As A Graphic Designer, You Are Ahead Of The Game!
Truthfully my entire EdTech business flourished from my passion for graphic design and illustration. I always tell my students and clients that I am first a designer and visual storyteller and then an educator. I have always taught via digital storytelling, be it as an industrial design engineer, or an instructional developer. I have been able to meld my love of graphic and digital design into learning design and so can you. So, how can you level up your graphic design business with eLearning? There are so many ways!
Firstly, Branding
Before I start any project in eLearning or EdTech, I start with the brand. Many times my clients need branding for their eLearning projects. My clients range from the government, universities, and startups to clients reinventing themselves. So it’s up to us, the designers, to really work toward developing or enhancing these eLearning brands. The eLearning aspect of their company may have strict brand guidelines, or they may be creating a new division of the company which will need a new set of branding.
Remember, when you dive into eLearning design, you are going to have an advantage. Many eLearning/Instructional Designers don’t have a graphic design background. They are strong in strategy and creating learning assets, simulations, and course development, but oftentimes they lack the design eye. One of the recurring compliments from my clients is my eye for design and storytelling, so keep that in mind! You are already ahead of the game. When offering a branding package to your eLearning or course development clients you can offer these services, which are most likely services that you already offer. So go after those jobs that are looking for Instructional Designers.
You Can Start Slow And Build Confidence, But For Now, Add These Offerings To Your eLearning Services
- Advertising (banners/ad assets)
- Asset design (icons, elements, gaming, etc.)
- Character design
- Branding package (business cards/logo/letterhead/style guide, etc.)
- Educational assets
- Activities
- Assessments
- Awards
- Bookmarks
- Calendars
- Certificates
- Class schedules
- Coloring books/pages
- Crossword puzzles
- Flashcards
- Journal pages
- Lesson plans
- Posters
- Printables
- Quizzes
- Task cards
- Wordsearch
- Worksheets/work packets
- Yearbook
- Infographic design
- Phonic mats and worksheets
- Presentation/slide design (for video/course lessons)
- Promotional design
- Social media sets
- Template design
- Course
- Newsletter
- Video
- Web
- Web assets
Wow, right? Most likely you are already offering these services to your design clients. Now you can offer eLearning or educational design services in addition to your design boutique.
Want To Learn How You Can Make Money Creating Educational Assets?
There are so many online stores that allow you to become a vendor. For example, Teachers Pay Teachers is an incredible website set up for educators and designers to create educational assets. See it as an Etsy for teachers.
Etsy is also a great revenue source for you to sell educational templates and assets. It’s not only for handcrafts anymore. You can design and develop engaging course cards or presentations specific to educational topics like STEM, Special Education, or the Arts. If you have a niche as a designer, then stay strong within that niche. For me, my strength and focus are in STEM, test prep, and designing for visual learners.
Become An Author Or Designer For These Leading Design Asset Sites!
Here are a few places you can sell your educational products, photos, and assets. If you have a few more that I don’t have listed please tell me!
- 3D Ocean
- 99 Designs
- Adobe Stock
- Creative Market
- Envato Elements
- GraphicRiver
- PhotoDune
- Teachers Pay Teachers
- Theme Forest
- Templates.Net
- Video Hive
Conclusion
The part I love most about being an educator is teaching others how to make money doing what they love. It sounds cliché but it’s so true! EdTech is wonderful, but art is my life. Besides being an educator and technologist, I’m also a jewelry designer and sculptor. I just want all of you designers to find ways to increase your revenue by creating meaningful and memorable designs. As a digital designer, you can offer the world so much more. So don’t hold back and limit yourself to logo design when you can offer so much more, and to a much wider audience globally. You can also expand your reach by becoming a freelancer or agency on sites like Upwork and Fiverr.
Raven’s Tip For Your eLearning Business
When writing high-yield blogs or articles, remember to repurpose your content. You want to get your content in front of every type of learner and audience. We all absorb information differently, so make sure your words reach others via visual, audio, and kinesthetic means. You can do so by following these few steps:
- Share to all of your social media platforms.
- Convert your blog/article into an infographic.
- Convert your blog/article into a mini video/slideshow.
- Create an audio/sound byte version of your blog/article.
- Make sure you include your keywords and SEO for high ranking and searchability. Do so by using the Yoast WordPress plugin, or hire an SEO specialist.
Make your mark meaningful and memorable!
