The Bayeux tapestry is an embroidered storyboard of sorts, 230 feet long and 20 inches tall (A) . It depicts the events that lead to the invasion and capture of England by the armies of William, the Conqueror. This artifact was created about nine centuries ago, in early medieval Europe, and it depicts several key events throughout England, where important battles took place.

The idea of sequencing events in a pictorial way in order to capture, document, and communicate an event or idea has been used throughout the World for centuries, from Europe, with its tapestries, tiles, and triptych imagery (B) to China and the use of scenic scrolls that depicted road journeys (C).

In more recent times, we are familiar with the use of storyboards in the movie-making and video industry, and especially in animation. The use of storyboards for concept development in the context of Experience Design has been evolving, as time-based interaction patterns and experiences are being introduced to more products.

Storyboards are a very effective means of communicating a narrative; each tile depicts a key event in the experience process. It is possible to follow the user experience arc as a narrative that flows from initial exposure to the product, to various scenarios of its use. Storyboards are now being merged with journey maps to provide a complementary visual reference to various touchpoints throughout the experience.

Visualizing the experience through storyboards helps designers and stakeholders share a unified understanding of the experience narrative, identify gaps, and simplify processes; it is easy to understand the contribution of each storyboard card to the overall narrative. For example, if a card can be eliminated from the storyboard without disrupting the overall sequence flow, it may mean that the card, and hence the process step it represents, is extraneous.