Graphic Design for Newbies
Visual design NOT your superpower as an instructional designer? This post is for you.
One of the best workshops I’ve ever taken was a “visual design for educators” session with Keri Beasley. This was in Hong Kong back in 2014 or 2015. Even though we were working in Keynote, the principles apply to design in any platform: Adobe Illustrator, PowerPoint, Storyline, etc.
The reason this was one of the best workshops I’ve ever taken was because I left with concrete skills that I still use to this day. Basically, she introduced us to the 4 principles of graphic design: CRAP (Contrast, Repetition, Alignment, Proximity) and gave us a horribly designed slide deck to improve during the session. We got on-the-spot feedback on our modifications.
To see the CRAP guidelines in action, check out this sample I created in Articulate Storyline. One of the eLearning Heroes Challenges last year was labelled graphics, and I thought it was the perfect fit for showcasing contrast, repetition, alignment, and proximity.
These principles are also covered in the book The Non-Designers Design Book by Robin Williams. If you are a graphic designer newbie, I highly recommend it!
When you are visually designing a prototype, a good rule of thumb is to simplify. Review content on your slides to see if you can remove anything. Stick to the basic branding guidelines and don’t be overly fancy or whimsical. This was a big challenge for me when I started my career as an instructional designer.
Your visual design should highlight only the important takeaways for a learning solution, and look like it is coming from the organization, not an individual. Keep that in mind and you should be just fine!
