From storyboarding this concept on my sketch pad to determining the 2 truths and a lie, this was a fun challenge to put together. However, a difficult challenge when I do not take photos freely in my personal life. I knew that I needed a concept that either leveraged animations, stock photos or text. Given this, I decided to engage with a more human feel. Let’s break down my sourcing:
Photos:
- Freepik.com: Millions of vectors, photos, and PSDs with both free and premium options.
I searched Freepik specifically for African-American women. There were many great pictures to choose from. I specifically enjoyed the aesthetic of @wayhomestudio. Freepik has a great attribution license where users are able to modify the photos – and that’s exactly what I did.
- Flaticon.com: Search for icon. Attribute the icon as is or customize the icon to make it unique.
This is one of my favorite resources to use to source icons and create them. At the height of COVID, we were able to create posters and communications using this site. Additionally, during my company’s rebrand, we transformed our brand to one that leverages flat icons. Being able to create an icon or leverage icons is something that is vital to our design. I have heavily used this website, if not using them directly using them from PowerPoint.
Music:
- freemusicarchive.org: Creative Commons music
I wanted music that spoke to my background since the essence of “2 Truths and a Lie” is a get to know you game. It was interesting, upbeat and most of all it was fun. It really gave the course a fun and uplifting vibe!
Finally, I used several tools to create my e-learning course:
- Audacity: Everyone’s favorite open-source audio recording and editing tool!
I trimmed my creative commons music with Audacity to create a perfect ambiance. Using Fade and cuts to quickly get a perfect clip.
Editing the backgrounds of my photos to produce exactly what I need for my course. Attribution included. Since I am not making money on this course and it is for personal use/my e-learning portfolio to show my skillset, I am meet the license parameters.
The e-learning software that I built my course in. I am e-learning tool agnostic. I develop in iSpring, Captivate and Articulate. Content is king!
Challenges with this challenge
While a great challenge and one that was relatively easy to put together, it was a challenge to Photoshop the background of curly hair of my stock photo model (yes, part of the attribution license!). I am very aware of the challenges in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion for the industry of design. I’ve edited photos in photoshop with a tighter curl pattern before for African-American men – tight afros, high top fades, low fades, etc. This was my first time editing with a looser curl-pattern. When I’ve edited photos of African-American women, our styles were with straight hair, pony tails, or braids. This is an area that I would like to improve upon as I continue with my design and development. Typically, at my day job I develop with a set of course assets that have been sourced and edited. We work with animated characters and limited human elements. Our Learning & Development team is beginning to weave this into our design and perhaps this will be our challenge moving forward overall.
Yolanda Beckers 