As an experienced developer, it has become my habit that whenever I encounter an appealing design, I capture it for reference. It could be a billboard by the highway, an advertisement in a newspaper, an event ticket, or literally anything that catches my eye and that I can document.

Over time, my reference library grows significantly. This practice makes it incredibly easy when I receive a new order (project); I immediately browse my reference library and select the one most suitable for that particular project.

Essential Design Principles for Online Teaching & Learning (Part 2)

Creating & Applying Good Design

As I mentioned earlier - drawing inspiration or generating new concepts from a solid reference library is the shortest path in producing a new design. Perhaps combining several references will resolve the conceptual issue for your new project. And maybe, with just one key reference, you can secure a new concept by making a few modifications to avoid plagiarism and copyright issues.

Layout Design – Simple Yet Engaging Design is the Hardest to Achieve!

by Hans Shukor Writer

Ensure your concept aligns with - Client Briefing – Understand the brief thoroughly by creating a detailed checklist of objectives, subject matter, target audience, course duration, current passing mark rate, get to know the Trainer/SME (Subject Matter Expert), and the overall curriculum or training outline.

Target Audience - Age and background play a crucial role. Age: Investigate the average age of the target audience. If the age group exceeds 50, ensure your design is simple and linear. If younger, you can inject appropriate interactive elements.

Background - Training materials for technical or vocational skills require a simple design because the subject matter is inherently heavy, extensive, and in-depth. This is especially true for materials involving long processes or flowcharts with multiple stages.

These elements require a special touch to ensure the flow of understanding is conveyed perfectly and clearly. Meanwhile, knowledge-based training that relies on reading requires a more creative and effective concept due to the stereotypical nature of the material (mostly text).

A variety of layouts is necessary to prevent significant similarity across every slide. Prepare several different design templates that still maintain the same theme. This is extremely useful when the format of the material is the same, but the content varies, allowing it to be presented with different designs.