Watch Movies and Television Shows
- Pay attention to logo designs
- Pay attention to color schemes
- Does the logo design and color scheme fit the mood of the movie/TV show?
- Pay attention to the music
- Pay attention to the narrator and his/her voice tone
- Does the music and narrator help create the proper ambiance?
- While watching, think about how you would design a website for the movie/TV show. Focus on how you would capture the mood (i.e. color schemes, music, fonts, narration, etc.)
Visit Movie and Television Show Websites
- Does the website capture the theme of the particular movie/TV show? Why? Why not?
- Pay attention to the interactive elements (i.e. do they capture your interest?)
- Pay attention to the usage of fonts, music, narration, etc.
Play Video Games
- Pay attention to the logo and design schemes
- Pay attention to the usage of animation (cut scenes)
- Pay attention to the tutorials. Are they informative? Fast-paced/Slow-paced? Narrated?
Surf the Web
- Install StumbleUpon and visit sites you didn’t know existed
- Pay attention to the numerous design techniques used
- What catches your eye? What doesn’t? Why?
Read Comic Books
- Pay attention to the drawing style. How does it reveal theme of the characters/story?
- Pay attention to the font usage. How does it reveal the theme of the story?
Conclusion
Our audience is saturated with eye candy and is prone to respond to it. When a McDonald’s commercial advertises the Big Mac, they show the perfect sandwich. The sesame seed bun that perfectly fits the beef. The cheese is golden. The lettuce gently protrudes the bun as the special sauce beckons you to take a bite. You and I know that the sandwich does not look anything like this when you purchase it from your local McDonald’s; however, the commercial appeals to us as eye candy and we can’t help but crave that sandwich.
I could go on and on with the numerous marketing techniques that are out there, but you get the picture. You see it and are drawn to it just like everyone else in our culture. Our learning audience is no different. We must design our eLearning courses in such a way that it creates excitement about whatever we are teaching them. If our courses are appealing to the eye (i.e. eye candy), then it will increase the learner’s desire to know their product/subject and excite them to put their knowledge to use.
Whether you create eLearning courses for a school or for a business, great design that captures your learners’ imaginations will increase their ability to master the material.
Filed under: eLearning Design | Tagged: creative, eLearning, ideas
