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 the people and the project. It’s nearly a necessity when working on a team. It’s also valuable when working alone, as it’s difficult to maintain design consistency without a reference document.
In addition, learning designers often move from one project to another before completion as priorities change. This makes it difficult to remember the design choices you made. If you just want to download the list of visual elements and what to specify, jump to the end of the article.
Advantages of a Visual Style Guide for eLearning
It takes effort to make and document design decisions, but there are many benefits to writing an eLearning visual style guide.
- Forces you to make up-front design decisions.
- Encourages you to consider accessibility during design.
- You can upload it to AI tools for different purposes.
- Provides one visual standard for an entire course, curriculum, or organization
- Saves time when you need to look up colors, font sizes, etc. Learn more about the characteristics of color and how to choose a color palette. Also see How to Choose a Font for eLearning.
- Having documentation improves efficiency.
- Provides the styles for future projects if you want to reuse the design.
- Provides a way to get buy-in from your client.
- Looks professional (clients are usually impressed).
A visual style guide can evolve. If you choose to or need to change a design decision, just update the product and your document.
How to Get Started With a Style Guide
A visual style guide doesn’t need to exist in a vacuum. You may base it on previous work, branding guidelines, or your organization’s website. If you’re starting from scratch and need ideas, check out designer portfolios on sites like Dribble and Behance. Also, see 21 Ways to Get Visual Ideas.
How I Get Started
My technique is to start with a title or cover slide (that’s the first one). I often sketch a few thumbnail ideas first. After much experimentation, I may hit on a few ideas I like. I’ll then begin to implement these ideas in a graphic program. You can use the Adobe Creative Suite, PowerPoint, Figma, Canva, or an authoring tool.
This “play” stage can take awhile. I think about meeting the needs of the audience, the content, and their work environment. “Who are these learners or users and how will they feel about this design?”
I try different color palettes, shapes, and fonts. When I think I’m ready to move forward, I document the palette and the fonts that I chose. I will often use one type of shape throughout and document that also. This will be the start of the visual style guide.
What to Include in a Visual Style Guide (Download Below)
Here are my recommendations for the elements and standards to include in your guide. When possible, include visual examples of the styles to ensure all team members have the same understanding. This guide doesn’t tell you how to make design decisions, just which decisions to make and specify.
Do you have additional recommendations? Please add them below in Comments.
| Visual Element | What to Specify |
|---|---|
| TEMPLATES | Identify all template designs you will use, such as a layout for embedded video or one for scenario interactions. Use text and visuals to explain the layout, showing mock-ups or screen shots. |
| ACCESSIBILITY | Specify the standards and level you will adhere to (example: WCAG AA), and link to the specifications. See Color, Images, Interface, and Typography sections in this guide for more accessibility specs. |
| Alt-tags: identify the standards for informative, decorative, functional, complex, and text-based images. | |
| COLOR PALETTE |
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| Main Colors: Identify two or three main colors. Choose colors that are easy on the eyes. Often a neutral color for a background is best. | |
| Accent Colors: Select one or two accent colors that harmonize and contrast with the main colors. | |
| Patterns: Identify the alternatives to color-coding you will use for those with color vision deficiency, such as patterns in an infographic. (Never rely on color alone to convey information). | |
| Links: Specify the color of hyperlinks and an additional indicator, such as an underline. | |
| IMAGES | Alt-tags: Identify the standards for informative, decorative, functional, complex, and text-based images. |
| Image Style: Identify types of images to use, such as color photos, black and white photos, illustrations, or vector graphics. | |
| Image Sizes: Specify standard sizes of images for each type of screen (example: split screen photos will be 512x768 px ). | |
| Image Borders: Identify whether images will have borders and the border color, line type, and line width. | |
| Graphic Text: Specify font, style, color, and size. Avoid graphic text whenever possible and present an alternative for screen readers. | |
| Icons: Identify when to use icons vs text, icon style (filled or outline; flat or shadowed), whether icons will have text labels. | |
| Infographics: Identify style details of diagrams, tables, and charts. Include how to convey the information for screen readers. | |
| INTERFACE ELEMENTS | UI: Identify the color and style of user interface elements you control, including button style, menu style, and navigation elements. |
| Focus: Specify a consistent focus order for accessibility and a clear "focus indicator" showing current location. | |
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| Menus: Identify size, shape, color, typography of menu options. Describe responsive menu styles. | |
| System Messages: Plan consistent messages for error, success, warning states (colors, icons, messaging tone). | |
| LOGO | Note which style of logo to use on the title screen. (Avoid using logo on every slide as it’s distracting.) |
| SCREEN LAYOUT/SPACING | Line-spacing: Identify how much space to allow between lines of text within a paragraph. |
| Paragraph Spacing: Identify the spacing before, after, and in between paragraphs. | |
| Alignment: Identify left, center, or right text alignment and centering exceptions. | |
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| TYPOGRAPHY | Contrast: Identify the accessibility contrast standard/ratio you will use for foreground text and its background. Link to the contrast checker. |
| Typeface: Identify the overall typeface(s) and styles for the project. | |
Font Specifications: Identify typeface, style, size, color, and justification for each item below. Meet accessibility standards for size and contrast.
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| VISUAL CUES | Specify the color, style, and size of visual cues you will use to direct the eyes or create emphasis. If using multiple versions of the same type, specify when each type will be used.
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Download the booklet, How to Write a Visual Style Guide, to see what to include in yours. You’ll also get The eLearning Coach Newsletter once a month, with articles, resources, and links to freebies.
One of the best resources I found when starting out was The Non-Designers Design Book. It was excellent in understanding layout, information design and many other elements.
I also like that book.
This article is very useful when it comes to designing with purpose!