Participants:

2-10

11-25

25+

Prep Time:

Time to run:

30 min

Cover story mock-up template

A mock news article describing the successful future of a new idea

Start from this template

Courtesy of our friends at

Use this framework to imagine what the future might be like if your team is so successful that your work is featured in a magazine. This is a great way to promote a shared vision, gain support from decision-makers, and inspire your team.

A cover story mock-up serves as a visual representation or prototype of the cover story that the team aims to create. It typically includes elements such as the title, featured images, headlines, and a summary of the story.

The cover story mock-up template helps you:

Brainstorm what success looks like with your team
Inspire your team to think strategically and long-term
Get broad alignment on mission and goals

How to use the cover story mock-up template

To use Mural’s cover story mock-up template, follow the steps outlined below.

1. Brainstorm ideas for a cover story about your team

Use the template to imagine how the front cover of a magazine featuring your company might describe your success. You can use images, drawings, sticky notes to create a collage or just capture the overall sentiment you want to showcase.

2. Ideate about what company or team success looks like

In the second section, have your team combine their ideas to capture what a success story would look like for your company. You can include a brief description, and use sticky notes to work through six (or more) reasons behind your success.

3. Imagine the ideal customer stories and quotes

Use the third section of the template to outline what would be your ideal customer quotes and stories that express the value of your product or offering.

4. Suggest which team members might be involved in specific areas of success

Finally, brainstorm which team members might have a role to play in particular areas of success or customer outcomes. This can help with roles and responsibilities down the road and can also build empathy across your team through understanding how each role affects overall team success.

Tips for running a cover story mock-up template exercise

To run a successful cover story mock-up workshop, you should:

Encourage your team to think visually and add images, drawings, or even GIFs to express what they feel success would look like for your organization
Use Mural’s private mode to avoid groupthink while adding your thoughts or ideas to the mural (this can also help identify areas of misalignment or gaps in understanding)
Keep your visual document for future reference as your team (and your goals) evolve, so you can see how far you’ve come!

How to create a Cover story mock-up template

Start from blank template

View example template

Mural makes it easy (and fun) to think visually with your team

During every stage of design thinking, the Mural platform makes it easy to think visually and collaborate on a shared image of success for your team.

Outline navigation & instructions

Structure your mural for easy navigation, then add activity instructions for collaborators.

Icons, GIFs, & images

Express complex ideas visually or lead an engaging team-building activity with Noun Project, GIPHY, and Unsplash integrations.

Sticky notes & text

Add ideas, action items, and more as a sticky note or text box — then change the colors and cluster to identify patterns and new solutions.

Drawing

Visualize ideas, prototype, and quickly annotate for a better-than-a-whiteboard experience.

Asynchronous collaboration

Innovate and collaborate effectively together without booking time on calendars.

Flexible permissions

Control access to collaboration features with view-only, edit, and facilitator settings.