Should I hire a graphics person or eLearning dev

I was a graphic designer (web/print/photoshop/illustrator/flash/and much more) that came into eLearning. I was easlly able to pick up Captivate and Storyline. Having an understanding of how visual flow works and creating visual messages to the viewer helped me also understand how to develop courses and use the ADDIE system. This was a bit tricky though, as you may well know that it takes some learning and training to actually know how to become a "teacher" and create a flow of content that is understandable to the user.  Now this may not apply to other graphic artist as it takes personal drive and motiviation to become better at something you may not feel comfortable with.

I'm am currently the only person in my company that has any graphic design background and I have (if I do say so myself) made some signifcant improvements to the courses we are developing here. Everyone else here as been strictly just instructional design and/or just previous instructors. So adding me has really diversified our talent pool. Plus with my added experience/familiarity with other technology I have been able to fix "problems" in a matter of minutes rather then hours (or just ignored). 

I'm a strong believer in diversification. Everyone cannot be good at everything. You need to use people for their strenghts and work on their weaknesses. If you a hire a graphic designer, he can lean on you and other team members to learn how to be a better instructional designer/dev. If you hire another elearning dev, who will he and the rest of the team rely on for graphic design help?

Hi, Arthur: I think it depends on how slick you want the course to look. If you want it super slick, perhaps consider bringing in a true graphic designer. As David Anderson said to me this morning, "Pros are pros."

Having said that, many e-learning pros are no slouches when it comes to graphic design skills. It's a big part of what we do.

Hello,

I agree with Daniel. E-learning pro's must have have ability in both curriculum and graphic design to create truly awesome courses on their own. Generally, those applying to specific e-learning jobs should have experience in both.

It also depends on your business needs: 

• Are you an independent elearning developer? Then yes, you need a graphic designer to produce truly great courses. 
• Are you the training department for a larger company? Try to reach out to other departments to scope for graphic design talent.
• What about templates? There are companies out there that provide pre-built elearning templates which would allow you to simply insert / customize. (http://elearningbrothers.com/ offers yearly subscription service starting at about $300 for access to entire template library... I build all my own graphics/templates, but thought this would be great for people who don't have the graphic design element)

How tech savvy is your Dev? Are they willing to expand the scope of their position? All things to consider..

I agree with Jerson.  Although I've worked with some IDs and developers who have good graphics skills, the best visuals I've seen come from people who are educated/trained/experienced in graphic design.  I'm sure there are some people out there who are truly excellent at both - i would say those people are IDs and graphic designers.  But that's not (in my opinion) the same as an ID who "can do" graphics. 

So like Daniel and Jesse said, it depends on your needs.  If you just need basic graphics work, it might make sense to bring on a develop who has some experience there, or even skill up one of your current developrs.  If you really want your courses to look very polished and slick and snazzy, a graphic designer might be the way to go.  Of course, keep in mind it works the other way, too - as Jerson points out, not everyone who is really good at conveying info through images is also good at instructional design or development.  (And for what it's worth, I distinguish between IDs and developers, too - to me those are overlapping but distinct skillsets.)  

Thanks for the excellent feedback and ideas. This is why I love this community, so many helpful people

I hate anything that looks like a stock graphic, (even I have to use them a lot...).

I have an illustrator who reads my mind when I try and explain something to her - and then delivers.

She is worth her weight in gold, adding "pizazz" to any course where I use her skills.

Bruce