIDERY | Growing folklore elements | Barbara RakovskaAMBER GRAIN EMBROIDERY | Growing folklore elements | Barbara Rakovska
AMBER GRAIN EMBROIDERY | Growing folklore elements | Barbara RakovskaBarusRa
 
Embroidery design from embroidery magazine
Embroidery design from embroidery magazineEmbroidery design from embroidery magazine
Embroidery design from embroidery magazineRivanEleraki
 
Khushi sharma undergraduate portfolio...
Khushi sharma undergraduate portfolio...Khushi sharma undergraduate portfolio...
Khushi sharma undergraduate portfolio...khushisharma298853
 
Introduce Trauma-Informed Design to Your Organization - CSUN ATC 2024
Introduce Trauma-Informed Design to Your Organization - CSUN ATC 2024Introduce Trauma-Informed Design to Your Organization - CSUN ATC 2024
Introduce Trauma-Informed Design to Your Organization - CSUN ATC 2024Ted Drake
 
Design mental models for managing large-scale dbt projects. March 21, 2024 in...
Design mental models for managing large-scale dbt projects. March 21, 2024 in...Design mental models for managing large-scale dbt projects. March 21, 2024 in...
Design mental models for managing large-scale dbt projects. March 21, 2024 in...Ed Orozco
 
How to use Ai for UX UI Design | ChatGPT
How to use Ai for UX UI Design | ChatGPTHow to use Ai for UX UI Design | ChatGPT
How to use Ai for UX UI Design | ChatGPTThink 360 Studio
 
High-Quality Faux Embroidery Services | Cre8iveSkill
High-Quality Faux Embroidery Services | Cre8iveSkillHigh-Quality Faux Embroidery Services | Cre8iveSkill
High-Quality Faux Embroidery Services | Cre8iveSkillCre8iveskill
 
Create Funeral Invites Online @ feedvu.com
Create Funeral Invites Online @ feedvu.comCreate Funeral Invites Online @ feedvu.com
Create Funeral Invites Online @ feedvu.comjakyjhon00
 
Designing for privacy: 3 essential UX habits for product teams
Designing for privacy: 3 essential UX habits for product teamsDesigning for privacy: 3 essential UX habits for product teams
Designing for privacy: 3 essential UX habits for product teamsBlock Party
 
WCM Branding Agency | 210519 - Portfolio Review (F&B) -s.pptx
WCM Branding Agency | 210519 - Portfolio Review (F&B) -s.pptxWCM Branding Agency | 210519 - Portfolio Review (F&B) -s.pptx
WCM Branding Agency | 210519 - Portfolio Review (F&B) -s.pptxHasan S
 
LRFD Bridge Design Specifications-AASHTO (2014).pdf
LRFD Bridge Design Specifications-AASHTO (2014).pdfLRFD Bridge Design Specifications-AASHTO (2014).pdf
LRFD Bridge Design Specifications-AASHTO (2014).pdfHctorFranciscoSnchez1
 
UI UX Process for SaaS Product Design Success
UI UX Process for SaaS Product Design SuccessUI UX Process for SaaS Product Design Success
UI UX Process for SaaS Product Design SuccessThink 360 Studio
 
UX Conference on UX Research Trends in 2024
UX Conference on UX Research Trends in 2024UX Conference on UX Research Trends in 2024
UX Conference on UX Research Trends in 2024mikailaoh
 
Construction Documents Checklist before Construction
Construction Documents Checklist before ConstructionConstruction Documents Checklist before Construction
Construction Documents Checklist before ConstructionResDraft
 
The future of UX design support tools - talk Paris March 2024
The future of UX design support tools - talk Paris March 2024The future of UX design support tools - talk Paris March 2024
The future of UX design support tools - talk Paris March 2024Alan Dix
 
Unlocking Conversion_ The Art of Turning Visitors into Loyal Customers.pdf
Unlocking Conversion_ The Art of Turning Visitors into Loyal Customers.pdfUnlocking Conversion_ The Art of Turning Visitors into Loyal Customers.pdf
Unlocking Conversion_ The Art of Turning Visitors into Loyal Customers.pdfIBM
 
Models of Disability - an overview by Marno Retief & Rantoa Letšosa
Models of Disability - an overview by Marno Retief & Rantoa LetšosaModels of Disability - an overview by Marno Retief & Rantoa Letšosa
Models of Disability - an overview by Marno Retief & Rantoa Letšosaannemarleenolthof1
 

Último (18)

