233 TIPS ON GRAPHICS AND VISUAL DESIGN We encourage our teams, particularly instructional designers, to look at things from different fields or for different purposes other than just training—what we call “tangential design.” Look at magazine layouts, marketing websites, and customer materials to see how they gain attention and promote engagement. Listen to podcasts like StoryCorps and The Moth or watch TED videos, and pay attention to how stories are told. Go to a game development conference to learn about how entertainment game principles might be applied to learning games. Think about how architects approach designing physical spaces and how that might relate to designing virtual learning spaces. Pay attention to user experiences for different apps and what might be leveraged for good learner experiences. Watch an IDEO video about design thinking, and consider how product design relates to learning design. Go to a Maker Faire and see what innovations people have come up with—how they may have kludged something together in ways you’ve never thought of—and use that inspiration for your next learning solution. Think broadly and explore things that might be considered tangential (or even unrelated!) to the design approach and processes you’re currently using. Melissa Carter, GP Strategies The very best inspiration for visual design—including screen design in eLearning and blended learning—is fine art. If you haven’t already studied art history to some extent, you’ll be amazed at the innovation and insightful use of space demonstrated by the masters: from Giotto in th the 13 century, to Raphael and th Caravaggio in the 16 century, to th Manet and Monet in the 19 century. We have so much to learn from the master painters who wrestled with and creatively solved such challenging visual design issues. Grab an Italian Renaissance art book, or Google painters through the Caravaggio’s Christ on the Mount of Olives. Note use of negative space. centuries, and you will be inspired! Stephanie Lattery, Northern Pines Media Look everywhere for design inspiration, not just at trends—other industries, websites, print ads, nature, and even children’s drawings or your own doodles. You can never know when inspiration will strike, so be open to it at all times and use your phone or sketchbook to capture your findings in an inspiration file. What you see today might provide just what you need a month or year from now. Janet Wright, Regence 15 www.eLearningGuild.com