233 TIPS ON GRAPHICS AND VISUAL DESIGN When reviewing content and functionality for edits, if possible, take a one- to two-day break after your last development day. I find taking that small amount of time allows me to be more meaningful in my review. Michelle Vilamaa, independent Designing a logo or branding? Do your up-front research! Do your best to minimize or eliminate duplication of existing registered logos. I once worked on a team creating a new logo for our group, then I needed to step away from the project. About six months later, I happened to stumble across a nearly identical design used by a company entirely outside our line of business. We focused on a “curriculum design” message, and the image we were refining was nearly identical to that of a trucking and transportation firm. Terry Follmer, Second Opinion Learning Instructional integrity is key to delivering a consistent and meaningful piece of learning. With that said, focus on visuals and graphics that keep this integrity in focus. This means less is sometimes more if you are just trying to create a visual representation for a definition. Kelsey Rodgers, Irvine Company Typically, an organization has one general IT platform. However, one must check and test across multiple platforms to ensure cross-platform functionality. For example, some workers who work remotely in the field may need to save things and work offline vs. being connected to the Internet. If that can be arranged, it will help those who have limited access. Offshore workers and remote field workers (think oil fracking in remote North Dakota) all need information, but many nice, sharply designed systems will not work on their limited bandwidth! In addition, always test on a Macintosh, as often there are a handful of Mac users while everyone else is on a Windows platform. Also, check for mobile usability, both on iPhone and Android. With the popularity of BYOD (bring your own device) policies, there is wide variance in the phones used. One last step is to test on a system that is not company-supplied! Use a personal computer to view the site. If you have remote workers, it will provide perspective on slower networks and slower (less RAM), older computers running Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows 10. Very few companies are exclusively using one standard platform, so plan accordingly. Diane Wilson There’s a couple of things to remember when testing for quality and integrity that most designers never think of. Always remember who your customers are—or who your customer’s customer is. You have the knowledgeable end users, the afflicted, and the oblivious. The knowledgeable users don’t know what they really need to know, so give them more value. The afflicted have a problem, and you need to try to solve it for them. The oblivious don’t even know they have a problem, so use every resource to ensure your solution is easy and informative, and bring them to a happy conclusion. Ken Weatherford, Technical Writer Training 55 www.eLearningGuild.com