Math Group 3 Presentation OLOLOLOLILOOLLOLOL
Math Group 3 Presentation OLOLOLOLILOOLLOLOLMath Group 3 Presentation OLOLOLOLILOOLLOLOL
Math Group 3 Presentation OLOLOLOLILOOLLOLOL
 
AMBER GRAIN EMBROIDERY | Growing folklore elements | Barbara Rakovska
AMBER GRAIN EMBROIDERY | Growing folklore elements | Barbara RakovskaAMBER GRAIN EMBROIDERY | Growing folklore elements | Barbara Rakovska
AMBER GRAIN EMBROIDERY | Growing folklore elements | Barbara Rakovska
 
Embroidery design from embroidery magazine
Embroidery design from embroidery magazineEmbroidery design from embroidery magazine
Embroidery design from embroidery magazine
 
Khushi sharma undergraduate portfolio...
Khushi sharma undergraduate portfolio...Khushi sharma undergraduate portfolio...
Khushi sharma undergraduate portfolio...
 
Introduce Trauma-Informed Design to Your Organization - CSUN ATC 2024
Introduce Trauma-Informed Design to Your Organization - CSUN ATC 2024Introduce Trauma-Informed Design to Your Organization - CSUN ATC 2024
Introduce Trauma-Informed Design to Your Organization - CSUN ATC 2024
 
Design mental models for managing large-scale dbt projects. March 21, 2024 in...
Design mental models for managing large-scale dbt projects. March 21, 2024 in...Design mental models for managing large-scale dbt projects. March 21, 2024 in...
Design mental models for managing large-scale dbt projects. March 21, 2024 in...
 
How to use Ai for UX UI Design | ChatGPT
How to use Ai for UX UI Design | ChatGPTHow to use Ai for UX UI Design | ChatGPT
How to use Ai for UX UI Design | ChatGPT
 
High-Quality Faux Embroidery Services | Cre8iveSkill
High-Quality Faux Embroidery Services | Cre8iveSkillHigh-Quality Faux Embroidery Services | Cre8iveSkill
High-Quality Faux Embroidery Services | Cre8iveSkill
 
Create Funeral Invites Online @ feedvu.com
Create Funeral Invites Online @ feedvu.comCreate Funeral Invites Online @ feedvu.com
Create Funeral Invites Online @ feedvu.com
 
Designing for privacy: 3 essential UX habits for product teams
Designing for privacy: 3 essential UX habits for product teamsDesigning for privacy: 3 essential UX habits for product teams
Designing for privacy: 3 essential UX habits for product teams
 
WCM Branding Agency | 210519 - Portfolio Review (F&B) -s.pptx
WCM Branding Agency | 210519 - Portfolio Review (F&B) -s.pptxWCM Branding Agency | 210519 - Portfolio Review (F&B) -s.pptx
WCM Branding Agency | 210519 - Portfolio Review (F&B) -s.pptx
 
LRFD Bridge Design Specifications-AASHTO (2014).pdf
LRFD Bridge Design Specifications-AASHTO (2014).pdfLRFD Bridge Design Specifications-AASHTO (2014).pdf
LRFD Bridge Design Specifications-AASHTO (2014).pdf
 
UI UX Process for SaaS Product Design Success
UI UX Process for SaaS Product Design SuccessUI UX Process for SaaS Product Design Success
UI UX Process for SaaS Product Design Success
 
UX Conference on UX Research Trends in 2024
UX Conference on UX Research Trends in 2024UX Conference on UX Research Trends in 2024
UX Conference on UX Research Trends in 2024
 
Construction Documents Checklist before Construction
Construction Documents Checklist before ConstructionConstruction Documents Checklist before Construction
Construction Documents Checklist before Construction
 
The future of UX design support tools - talk Paris March 2024
The future of UX design support tools - talk Paris March 2024The future of UX design support tools - talk Paris March 2024
The future of UX design support tools - talk Paris March 2024
 
Unlocking Conversion_ The Art of Turning Visitors into Loyal Customers.pdf
Unlocking Conversion_ The Art of Turning Visitors into Loyal Customers.pdfUnlocking Conversion_ The Art of Turning Visitors into Loyal Customers.pdf
Unlocking Conversion_ The Art of Turning Visitors into Loyal Customers.pdf
 
Models of Disability - an overview by Marno Retief & Rantoa Letšosa
Models of Disability - an overview by Marno Retief & Rantoa LetšosaModels of Disability - an overview by Marno Retief & Rantoa Letšosa
Models of Disability - an overview by Marno Retief & Rantoa Letšosa
 

User Experience of Comic Books