Are you looking for better ways to present data, charts, or even quizzes in your e-learning courses? Or maybe you’re trying to give a custom course a look and feel that doesn’t scream “corporate training.”
If so, USA Today’s Snapshots are a great place to look for inspiration.
You’ve probably seen them before. Those small, highly visual graphics tucked into the corner of a newspaper page. They focus on a single statistic or trend, use a clear visual metaphor, and make the point in seconds.
That simplicity is exactly why they work so well.
Why Snapshots Matter for E-Learning
Snapshots are short, highly visual infographics that distill a single statistic or trend into an instantly understandable graphic.
They use playful visual metaphors, like pencils for education or coffee cups for caffeine habits, to reinforce the topic without requiring extra explanation.
For e-learning designers, that approach is really helpful. When you focus on a single idea and present it visually, even dry or policy-driven content becomes more engaging and easier to remember.
Company-Focused vs. Learner-Focused
Take compliance training as an example.
A typical company-focused slide explains what the organization monitors. It’s accurate, but it’s framed around the company's policy, not the learner.
Now compare that to a snapshot-inspired version that asks, How am I most likely to get fired?
The information hasn’t changed, but the perspective has.
The question taps into what the learner actually cares about. The visual looks like a real-world poll. The learner is invited to compare their own behavior to the data.
That shift turns passive information into a moment of reflection.
What I really like is how they frame information in terms of what matters to the reader. And that’s what this first challenge of 2026 is all about!
🏆 Challenge of the Week
This week,your challenge is to create an interaction inspired by a USA Today Snapshot.
You can start by searching for "Snapshot examples" on Google for examples.
🙌 Share Your E-Learning Work
You put in the effort, now make sure your work gets seen:
- Personal blog: If you have a blog, please write about your example from this week’s challenge and share the link with your submission.
- Social media: Please share your examples on LinkedIn and mention both David & Articulate using the #ElearningChallenge tags so we can help promote your work.
- Support your peers: With the new submission format, you can comment directly on each example. Try leaving helpful feedback on at least three projects this week.
- Community forums: Feel free to cross-post in the forums to give your work even more visibility.
🙌 Last Week’s Challenge:
Before you show us your e-learning snapshots, check out the colorful examples your fellow challengers shared in the Pantone Color of the Year challenge:
Using Pantone's 2026 Color of the Year #535: 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.
