Designing Digitally
02/28/2018
Effective eLearning courses rely on the combination of content and visual design. The learning activity won’t be successful if both components aren’t strong. For example, engaging content won’t be as well-received by the learners if the design is shoddy. On the flip side, a visually stunning design won’t teach your employees anything if the material can’t be comprehended.
The goal is to find design elements that complement your content so that together they form a theme. This is what will keep your learners engaged and interested in what you need them to take away from the exercises.
Once you understand the interdependence of content and visual design on an eLearning course, you’re ready to move ahead and explore some of today’s popular eLearning design styles.
These two words seem like an oxymoron but they really aren’t when it comes to design. In the past couple years, the trend has been flat designs, moving away from big 3-D images. The latest style is to combine the flat with a retro typography. The colors being used are also nostalgic. The blending of old and new is the new in-thing.
Take a minimalist approach to eLearning course design. Your employees don’t want or need a lot of fluff that will distract them from the content you want them to comprehend. Stick with a stripped-down simplicity that showcases the important material rather than detracts from it.
This trend has been popular for a while now, but it doesn’t show signs of slowing down. When you create illustrations rather than use stock images, you have the ability to tailor the art to your specific content. Rather than using a random photo that doesn’t add a whole lot in terms of educational value, use a unique illustration that demonstrates exactly what the content is addressing.
Learners will appreciate working through a course that isn’t a constant series of “click-next” boxes. Make the transition from one slide to the next as natural and fluid as possible. You’ll want as little a disturbance in the continuity of material as possible.
Your employees will tend to skim over a large block of text. Break the information down into smaller, digestible chunks. In addition, adding interactive elements will keep learners on track and interested in the content.
Pantone is considered king in the world of color. It’s wise to pay attention to the tone trends they deem to be “in.” The color of the year for 2017 is “Greenery.” It’ll be seen everywhere so it just makes sense to incorporate it into your eLearning course design style, along with some of the complementary colors.
Choosing a style for the design of your eLearning training course can make or break it. Your content can be comprehensive and right on the mark, but it won’t be effective if the visual aspect is too busy, doesn’t have a good layout, or has choppy transitions. The best eLearning course is one in which the design and content are working in tandem.
Let the Designing Digitally team help design the perfect custom eLearning solution for your organization. Contact us today!
We bring a personal and effective approach to every project we work on.
