The Art of Visual Storytelling in Technical Documentation
Lessons from filmmaking that transformed how I approach developer experience and documentation design.
After years of making films and writing documentation, I’ve realized they share more in common than you might expect. Both are about guiding someone through an experience, maintaining their attention, and delivering information at the right pace.
The Director’s Eye
In filmmaking, we obsess over what the audience sees first when they enter a scene. Documentation should work the same way. The first paragraph, the first code example, the first diagram—these set expectations and establish trust.
Pacing and Rhythm
A good film knows when to slow down for an emotional beat and when to speed up for action. Technical documentation benefits from similar pacing:
- Quick wins up front to build confidence
- Deeper dives for those who want them
- Clear section breaks as “scene changes”
Show, Don’t Tell
The filmmaker’s mantra applies perfectly to docs. Instead of explaining what an API does in paragraphs of text, show a working example. Let readers see the code in action before explaining the theory behind it.