Design an E-Learning Cover Slide with This Visual Design Tip #117

Visual Design Tips for Cover Slides #117: Challenge | Recap

Can You Judge an E-Learning Course by Its Background Image?

Need a quick way to set the stage for your course content? Try using a custom background image.

Background images are the largest object on your slide, making them one of the best ways to establish context while creating a sense of location. This works equally well for content and course cover slides.

But not all projects require custom themes or visual treatments. Most e-learning courses are built from existing templates that are modified based on the course content. That’s okay because there’s a background trick for those courses, too!

Creating Custom Backgrounds Images Using Transparency

In a recent post, Tom Kuhlmann shared a visual design tip that’s commonly used in advertising and high-end product photography.

Creating Custom Backgrounds Images Using Faded Images

The effect is achieved by using the same image for the focal point and background graphic. The background version is scaled beyond the slide size and transparency is dialed way up to blend the image into the background.

Here’s a before-and-after view of the effect:

Faded Image Effect for E-Learning

Notice how the faded image fills the background without dominating the slide? This is one of the quickest ways to add richness and depth to your slide backgrounds. And that's what this week's challenge is all about!

Challenge of the Week

This week, your challenge is to create a cover screen for an e-learning course,  real or fictional, using the transparent echo technique.

You can share a static image of a cover slide or add a cover screen to an existing project or challenge entry you created.

Resources and Related Challenges

Last Week’s Challenge

Before you rush off to cover this week’s challenge, take a few minutes to check out the incredible examples shared in last week’s food and beverage challenge:

E-Learning Examples for the Food and Beverage Industry
Food & Beverage E-Learning RECAP #116: Challenge | Recap

 

Wishing you a cover-tastic week, E-Learning Heroes!

New to E-Learning Challenges?

The weekly 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.

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Dianne  Hope

Here's some more submissions, and a link to a blog post with some information on my design process for one of the designs. Knowledge Management: https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/31851006/%23117%20VISUAL%20DESIGN%20TIP/ELHChallenge%20%23117%20Owl%20-%20Storyline%20output/story.html Heavy equipment safety awareness: https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/31851006/%23117%20VISUAL%20DESIGN%20TIP/ELHChallenge%20%23117%20Heavy%20Equipment%20-%20Storyline%20output/story.html How to care for your new puppy: https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/31851006/%23117%20VISUAL%20DESIGN%20TIP/ELHChallenge%20%23117%20Puppy%20-%20Storyline%20output/story.html And the blog post: https://hopedianne.wordpress.com/2016/02/15/creating-custom-backgrounds-using-faded-images/ I'm really enj... Expand