infographics, animations and comics in digital …...1 decide how best to use rich visual media like...
TRANSCRIPT
www.ufi.co.uk
Infographics, animations and comics in digital learning Presented by Ufi – with Daniel Whiston
Please test your sound before we start
Key outcomes
• Decide how best to use rich visual media like infographics, animations and comics as part of your digital learning offering
• Write or storyboard illustration-based visual learning assets so designers can produce them
• Make use of resources to help you get visual assets onscreen
My stuff
Daniel Whiston - a Learning Designer who also moonlights as a comics writer.
I have also written hundreds of animations and infographics.
My role in those projects has been like the scriptwriter for a movie.
• If you talked to someone outside of this Webinar about what you do – you might tell them something like ‘I work in digital learning’
• And they might say ‘that sounds really interesting – you must be really creative…’
• They might then ask for an example of something you’ve done. And then, just possibly, you might have to show them…
…something like this. Not very innovative or creative, is it? Certainly not very engaging.
A lot of online learning content is dull, text-heavy and something learners skim through.
This comes down to a failure of aspiration and imagination. We’re too used to dealing with ‘coerced user groups’.
• But whether we like it or not, we have an audience!
• A lot of learners will be presented with digital learning content that they have to use, whether they like it or not.
• So quality often gets de-prioritised – a lack of aspiration.
• But if we DO aspire to create the most engaging learning content we can –what then?
There are a variety of methods, approaches and media types you can use to design engaging visual learning content:
• Infographics.
• Animations.
• Comics.
How and when to use
• Infographics are good for numerical or statistical subjects that can be represented in ‘visual soundbites’.
• Also work with processes (e.g. visual flows and sequences), and visual categories of information such as maps and timelines, plus ‘structured information’ like comparisons or hierarchies.
• Not great with text-heavy information, or information that’s very extensive and can’t be easily ‘chunked’. And they shouldn’t be visually crowded.
How and when to use
• Animations are great for ‘hearts and minds’ messages, and high-level intros to topics.
• They grab peoples’ attention, motivating them to learn more (e.g. engaging intro piece for an e-learning module).
• Or use as standalone element in a microlearning offering (e.g. complex science or engineering topics).
• Shouldn’t be too long – 2 mins max –and shouldn’t cover too much content, as not self-paced learning experience.
How and when to use
• Comics great for scenarios and
subtle characterisation, without cost
of video.
• Appeal to younger learners.
• Can be used to generate empathy.
• Have an infinite special effects
budget.
• Unsuitable for text-heavy or dense
content.
Writing for visuals
• Once you’ve decided to use visuals, it’s vital to spend enough time WRITING them in a script or storyboard.
• Creativity without a plan and a structure = a big mess.
• Classic error to commission a visual asset, write dull/bloated/confusing content and then expect visuals to make all the difference.
• They won’t!
Infographics
• Infographics are great as they chunk up information into nice, visual soundbites.
• They reduce text use and they make data much more digestible – and memorable.
• Begin by chunking up content into distinct pieces.
• This is a really important design approach.
• The same ‘chunking’ approach also applies to animations.
• Giving someone who CAN draw some basic ideas to react against and improve on is immensely helpful.
• Visual designers aren’t always the best at putting together lean visual narratives.
• To do that, you often need a real understanding of the content.
• So don’t hold back when it comes to putting a visual blueprint together.
Infographics require Narrative Design
What’s the high-level story the details are embedded in?
Think of a sympathetic overarching visual metaphor
Break content into chunks
Decide on a flow the learner’s eye can progress through
Edit for overlap and redundancy -streamline
Key points
Great for communicating punchy messages with a lot of heart and emotional impact.
They’re very good at engaging people.
Fit well into larger marketing and communications programmes.
Can make complex topics really engaging.
Animations
• Overlaps with infographics
• Focus on the story – what’s the
visual metaphor?
• Decide on narrative style – audio?
Text?
• Avoid distractions and clutter
• Stay focused and punchy –
YouTube
• Use animation imaginatively –
transitions, surprises, reveals
• An ancient media type.
• Well-established as a teaching medium.
• Surprisingly affordable!
• Provide a multi-layered visual narrative that can convey emotions without being heavy-handed.
• Allow more subtlety and characterisation, especially when it’s a short learning experience.
Comics
Comics are a flexible, powerful medium, with wide appeal to young, diverse audiences.
Designing them requires you to chunk and sequence content in a very streamlined way.
The medium’s advantages are that you can change perspectives and timeframes really smoothly.
You can also re-use assets online and offline – they look great when you print them off, which also improves ROI.
Comics Key Points
Getting started
1: Identify ‘quick wins’ re natural matches with learning content.
• Got some process charts or key statistics? Use an infographic!
• Need to introduce a learning module/explain a short technical subject ? Use an animation!
• Want to immerse learners in a scenario to make them reflect and empathise? Use a comic!
2: Write a script to give to a designer.
3: Consider using simple DIY software tools.
Find a format to express your ideas clearly and directly.
Infographics: sketch them and take a photo. Add supporting text notes in a Word file.
Animations: simple tables work re core requirement to construct a narrative timeline with audio or subtitles mapped against GFX.
Comics: break action down into specific panels; add dialogue over the top.
Scripting
Make your own
For illustrative purposes only: not endorsed by Ufi
For infographics, have a look at the following:
• Canva
• Visme
• Snappa
• Infogram
• Animaker
For animations, powtoon and vyond are both popular tools.
RESOURCES
For illustrative purposes only: not endorsed by Ufi
JamPan (build own team) www.jam-pan.com
You may get better results (higher quality, lower cost) by recruiting directly yourself...
Search for Daniel Whiston on LinkedIn
Conclusion
1 Decide how best to use rich visual media like infographics, animations and comics as part of your digital learning offering.
• Know strengths and weaknesses of different visual options, and match them to your learning content.
2 Write or storyboard illustration-based visual learning assets so that designers can produce them
• Don’t skip this stage!
• Find a simple format that works for you.
• Don’t assume that a designer will make it all work.
3 Make use of some of the resources that are out there to help you get visual assets onscreen
• Specialist designers are affordable and available – aim high and provide them with a solid brief.
www.ufi.co.uk
Thank you for attending the webinar.
Please sign up to our newsletter for more resources and info on funding here: https://www.ufi.co.uk/contact