Hello! I’m Joel.
I’m a Learning Designer, Web Designer & Graphic Designer.
I have decades of experience in various learning design roles. I’m passionate and dedicated to design in every facet of my professional and personal life. I am well known for this and probably pretty annoying about it!
I’m a bit of a software geek and proud of it. As a learning designer, I am highly skilled in Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, Dreamweaver, After Effects and InDesign. In fact, I used to write my own courses and teach Photoshop and Dreamweaver. I know my way around a webpage which has been very useful when transitioning to designing eLearning materials with Adobe Captivate and Articulate Storyline. I am also very comfortable with Microsoft Office (except Excel). I generally end up designing team document templates, redesigning previous learning materials and mentoring other Instructional Designers because of my software and design skills.
I am a firm believer in simple, beautiful design work accompanied by plain English content. Simple and enticing design materials are more engaging and easily digested by the end user. I have found this philosophy to be proven time and again. Websites and training materials should never be a chore to experience for the end user – rather, they should be something that’s looked forward to and used again and again because the they are so enticing and easy to receive a message from. With training materials – the best feedback I have ever received is when a learner arrives for a training session to tell you that they are really excited to be there because other attendees have told them how fantastic the course and materials were. Now that’s great feedback!
In my experience, client stakeholder relationships are the key to being able to deliver any design program successfully. Therefore, I put a lot of effort into creating exceptional stakeholder engagement. Clearly understanding your stakeholders means understanding their requirements and ultimately, the end user audience requirements. Learning professionals often forget that training materials are not for us – they are for the learner. I see this all the time. The learner is the most important person of all and materials should be fit for purpose from the learner’s perspective.
I have worked on the needs analysis, design, development and delivery of a suite of learning projects from conception to production over the years. This includes printed learning materials, blended learning and eLearning/online learning solutions. I value keeping up to date on the latest learning design trends and innovations and implement these lessons into my everyday work.
I genuinely love what I do and I strive to ensure that this is reflected in my work and professional relationships.
“But enough about me, let’s talk about you… what do YOU think of me?” (Bette Midler, Beaches 1988).