Visuals have the potential to add so much to a learning experience. The human brain devotes more resources to processing visual information than any other sense, for those who are sighted. Yet it is … [Read more...]
6 Alternatives To Bullet Lists-Updated
Bullet lists make a sequence of important points easy to read. When those near-perfect little circles are vertically aligned, readers can quickly process the text. Yet too many bullet lists in an … [Read more...]
How To Write A Visual Style Guide for eLearning
The most efficient way to achieve consistency in the visual design of eLearning and presentation slides is to create a visual style guide. A style guide provides one graphical standard for everyone. … [Read more...]
How Visual Clarity Affects Learning
Research on Processing Fluency
How do you react when you see a very complex diagram or a screen of dense text? Are you motivated to work through it? Or do you groan and turn away if it becomes too difficult? Processing Fluency If … [Read more...]
10 Lesser Known Free Or Inexpensive Stock Photo Sites
With 6 Additional Sites Added From Readers!
Paid stock photo sites have many advantages over the free ones because of their massive collections, efficiency of search filters, light boxes for saving favorites and (hopefully) better pay for … [Read more...]
21 Reasons Why Stock Photo Sites Make Me Cry
Do you get frustrated with the laughable photos you find on many of the large stock photo sites? Typically, the photos are shot for advertising or corporate collateral and not for training, education … [Read more...]
The Visual Design of Checklists
In a previous article, I wrote about the benefits of using checklists for performance support. But how might you design a checklist that fits your needs? Consider that the visual design of a cognitive … [Read more...]
How To Establish A Visual Hierarchy in eLearning
An important dimension of eLearning is communication through the elements on the screen—the graphics, text, video and white space. The arrangement of these elements transmits a secondary message … [Read more...]
Use Visual Cues To Enhance Learning
When you design or create an informative graphic, do you help the viewer quickly understand it? Do you purposefully direct the viewers' eyes to the elements that are most meaningful? If you don't, … [Read more...]
5 Steps To A PowerPoint Redesign
PowerPoint slides are often the currency exchanged between subject matter experts and instructional designers and developers. The slides are almost guaranteed to come with a poor design. You will … [Read more...]
Five Free Image Editors Worth Trying For eLearning
What is an image editor? An application for creating graphics and for manipulating and enhancing photos. The basic functionality of an image editor includes resizing, cropping, lighting adjustments, … [Read more...]
How to Improve Your Visual Design Skills
(for Learning Professionals)
As a learning professional, if you haven't focused on or studied visual design it may seem like a mysterious process. How can you ever improve when you don't understand what it entails? I teach visual … [Read more...]