Get creativity with imagery
Every eLearning course designer needs some kind of imagery to feature a visible element and enhance the planning. I always wish to keep it fresh by trying new things. Review your current library of photos and artwork and ditch the dated-looking ones. You know, those with big hair and large monitors. So let’s mention ways you’ll get creative in your eLearning projects. Overlaid by text on the image on a white transparent rectangle is still very readable and can still see the image. This overlay is slightly different in that it’s a dark color with lighter text over it. It works better on a lighter image or the lighter part of a picture. Adding overall transparency to the image itself is a nice look. You could use this for your title slide as shown here or a less busy image would work well on your content slides as well. Reducing the saturation, or amount of color is another option. You can do this in some fashion in most eLearning applications. Adding shapes of color to draw attention to the images. Adjusting the temperature is another dramatic effect on your photos. This can be done in some fashion in most eLearning programs, or you could always adjust it in Photoshop. This doesn’t enhance the learning but provides a different artistic look for the slide.
Some major brands work only with grayscale, and some with full-color. Recolor artwork works on icons too. Using the recolor artwork feature gives me the option to get in here and change that one icon and get a bunch of different looks. Characters are still used to eLearning and can be an effective way to tie a course together. They’re particularly useful for beginners or people who need a little extra coaching along the way. Stock icons can be used in creative ways as buttons too. Anything can be made into a button, so try some new ideas. The video icon is great for playing a movie, and the compass is a great choice for showing a caption that offers directions or resources. So much more fun than just having a plain old button. Use these ideas to inspire new and creative ideas in your courses, and give you more design options. Giving the learner some dynamic visuals can make it a more engaging experience for every learner.