'Scrollytelling', Tomás Correa's secret to tell stories in the new digital age

'Scrollytelling', Tomás Correa's secret to tell stories in the new digital age

Tomás Correa, designer and photographer from Gran Canaria. / C7

The Canarian photographer and designer explains how the format that is revolutionizing web page design works

Tomás Correa Guimerá knows how to make a website become a storytelling factory that captivates us to the point that we don't stop rolling our computer mouse or our thumb on our mobile. Its about
'scrollytelling', a new concept of development of digital sites that breaks with the traditional concept of a 'web site'.

The designer and photographer from Gran Canaria he developed his first digital project in 1998. Many bits have rained since then, and after a long career of successful digital and photographic initiatives, he has just launched the web www.arqueologiadelgusto.com, the website that presents the cultural and gastronomic project of creative cuisine and history of food from the indigenous world of Gran Canaria undertaken by the
Cueva Pintada Museum and Archaeological Park and the chef from Tenerife Marcos Tavío.

In his student days, Tomás was interested above all in music and, nevertheless, in the end he opted for photography. It was the 90s and, at that time, the only options for technological training were
"Image and sound". Soon the first superseded the second. The 'boom' of digital photography was beginning and the transition to the world of design was easy.

He complemented the training received on the island with another more advanced
in Berlin and London. But it was the spirit of the German capital that led him to settle there for several years. "I was very hooked on the city and I have spent great periods of my life in it," he confesses.

'Mixture' is born

Between 2003 and 2010, Correa created a design and advertising studio called 'Mixtura'. He specialized in the creation of web projects and advertising campaigns, "until I decided to focus on author photography." He returned to Berlin and there he managed to develop his artistic side. Training is the third leg of his professional concerns. Photography courses, many of them given to special groups, make up an important part of his time, even today. «
I like to feel that photography can be a means of expression for certain communities, like the older ones, a way to develop their potential and get to know oneself internally».

«What really interests me about photography is being able to
tell a story with pictures», says Tomás Correa. «I have always been looking for a format that would help me unite, to connect the photographs». He achieved this, for example, with the publication of
'Letters from the Atlantic'a book in which, by means of photos and letters addressed to his son, Tomás travels through the varied natural landscape of Gran Canaria, and establishes a story about the multiple layers that have been composing its authentic and cosmopolitan culture.

But on the web he could not find a format that really convinced him. «This is where I discovered 'scrollytelling', the web format that I have used for the 'Archaeology of taste' project, from Cueva Pintada. I made my first website in 1998, so one can imagine that I have seen all possible formats. And I have never been satisfied with the way to show the work, until I have found this system”, says the designer.

For the uninitiated in the matter, the 'scrollytelling'
is a combination of the Anglo-Saxon terms 'scroll' and 'storytelling'. The first is the gesture by which we slide across our computer screen, using the mouse, or with the thumb, in the case of mobile phone screens.. "It is the natural movement for all users of social networks today," says Correa. Storytelling, on the other hand, is the most widely used technique to successfully communicate and cause an impact on the audience. It could be described as a captivating narrative, with a final message that leaves a lesson or concept.

"It's actually nothing new," acknowledges the web designer. "What happens is that its use is not yet common." The 'scrollytelling' is the ideal format when you want to tell a story. And this is precisely what the project promoted by Cueva Pintada needed.
“An important advantage is that this system adapts to any resolution or devicewithout having, for example, to turn the mobile around to watch the videos”, explains the digital expert.

Another advantage is that 'scrollytelling' allows various visitor experiences. «It has a very simple and intuitive structure that allows you to customize
the visit through 'layers' of information in which you can go deeper depending on the personal interest of the user.

«On a personal level I am interested in sustainability, education, awareness and privacy»

For the 'Archaeology of Taste' website, "a large volume of information had to be presented on each dish," explains Correa. "There was the gastronomic information, on the one hand, and, on the other, the archaeological research that contextualized them." Thanks to 'scrollytelling', first a plate is presented and, through the 'scroll', new layers of information are discovered, 'just as archaeologists do', he jokes.

"That was not going to be able to be done on a typical website," acknowledges the designer. «I consider these types of initiatives as an author project. I want to take care of all the details. For this reason, the photographs and videos are made with the final design of the web in mind », he tries to explain.

"In these types of projects, you meet with so many interesting and expert people who enrich you as a professional and as a person," says Correa. This is not something new for him, he always tries that the projects in which he collaborates have that component of social and ecological awareness. «On a personal level there are many topics that interest me, such as sustainability, regenerative agriculture, education, urbanism, privacy, awareness... I am looking forward to offering my knowledge and sensitivity to projects that seek to make this a better world”, confesses the photographer. He also takes care that access to the contents of his websites is accessible to people with special needs.

It is impossible not to name 'Rayito'. "This is the name of the old 'van' from which I work, a true traveling studio in the Canary Islands." 'Rayito' is both an office and a way of life. «If I have to get up very early to be able to photograph locations with the best possible light, I leave the house at night and, later, I stay working in it. This does not prevent it from becoming a vehicle to enjoy my free time later », he adds.