The most efficient way to achieve consistency in visual design for an eLearning course or presentation is to write a visual style guide. It’s nearly a necessity when working on a team and it’s also valuable when working solo (though a shorter guide may suffice).
In either situation, here are some benefits of writing an eLearning visual style guide. See below.
- Forces you to make up-front design decisions
- Provides one visual standard for an entire course, curriculum or company
- Saves time when you need to look up colors, font sizes, etc.
- Provides a reference for future courses if you want to re-use the design
- Provides a way to get buy-in from your client
Here are my recommendations for the standards to include in your guide. When possible, include visual examples of the styles to ensure everyone understands. 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 |
|---|---|
| SCREEN LAYOUT | Identify the types of templates in the course, describe their organization, show screen shots and include as separate files when appropriate |
| *COLOR PALETTE | Main Colors: identify two or three for the overall interface and background (often related to branding) |
| Accent Colors: select one or two accent colors | |
| Hyperlinks: specify the color of hyperlinks | |
| TYPOGRAPHY | **Titles or large text: specify typeface, style, color, size and alignment |
| Subtitles or second largest text: specify typeface, style, color, size and alignment | |
| Body Text: typeface, style, color and size (will always be left-justified) | |
| Captions; typeface, style, color and size (will typically be left-justified) | |
| Labels: typeface, style, color and size (this may need to vary) | |
| READABILITY | Leading: identify how much space to allow between lines of text within a paragraph |
| Paragraph Spacing: identify how much space to allow before and after paragraphs | |
| VISUALS | Image Style: identify types of images to use, such as color photos, black and white photos, illustrations or clip art |
| Image Sizes: specify standard sizes of images for each type of screen (example: split screen photos will be 512x768) | |
| Image Borders: identify whether images will have borders and the color and line thickness of the border | |
| LOGO | Note which style of logo to use on the title screen (you won't be using it on other screens, right?) |
| HIGHLIGHTS (for emphasis) | Type of highlight: arrows (show example of head and stem), hand-drawn circles, light band of color, etc. If using multiple highlights, specify when each type will be used. |
| Color of each type of highlight | |
| INTERFACE ELEMENTS | Identify the color and style of any user interface elements you control |
| Icons: style and size of icons for navigation or other UI purposes |
Notes that refer to the table:
*When specifying color values, use RGB (example: 122 127 130 for medium gray) or hex format (#7A7F82 for medium gray). In PowerPoint, you can find the RGB value through the color selector.
**All screens do not need titles and titles do not need to be at the top of the screen. That’s why you should specify the size of large text, to allow for flexibility in screen design.
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Hi Mark,
Well, now I know Comments is working 🙂 I think that’s great. Even though it takes more work at the front-end, making it hard to document when you’re stressed, I think it will save you a lot of time during the project. Isn’t that the way it always works? Maybe you can add some more guidelines after you’ve gone through the process. Thanks.
Best,
Connie
I’m hoping to include some of the above concepts into more of the custom development work we have ongoing.
Yes, I think having a few template-driven interactions is great. Then users don’t have to construct a new model over and over again. Thanks for both of your suggestions, Mark.
One trick I picked up when coaching others on the use of a template-driven platform, was to set standards for interaction instructions. We found it helpful to ensure that users of a learning asset knew what to do with any given interaction, along with what they should do once the interaction ended. Granted, this was more for Level 1-2 stuff, but it made a huge difference.
Another trick was photo/image captioning. It forced us to me more selective and to avoid decorative imagery.
Hi Larry,
By style in the UI, I’m referring to the visual characteristics. For example, if you use buttons to navigate, consider: background color of button, text color, whether it will have an icon, a toolbar tip, a drop shadow and size in proportion to the rest of the screen.
In terms of icon style, consider whether the icons will be line drawings, silhouettes, symbols or abstracted versions of what they represent. Will they have details? Will they have text? Those are all the types of visual aspects to consider so the UI will be consistent throughout. I hope this answers your great question.
Best,
Connie
I like the idea of the visual guide. I only have one question. In the Interface Elements section, what is meant by the word “style” in the two last items in What to Specify?
You know, Ananth, that is so true and is such an important point. When design decisions are made, it frees up your mind to concentrate on learning. On the other hand, It is important to let the learning inform the design. No wonder our jobs are difficult!
Very true. Once these decisions are made it is easier to focus fully on the content.
Putting a template right in the authoring tool is another great suggestion! Thanks for your input.
Yes, excellent point, Bryce. Looking at existing material during the research phase is a good addition here. Thanks.
For captivate templates’ where i incorporate visual style guides, I layout slides using the Master Slides exactly how I want things laid out, even labeling the x,y coordinates for quick reference as an IMAGE (in case things get moved around).
Then I simply lock them and turn them “off” at the beginning of template. This way the style guide never gets lost and is always there for quick reference.
It’s also useful to use existing material for style guides, such as a website or company letterhead.
On a website, look at heading fonts (h1, h2, and h3 tags) and pay close attention to the colors they use for the headings.