When you began to plan your course, you probably never thought of one aspect of eLearning design: the effects of white space. In fact, it’s one of the most overlooked elements in the screen layout of a course. It’s actually a very important component of design. Effective eLearning designs are made by appropiate use of white space, and plenty of it. What Exactly is White Space? It’s sometimes called negative or blank space too. That’s space that appears between elements in any composition. Most of us refer to it as a part of the page or screen that remains blank. It’s space that appears between figures, type or columns. In short, white space is area intentionally left untouched. Its inclusion as part of an effective eLearning design can turn a screen into something very interesting or sophisticated, or both. White space reminds us that simple screen designs can be highly effective and that it’s unnecessary to cram a screen with text and graphics to get a message across.

eLearning professionals are often over-confident about a course’s ability to capture an audience’s attention and engage users with its content. By conducting a simple “reflection” test before publishing, like the famous Blink Test or Eyeball Test, can make a great difference to ensuring an effective eLearning course.

We are now in the age of visual information where visual content plays a role in every part of life. As 65 percent of the population are visual learners, graphics are key to engaging students in eLearning courses.

You have most likely mastered the basics of instructional design already. Now it's time to learn an intimately related discipline called information design.

Anyone looking to learn more about comprehensive design can read the book Universal Principles of Design, which features more than 200 descriptions in alphabetical order along with images to aid the explanations. For those interested just in those concepts that are most relevant to eLearning design, this post sums up some of the most important definitions.

Sure, anyone can design an eLearning course. The question is: how can you become a better designer?

You don't consider yourself as an expert on eLearning design. But you do treat design as a crucial aspect of eLearning and understand its importance. The proverbial question, however, still haunts you: how does one design an effective eLearning course?

It’s ok if you’re not a professional designer Not everyone is lucky enough to have a designer on tap for every eLearning project. And truth is, most of us aren’t graphic designers nor have extensive formal training in visual design.