I am working on a set of Storyline training scenarios that require a diverse set of characters. I am currently using the classic-illustrated characters that come with Articulate 360. However, pilot testing/equity reviews have suggested that it would be better if the characters better represented our community. We are looking for characters with different sizes and shapes. We are also looking for characters that are more gender-neutral. I have already submitted a feature request. Has anyone had luck finding more diverse characters? Or, building them? Thanks!

Hi, all, I sent in a feature request on this a while ago. I'm getting complaints from a client about why we don't have: 1. Gender neutral characters. So a third category, in which we have some people that are in feminine attire that are more masculine looking, people in male attire that are more feminine looking, and some people that are just plain neutral. 2. People of various weights and sizes. 3. People with religious attire such as a hijab or a turban. 4. People with north American or other indigenous appearance - such as men with braids and darker skin. These are serious gaps at this point - I'm hoping Articulate can make this a high priority.

Hi there, TIL Assistant! I really appreciate your feedback on our current character set, and it's great to get insight into the types of characters we are missing. We're continually adding more characters to our ever-expanding Content Library. While we're still working to make our character offerings more diverse and inclusive, be sure to check out all our offerings here. You mentioned you're using the classic-illustrated characters, but I'd encourage you to have a look at the modern-illustrated characters, as well. There are lots more options there! I've passed this along to my colleagues who manage all those assets. Thanks again for reaching out to us!

Just curious why you chose to use the classic vs modern illustrated characters?

Hi Alyssa & Tom, Thanks for the information. We are using the classic characters in part because the modern-illustrated characters were not available when we started this project. We did take a look at the modern-illustrated characters recently, but they still lack the diversity we require. The problem we have is that the illustrated characters are all the same shape/size. We would like to have some characters that are not 'thin' and 'tall', etc. If there is an opportunity to collaborate with the individuals who develop the classic-illustrated characters, please let me know! We would love to contribute our experiences to the expansion of the character sets. Thanks!

Thanks, TIL for the additional insight and we'll keep you posted as we continue to design other new characters.

Character diversity | Articulate

Jerson-Campos
Community Member
5 years ago
Honestly, if you want specific characters, you'll probably have to hire an illustrator to create custom characters for you. Articulate, or anyone else for that matter, really won't be able to create characters that would fit everyone's needs. Take police officer characters. In the US alone, officers from every state where different uniforms and patches. While they may look similar enough to fool someone that isn't in Law Enforcement and you could put a generic officer in most courses, you won't be able to do that for courses in that industry. They'll spot the small details immediately.
RenGomez
Staff
4 years ago
Hi Everyone,

Great news! We released an update for Articulate 360, which included some new photographic and illustrated characters to the Content Library, with a focus on diversity. Take a peek at all the new additions in the release notes here.

And because the Content Library is a web app, no need to install any updates. The new characters are immediately available to all Articulate 360 users!

We’ll keep sharing your feedback with our team as we continue increasing character diversity!
MaryRoseTigu450
Community Member
4 years ago
Glad to see that Articulate is expanding the library to include more diverse characters. Would it be possible to add some more Asian representation and younger professional characters into the library? Also in the spirit of inclusion, it would be nice to see representation of characters of different abilities as well.
JoBattisson-cdb
Community Member
4 years ago
I would like to see some female characters wearing a hijab if that is possible and potentially a Sikh male character as well. I wanted to allow users to select a character that matches themselves but as we have a diverse workforce I am unable to use the current character set which is a shame. Any idea whether this is on the cards?
CynthiaFranzen
Community Member
3 years ago
Hello- is there a consideration for physical disabilities or children being added to the characters?
KellyAuner
Staff
3 years ago
Hi Cynthia,

Thank you for reaching out!

We currently have a feature request logged for Children and teen characters to be added to the Content Library, and for Photographic characters with a physical impairment to be added. I will certainly add your vote to each of these requests.

Including a diverse set of characters in the Content Library is crucial, and we appreciate feedback from our customers on characters you would like to see added or changed. I have linked you to the feature request, and we will be sure to update you with any news should this make it onto our feature roadmap.