Visual design isn’t as important as the learning … but it certainly helps the journey!
- 20 hours ago
- 2 min read
Flat vector illustrations are a familiar and reliable choice for corporate elearning. I’ve used them plenty. For a recent portfolio piece, though, I gave myself permission to try something different.
I was building a short scenario-based module for a fictional company called Streamline+. It’s for call centre staff, focused on de-escalating difficult conversations. The learner is dropped straight into a tense call with an unhappy customer, and they have to make decisions under pressure.
So, the visuals matter. I wanted something that felt human, calm, and believable, without being distracting.
I decided to experiment with a few different graphic styles, to see which worked best. Alas, I haven't been blessed with the ability to draw, so I turned to AI to give me an illustration boost.
Now, we all know that the better the prompt, the better the outcome.
Given that I don’t have an art degree, my first challenge was working out what styles even exist, and what they’re actually called, so that I could prompt!
Google found me some fabulous articles to get my imagination going and the language to get AI to help bring that imagination to life.
With the prompt ready, I headed to Sora … and quickly found it wasn’t really doing what I needed (that’s a post for another day!). So, I switched back to ChatGPT.
And that is where Colin was born!
He has my Dad’s name and looks suspiciously like my neighbour 😂 (Not that my neighbour looks grumpy - Colin’s just a disgruntled customer in this module.)
In the end I landed on a watercolour style.
It felt softer than flat vector, but still grounded. Expressive enough to show emotion, without tipping into cartoon or cliché. And importantly, it supported the tone of the learning - staying calm, listening, and choosing words carefully - rather than competing with it.
In the attached document, I’ve shared the styles I tested and what I liked (and didn’t like) about each one.
I’d love to know: What are your favourite graphic styles for elearning? I'm sure there are plenty I haven’t tried yet!
Nicola
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