233 TIPS Graphics and Visu De al sign 233 TIPS ON GRAPHICS AND VISUAL DESIGN Introduction Hello, fellow designers! Whether you have years of experience with graphic design or you can’t draw a stick person to save your life, if you work in L&D, chances are good that visual design is an important part of the work you do—whether or not you were formally trained in it. But why all the fuss about design in the first place? Well, strong visuals can do a lot to make the information you’re sharing easier for people to understand and remember. Things like clear user interfaces that make content easier to explore, high-quality images that enhance content, infographics and graphs that simplify complex data, and clean layouts that ensure visuals don’t distract from content are just some examples of the wide range of design choices that can aid us in a vital part of our role: helping people understand and use information. This means design is an important tool to L&D, but it’s not one that many people in our field have formal training in. Thankfully, effective visual design in L&D is less about your fine art skills and more about understanding how information can best be conveyed visually, and how to use those approaches creatively in your own work. These are skills that anyone can build with the right advice—yes, even those of you in the “can’t draw a stick figure” category. That’s what this eBook is all about. We asked the L&D community to share the design tips and resources that helped them the most in their own work, and then we collected the best of their advice. That means this eBook contains design concepts and ideas that don’t just work in theory, but have real, practical application in the work we all do on a regular basis. It offers tips on getting started with design; finding inspiration; creating thoughtful user interfaces; using graphics, text, and layouts effectively; ensuring design consistency; and more. They’re also targeted at the specific design challenges we face in our field, making this a fast way for you to get advice and develop the skills you need. So enjoy this eBook, and remember—we can all be great designers! Sincerely, Bianca Woods Senior Manager of Programming The eLearning Guild 1 wwwwww.eLearningGuild.com.eLearningGuild.com