It has been said for so many times that design and user interface is an integral part of an e-learning system. There a thin line between creating e-learning that is effective and creating a course that misses the mark. A lot of designers go to greater heights in order to provide “engaging” modules but doing so much can be detrimental to some extent.
Some companies don’t want too much flashy design for their LMS and this can be a good thing in the right amount. Sometimes, standard PowerPoint slides are the only requirements for their e-learning modules. The reasoning for this is to prevent any distractions taking away from the content given that the LMS will be shown to thousands of employees.
Choosing a simple design doesn’t mean that it’s not going to be effective. You can still use best-practice design principles in the course creation. Below are some simple design tips you can cling on to start your way to better LMS design. As usual, these are merely guidelines. You don’t need to use all to create a great design.
Design Tips
- Guide the User’s Eye. Don’t just put whatever you want on the interface. Let the design guide the user throughout the screen.
- Control the Mess. Too much images is just as bad as too much text. Avoid this and provide ample space for margins while retaining consistency.
- Use Short Columns. Long columns can be tiring to eyes.
- Use Negative Space. Setting healthy margins and sufficient space between text and images can do this.
- Good Typography. Don’t use too much differing typefaces. At most, use one font for titles and another one for the content. Try to stay within the same font family.
- Consistency. Whether it be font, spacing or images, consistency can make or break you design. This should be applied to all modules.
- Importance Dictates Position. Use the hierarchy of texts to show this. More important items need to standout and cannot be hidden. Also, avoid using red font important items this practice is outdated and has a negative connotation already.
- Simple Navigation. Create a navigation that needs to tutorial to use. Couse navigation should be smooth and intuitive.