Don’t use Gratuitous Images in eLearning
We’ve all heard the phrase, a picture is worth a thousand words. Graphics are great training tools and can make the difference between an average course and a great course.
The true test of an graphic: Can the learner look at the image and understand the concept of the training page without reading the text? If your answer is “NO”, then you have yourself a gratuitous image. Yuck!
Graphics come in many different shapes, sizes, layouts, colors, and complexities. They are more than just a simple picture of a person or an office. Graphics can portray steps in a process, pieces of a concept, interaction between people, emotions, and much more.
Just because there is some open space on a page, don’t get lazy and place some meaningless gratuitous image. We always recommend finding a way to create an image that engages the learner. Have fun with it and be creative!
Below are two simple examples:
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As always, Happy eLearning!
The Brothers
I am a bit confused by your two examples. How is the one on the left better whenit is hard to see what it looks like overall on the page layout. I agree with you though that too much clutter on a page distracts and loses your message.
The idea is that many times courses just have a “pretty picture”. Why not take that picture and make it instructional? The concept is, “could you cover up all of the text on the page and the picture could do all of the teaching?”. Thanks for the comment.