Learn. Show. Repeat.

Tag: visual design

  • Taking up the Challenge

    At the beginning of this year I wrote a to-do list of activities to develop my digital skills. One of the areas that I wanted to work on was my visual design skills so my list item was to participate in the Daily UI Design Challenge where each day for 100 days (except weekends) you receive an email prompts that gives you the ‘topic’ for the day.

    Well it’s now June and I’ve finally started.

    I’m using PowerPoint to create my designs for a couple of reasons. Firstly, it’s a program I have easy access to. Secondly, it’s a design challenge and I wanted to see what I can produce with what I have.

    Here’s a few of the designs that I’ve created so far:[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”5007″ img_size=”large” add_caption=”yes” alignment=”center”][vc_single_image image=”5008″ img_size=”large” add_caption=”yes” alignment=”center”][vc_single_image image=”5009″ img_size=”large” add_caption=”yes” alignment=”center”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”5010″ img_size=”large” add_caption=”yes” alignment=”center”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”5011″ img_size=”large” add_caption=”yes” alignment=”center”][vc_single_image image=”5012″ img_size=”large” add_caption=”yes” alignment=”center”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Essentially the designs are combinations of shapes and text boxes. I’ve played with their colour, transparency, outline thickness (called weight) and alignment. I’ve added shadows and even used the edit points’ feature in PowerPoint to manipulate regular shapes into something different.

    While I’m hoping to improve my design skills over the 100 days, I’m already finding that in completing each challenge I’m thinking more about how a person might interact with what I’m designing. Is what they need to do obvious? Does it make sense? Would it be easy to use? I think these questions are also applicable to digital learning design and we need to talk to users to find out and refine and improve.

    There are lots of people sharing their designs on Twitter via the hashtag #DailyUI and also on a site called Dribbble (which is a good place for design inspiration). I’m enjoying the chance to be more creative, experiment and play with design so am looking forward to the next Daily UI email. [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][/vc_column][/vc_row]

  • Working with Images in eLearning (part 2)

    In my last post, I covered some terminology associated with images and different image file types. For part 2, I’m going to share 10 tips when using images in Articulate Storyline and for some you’ll need to click on the image and go to the Format tab under Picture Tools.

    Tip #1

    Break the text-on-one-side-and-image-on-the-other habit! Go full screen with your images and overlay the text. There’s lots of way to do this, here’s some ideas that I wrote in another post along with links to even more ideas.

    Tip #2

    When you want to resize an image (larger or smaller), drag it from the corner to keep it in proportion. Dragging from a mid-point can make the image look stretched.

    Tip #3

    Remove parts of the image you don’t need by using the Crop tool which is on the right-hand side of the Format ribbon. Unlike Storyline, you can crop an image to a shape in PowerPoint (it could then be saved and inserted into your Storyline project).

    Tip #4

    If you have a few images on a slide, you create even spacing between them. Select all the images and click on Align. There’s a few options but I generally use Distribute Vertically or Distribute Horizontally. This also works for other objects such as shapes or buttons.

    Tip #5

    You can move images around on your slides using the arrows on the keyboard. If you want to move your image 1 pixel at a time, hold down the Ctrl key while you press the arrow keys. Again, this works for other objects too.

    Tip #6

    If you want to have different images in the same positon across a few slides, start by placing the first image where you want it to be. Then you’ll need to find out its position on the slide, so right-click and select Size and Position. Next, click on the Position tab and take note of the horizontal and vertical position. Go to each of your other images, follow the same steps and when you get to the Position tab, type in the position information from your first image.

    Tip #7

    If you insert a picture but then decide you want to change rather than deleting it and reinserting another, there’s an option on the left-hand side of the Format ribbon called Change Picture. When clicked on you’ll be able to choose another image and it will replace the current one.

    Tip #8

    Some people use Ctrl C (to copy) and Ctrl V (to paste) but I still use the mouse! If you want to maintain the alignment of images when you copy and paste, hold down the Shift key and Control key and then move your mouse to the edge of the image. When you see a + sign and dotted rectangle, left-click and drag your mouse. This also works for other objects on the slide.

    Tip #9

    Sometimes you don’t want your images to sit squarely on the slide and while you can rotate them manually, the Format tab has some built-in options in Rotate. I find the Flip Vertical and Flip Horizontal options useful to create a mirror reverse of the original image and if you click on More Rotation Options and the Size tab, you can set the degree of rotation.

    Tip #10

    Storyline does have some basic image editing options on the left-hand side of the Format ribbon. You can adjust the brightness, contrast and recolour. I’ve also used these options when creating additional image states to make the new states look different to the original.

     

    So, there’s a few tips for working with images in Storyline that will help improve the look of your eLearning modules. If you have any other tips, please share them in the comments area.

    I’ve also created a short video that demonstrates how to do many of the above tips, click on the image below to watch.

    Tips when working with images video