Please give me feedback on design

Nov 26, 2012

Hi all,

Just getting so frustrated looking at all the great examples and not being able to come up with a better idea for my project. I'm always thinking in boxes!

Also, I'd like to use photographic characters to lead the user through the training, but don't like the only one supplied with Storyline.

And last, how can I use my client's colors in a way that pleases them but doesn't dominate the design?

I'm attaching my project here. Please give me your feedback and suggestions. The Storyline file is my first attempt to create an interface and interactivity. The ppt file is some new content I'm working on.

All opinions are appreciated!


NE-1 Getting Started_BACKUP.story

7 Replies
Saenna B Ahman

hi judith, do you just want feedback on the visual design? it seems like a lengthy course and I'm not sure exactly what you'd like us to focus on when reviewing. With 41 slides, there is a lot of content to look at - can you provide some mor guidance on the sort of help you need? Also I am also unclear about the intended navigation. When i preview there is an intro slide then a menu. If I leave the selector on Lesson 1 and click Next from the menu slide I go to a conclusion slide (?).

Mike Taylor

A couple of quick thoughts....

1. You might consider less on-screen text or at least splitting the text from the display of what is happening on screen.  I've had good success putting all the how-to steps into printable job aids that are supplements to the course. Not everyone will want them but some will and everyone will appreciate less text on the screen. 

2. This seems like a great fit for some video capture (screencasts) demonstrating the actions. For example, things such as sorting columns etc. Have you considered something like that in place of static screenshots?

I like the title slide but the gradient background on the rest doesn't seem quite right to me for some reason. Maybe experience with a solid color. This could be less an issue if you use screencasts that fill most of the screen.  The videos lend themselves well to box light type slides if you like that type of effect.

Lastly, it seems in the beginning that you simply list off the menu/toolbar items...I always prefer to present things in the context of what they will need to do. Not all menus & items are equal. 8-)

Good luck with your project!

Mike

Judith Blackbourn

Saenna B Ahman said:

hi judith, do you just want feedback on the visual design? it seems like a lengthy course and I'm not sure exactly what you'd like us to focus on when reviewing. With 41 slides, there is a lot of content to look at - can you provide some mor guidance on the sort of help you need? Also I am also unclear about the intended navigation. When i preview there is an intro slide then a menu. If I leave the selector on Lesson 1 and click Next from the menu slide I go to a conclusion slide (?).


Hi Seanna, sorrry I was so vague.

Really I'm looking for visual design feedback -- I'm not happy with this one, but not sure what to so about it.

About the navigation:

Lesson 1 has only an introduction and a conclusion.

Lesson 2 is my current focus, so you can ignore what comes after that (sorry, with my problems of losing files, I didn't trim this).

I appreciate your willingness to spend any time on this!

Judith

Judith Blackbourn

Thanks for the helpful feedback, Mike. You gave me some great ideas for new directions, Mike.

Yes, too much text is a problem I can't seem to resolve. Most users will be familiar with terminology but will not have used this (or perhaps, any) software before. I like the idea of job aids, but feel all the information should be in the course first.

The colors -- that's where I'm going around in circles. I think text is easier to read in black or navy blue on a white background, but also want to use the client-selected colors. I've been interested in the posts about lightbox effects, so I may try those too.

My biggest fear is that the course will look like a ransom note with a hodge-podge of styles to accommodate the different types of information I want to convey.

Bruce Graham

Hi,

Agree with Mike that you need some examples.

In courses such as this I try to explain the big picture from the start:

"Hello and welcome to blah blah blah. Around 75% of your time is data entry, and 100% of your bonus comes from the correct data input and the upsell opportunities that come from that, yet most people do not know all of the steps. This course will teach you those steps..." (or whatever).

You then tell a descriptive story based around a scenario. You can also use Try modes peppered throughout the course, and TEST mode at the end.

Remember that you can use Video on Quiz > Incorrect > Feedback layers, so you can export the appropriate short video to .mp4, and then run it in the feedback layer if you want.

Hope that gives a few more ideas.

Bruce

Judith Blackbourn

That's great, Bruce! I wanted to use scenarios, but didn't know about the Video on Quiz > Incorrect > Feedback layers. That should solve that situation.

I had a meeting today with the client and finally got them to select a layout and color scheme, so that should get my development moving along. Of course, today I had some other ideas -- but too late. They'll come in handy next time.

Thanks,

Judith

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