Give the same chunk of content to a course developer and a magazine art director. Watch what happens next.
The course designer asks, "How do I fit all this onto the slide?"
The art director asks, "What's the most engaging way to package this for the reader?"
Same content. Two totally different outcomes.
Art directors face the same problems and challenges we face: how do you make someone actually want to engage with a page full of information?
Their answer isn’t decoration. It’s editorial design.
Hero image that sets the mood. Bold headline that grabs you. Pull quotes to break up the wall of text. White space that lets your content breathe. And a clear visual hierarchy that tells learners where to go and what to look at.
The key takeaway here is that none of this is just for show or decoration.
It’s how editors turn a wall of text into something you actually want to read. And (most) of it works for e-learning, too.
Two Designers, Same Content
The fit-it-in mindset starts with the slide: Here’s the content, here’s the box. Now how do I squeeze it all in?
Everything gets the same weight. The end result? Technically done, instantly forgettable.
The editorial designer mindset starts with the reader (learner): What’s the one thing that matters most and how do I make them feel it?
The big idea gets to be big. The hero image sets the tone before you read a word. The type becomes a voice, not just a font. And white space isn’t wasted space. It’s what makes the important stuff stand out.
The info stays the same. The difference is all in the packaging. And for many course designers, the packaging is the biggest challenge. And packaging information like an art director is what this week’s challenge is all about.
🏆 Challenge of the Week
This week, your challenge is to design a magazine-inspired layout for an e-learning course. You can use either Rise or Storyline to create your example.
Rise works better than ever for magazine designs with the custom blocks combined with the new image banner block.
- Short on time this week? Design a single cover slide or hero image for a course. Practice using a strong image, bold typography for the headline, and clear hierarchy for the opening slide. One slide and you’re done.
- Want to go further? Carry your visual style across several slides to build a course starter to show the different sections and layouts so everything flows like an e-learning magazine.
🧰 Resources
Here are a few past challenges for ideas:
-
Quick and Dirty Image Effect for E-Learning Cover Slides #377
- Classic Graphic Design Styles and Image Effects in E-Learning #156
- Using Graphic Dividers to Add Visual Interest to E-Learning Courses #436
✨ Share Your E-Learning Work
You put in the effort, now make sure your work gets seen:
- Blog it: Post your example in the recap hub and tell us how you tackled the challenge. With the new submission format, you can comment directly on each example. Try leaving helpful feedback on at least three projects this week.
- Share it: Please share your examples on LinkedIn and mention both David & Articulate using the #ElearningChallenge tags so we can help promote your work.
- Discuss it: Feel free to cross-post in the forums to give your work even more visibility.
🙌 Last Week’s Challenge:
Last week you hooked your learners. This week, you’re giving them a reason to stay. Check out the creative icebreaker games your fellow challengers shared over the past week:
Engagement Hooks w/ Two Truths and a Lie #553: Challenge | Recap
👋 New to the E-Learning Challenges?
The weekly e-learning challenges are ongoing opportunities to learn, share, and build your e-learning portfolios. You can jump into any or all of the previous challenges anytime you want. I’ll update the recap posts to include your demos.
Learn more about the challenges in this Q&A post and why and how to participate in this helpful article.
