One way to determine the tools you need for the visual design of learning products (eLearning, slides, printed materials), is to break the process into phases and choose the best tools for each phase.
Here, I describe a process following research and analysis—after you know your audience, content, and mood or emotion of the message. If you’re experienced, you might document your visual design strategy as part of the analysis or design phase. You may also develop a creative brief similar to those that UX designers and advertising agencies use.
A Visual Design Process
A visual design process (see graphic below) guides the creation of meaningful and aesthetically pleasing visual elements to communicate your message and enhance the user experience. A systematic yet playful process can help you think holistically about the visual approach to an entire project.
Equating the Process with Tools
Many graphic and design tools are uniquely suited to different phases of the process. Below, I explain each phase and list a few tools suitable for the work involved—a free or low-cost tool and a premium one. You can download the complete list of tools below.
1. Ideate—Brainstorm ideas and give them conceptual form.
Step away from your computer during brainstorming and start with paper and pencil. Sketch whatever comes to mind to develop concepts and ideas. Ideas need form. You only need geometric shapes and stick figures to express your thoughts. There is no need to feel inhibited about your artistic skills. You may keep your sketches private.
An easy way to accelerate idea generation is to create thumbnail sketches. Draw six to nine small rectangles in your sketchbook. Orient the shape to the shape of your product–horizontal for eLearning, vertical for print, job aids, and web pages. For more information, see Using Thumbnail Sketches in eLearning Design.
Tools for Ideation
- Low Cost: Sketchbook, pencils, and artist erasers
- Premium: Blackwing pencils for a smooth drawing experience and Pentel brush pens for fun
2. Design—Create solutions that solve a visual problem.
Visual design is problem-solving. A solution emerges from your content, audience, and the mood and tone you want to convey. One approach is to list the adjectives that describe the mood or to make a mood board.
Then, identify colors, layouts, typefaces, and shapes that accurately reflect these adjectives. Put it all together during the design process. Structure these visual elements into pleasing layouts aligned with the goal of your message. Consider creating a style guide that evolves as you refine your design.
A Few Tools for Designing (See the download for more)
- Lower Cost Hardware: Digital drawing tablets
- Premium Hardware: Wacom Intuos Pro Medium Tablet
- Free or Low Cost Software: Canva, Figma, PowerPoint
- Premium: Adobe Illustrator
3. Select Images—Choose meaningful and relevant graphics
There are two main paths for getting the image that conveys your message. You can select graphics from stock media sites. Or create your own through a photo shoot, drawing, combining existing graphics, or generating a graphic using AI tools.
When it comes to searching through stock media sites, practitioners often complain about spending hours researching and never finding the right images. Often the images we do find are mediocre (models smiling at the camera) or over-used metaphors (climbing a ladder for success anyone?). A few of the sites where you may find success are shown here. More on the Ultimate List.
Stock Photo Sites (See the download for more)
- Free or Low-Cost Photos: Unsplash, Pexels, Burst
- Premium: iStock, Adobe Stock
- Free or Low Cost Illustrations: Undraw, Humaaans, Pixabay
- Premium: iStock, Shutterstock
4. Create, Generate, Edit—Create new graphics. Modify and edit selected graphics.
Stock graphics only go so far; you may sometimes need original graphics. If you’re not up for a photo shoot or rendering illustrations, you can find talented designers and 2D and 3D illustrators at Behance and Dribbble.
If you use stock graphics, a graphic editor will help you modify the stock image to meet your needs. See How to Unstock Stock Photos. Suitable software for graphic creation and editing depends on the type of image you’re working with. Photographs are bitmap or raster graphics comprised of pixels on a grid. Standard formats for bitmaps are JPG and PNG. PNG files allow for a transparent background.
Two-dimensional illustrations drawn on the computer are usually vector graphics created using mathematical formulas that define shapes, lines, dots, curves, and colors. Vectors are scalable without becoming blurry. Standard formats are SVG and AI (Adobe Illustrator).
Finally, you may use an AI tool that generates images based on text prompts. Please remember that the world needs artists and designers, so hire people whenever you can.
Tools for Creating and Editing Bitmap/Raster Graphics
- Free or Low Cost: Adobe Express, Affinity Photo
- Premium: Adobe Photoshop
Tools for Creating and Editing Vector Graphics
- Free or Low Cost: Inkscape, Vctr
- Premium: Adobe Illustrator
Tools for AI Image Generation
- Free or Low Cost: Adobe Firefly, Freepik AI Tools
- Premium: Midjourney AI
5. Manage Images—Organize graphics for easy search and access
If you struggle with disorganized graphic files that are hard to find, consider Digital Access Management (DAM) software. DAM tools create a centralized library for your media assets, making it easier to organize, search, and locate them. While it may require an initial investment of time and effort, the long-term time savings, especially for a team of designers, make it a compelling choice.
An alternative if you work solo or don’t need DAM software, is to organize your media into Source Files (originals) and Final Files, the versions you use in learning products. One advantage to this is that your finals should be smaller in file size than your source files. See A Graphic Development Workflow for eLearning for more.
Digital Access Management Software
- Free: Adobe Bridge
- Premium: Canva Teams
Download the Ultimate List of Visual Design Tools for L&D.
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