This blog post is part two of a two-part series exploring how maps, media, and graphics come together to deliver a cohesive, visually engaging story that’s clear, effective, and intentionally designed. In part one, we explored how maps can serve as the foundation for the design of your story, helping establish a visual tone through cartographic choices.
Part II: Designing your story
In this post, we’ll look at how to build a cohesive story where maps, graphics, and theme work together. From shaping a visual design language to generating custom themes, we’ll share practical tips for unifying disparate parts of a story into a cohesive narrative.
Cohesive design in stories
Maps often set the visual direction of a geospatial story, shaping many design decisions before writing even begins. But as a story takes shape, other visual elements — like photos, stylized illustrations, and infographic charts — inevitably emerge. Without thoughtful intent, these elements may clash with each other, making the story feel fragmented, visually mismatched, and potentially confusing for readers. To avoid this, a story should harmonize the various pieces through deliberate design choices. In doing so, we can create stories where every visual element feels intentional, connected, and part of a cohesive narrative.
Define your visual language
When assembling a story, it’s important to consider how individual elements relate to one another: Are maps aesthetically aligned with graphics? Does the theme support the narrative tone? All pieces should look like they belong to the same design family, in a sense — like they speak the same visual language. When they do, a story can convey an emotional tone that readers can connect with.
Whether the tone of your story is moody and somber, or joyous and energetic, establishing a visual language reinforces the narrative tone in a visual way.
So how can you define this visual language for your story? The trick is to identify and establish visual similarities between maps, graphics, and theme, and then repeat those similarities with intent. For example, if maps use a distinct purple for polygons, then your theme could use that same purple as an accent color. If you’re using a stylized icon in your maps, then your story could reuse that icon as a separator. And if your maps use a specific font, consider using a similar font in your theme. This repetition begins to convey a consistent tone that unifies individual pieces of a story through a shared design language.
Discover stories with a cohesive visual language in this collection →
Practical tips for story design
As your story takes shape, you’ll quickly recognize the value of a cohesive design system across maps, graphics, and theme. But how can you deliver that cohesion in a story? Here are a few practical design tips to help maintain visual consistency throughout your story.
Think in systems, not just individual components
There are many components that make up your story — text, maps, media, and a wide range of block types. It’s easy to focus on individual pieces and forget that they must all work together to create a cohesive narrative. Rather than treating components as standalone pieces, consider how they fit into a larger visual system. When we recognize components as part of a system, we can identify the qualities, such as color, shape, or style, that unify all pieces under a shared language.
If you were to lay out the individual pieces on a whiteboard, would they look related? Do graphics complement the maps? Do images feel like they belong in the same series? Are colors used consistently throughout? If you need help visualizing this, grab a few screenshots from your story and compile them on an artboard to see if everything looks like it belongs to the same design system. Thinking in systems ensures all pieces work together to deliver a cohesive visual tone.
Try out the generate theme option
You’ve identified the narrative tone your story needs, and now you’re looking to recreate that tone in a custom theme. While you can jump straight into the theme builder and experiment with colors and fonts, it can be helpful to use the generate theme option instead. This StoryMaps AI assistant capability generates a custom theme based on a reference image and/or short text description. If your maps serve as the foundation for your story’s design, upload a screenshot of your map and let the assistant generate a theme for you. The AI assistant ensures that generated colors have adequate contrast to meet web accessibility standards, making it a great starting point for your theme.
Note: Your ArcGIS Online administrator must configure assistants before you can access them. Learn more about the ArcGIS StoryMaps assistant here.
See how custom themes can elevate a story’s visual identity in this collection →
Use transparent PNGs
It’s a simple suggestion, but using transparent PNGs can have a significant impact. If you’re creating custom graphics, or want your images to blend seamlessly into your story, transparent backgrounds can remove distractions to help maintain visual continuity and polish.
If your story’s theme uses a custom background color, then a graphic with a solid white background can feel out of place. This mismatch interrupts the visual flow and can pull attention away from the narrative. Instead, remove the white background and use a transparent PNG to ensure media integrates seamlessly.
Reflect and correct
It’s not always clear if our design choices are interpreted by readers in the way we intended. Seek input from others to see if they interpret the visual tone we intended. If you can’t ask others, ask yourself! These guiding questions can reveal a mismatch in tone and identify gaps in your visual design system:
- What tone or feeling is my story trying to convey?
- Do my maps, graphics, and theme reinforce the intended tone, or compete with it?
- Do all story elements look like they belong to the same design system?
- Are design choices, such as color usage, graphic styles, and typography consistent throughout?
Lastly, it’s worth noting that maps and media can sometimes look different depending on whether you’re viewing your story on a desktop or mobile device. Be sure to preview your story using the Preview feature before publishing, as this can uncover any unexpected changes across screen sizes.
These techniques are intended to give you a solid foundation for building cohesive, well-designed stories. By developing a consistent visual language, thinking in systems, and reinforcing your theme’s narrative tone, you can design a story that delivers a clear, focused message. When all parts of a story speak a shared visual language, the result feels intentional, unified, and easier for readers to follow.
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