233 TIPS Graphics and Visu De al sign 233 TIPS ON GRAPHICS AND VISUAL DESIGN Thirteen Tips on Testing for Quality and Ensuring Instructional Integrity Make sure any content you present is grounded in peer-reviewed research. Anyone can write an eBook, but a quality eBook takes a team of thoughtful, well-versed designers who know why things work instead of relying upon anecdotal evidence and opinion. Mel Edwards, Purdue University When designing materials to be used online, remember that they may be used for years in the future. Thus, if you are going to use graphics from an outside source like a text or website, that copyright might not be an issue now but may be in the future. I recommend trying to create as many in-house graphics as possible. Otherwise, you may have to redesign materials (in part or in whole) in the future. This is extremely important if you’re using a text in an educational setting. You may have permission to use the graphics now, but if you stop using the text or upgrade to a new edition, that might change in the future. Tereza Marks, CBA Your work should always look intentional. If it looks like you made a mistake, in your viewer’s minds you did. And if you made an error in one area, maybe they can assume you made a blunder in another—now your training loses its credibility. It may only be caught subliminally, but it matters. That hesitation a learner experiences will cause them to lose their focus. Lisa Nicholson, Standard Insurance Company Share the draft of a learning design with a small but trusted test audience prior to rollout. The audience can include individuals such as stakeholders, subject matter experts, or senior-level personnel. Review their feedback and apply elements of what is constructive to develop the final product. Charlotte Morris, Pepco Holdings Consider doing at least basic usability testing of your materials to evaluate your use of graphics—even just looking over a user’s shoulder as they use your materials. I once had a user who clicked repeatedly on blue text in a screenshot graphic, thinking it was a link. I changed the color of the text in the graphic to fix that issue. David Perry, Ford Motor Company 54 www.eLearningGuild.com