infographics, animations and comics in digital …...1 decide how best to use rich visual media like...
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www.ufi.co.uk
Infographics, animations and comics in digital learning Presented by Ufi – with Daniel Whiston
Please test your sound before we start
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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
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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.
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• 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…
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…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’.
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• 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?
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There are a variety of methods, approaches and media types you can use to design engaging visual learning content:
• Infographics.
• Animations.
• Comics.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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!
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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.
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• Begin by chunking up content into distinct pieces.
• This is a really important design approach.
• The same ‘chunking’ approach also applies to animations.
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• 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.
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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
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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
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• 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
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• 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
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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
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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.
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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
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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.
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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...
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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.
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