A lot of people tell me that they look at completed courses or interactions for inspiration, so I thought I’d share an example of a circle diagram (Comstar Customer Service Model) I created in Articulate Engage ’13. It looks polished and professional—and it was super easy and quick to build! Let me walk you through the key steps that went into designing this simple interaction.

COM_Circlediagram.png

Color Scheme

I picked bright blue because I wanted something that would really pop. I used the blue as a detail for the frame / background color, as well as for one of the rings in the circle diagram. I went with a darker shade of blue, and black, for the other rings in the diagram. Notice that the character’s shirt (under her jacket) is also light blue, tying her into the color scheme. Also, note that I highlighted key words by bolding them and making them a nice bright blue to match my color scheme.

Fonts

Using fun and original fonts is a great way to add personality to your interactions. I recommend going with a more substantial or decorative font for the heading and title text, and then finding something easier to read for the body text. In this example, I used a chunky font called PoetsenOne for the heading and title, and the Articulate font for the main text.

Concise Text

My original text for the interaction ran a lot longer than what ended up on the screen. But I wanted to avoid scrollbars, so I stripped out unnecessary words and information to end up with one clean, streamlined paragraph.

Consistent Imagery

The default characters that come with Engage ’13 make it really easy to be consistent in your imagery. I used Atsumi, and made her about the same size on each screen. I was also careful to only use torso and head images. (It would have looked inconsistent if I had mixed in headshots and torso shots.) Small details like that can make a big difference when viewed collectively.

DIY Audio

I chose to narrate all of the slides in the interaction. It was really easy, since I recorded my own audio directly in Engage ’13. I simply hooked up my microphone, read the text on the screen, and—voila!—instant audio.

With these tips, it’s super easy to build polished and professional presentations using Articulate Engage ’13. Give it a try, and then share your finished results with the community!

You can always sign up for a fully functional, free trial of Articulate software. And don’t forget to post your questions and comments in the forums! We’re here to help. For more e-learning tips, examples, and downloads, follow us on Twitter.

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