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Video 4.1
Source: eCampus Ontario
Length: 1:26
Digital creation skills have become increasingly important in both post-secondary and workplace contexts. As a post-secondary learner, you will need to complete a variety of learning tasks and assignments in your courses. Many of these tasks and assignments will require you to create digital products that demonstrate and communicate your learning. Developing digital creation skills as a post-secondary learner will not only support your coursework but will also transfer to many workplace contexts, making you more competitive in the job market.
The following sections will help you and Jai develop the Digital Creation skills you will need to be successful as a post-secondary learner and professional. You will learn about:
- graphic design (including presentations, infographics, and academic posters),
- website creation,
- video and podcast production,
- digital portfolios, and
- 3D printing.
Graphic Design
Graphic design is central to many digital creation activities. Graphic design means creating visual concepts to communicate a message, idea, or concept that serves a certain purpose. Graphic design skills are perhaps the most broadly applicable creative skills. Almost every project, assignment, or document you produce can be enhanced by applying graphic design skills and principles.
When we talk about graphic design, we are talking about several separate elements that make up a whole design. It is important to think about all of these elements as you are planning and creating graphics.
Colour is one of the most important and familiar elements in graphic design. Designers and artists use a set of guidelines called colour theory to help effectively communicate ideas and create eye-catching elements for users. The use of colour theory helps with achieving a designer’s goals, which may be attracting attention, organizing content, and evoking emotion. Colour theory aids the designer in choosing the right colour combination for the desired effect.
As much as colour is an important part of a design, it is equally important to consider all of the other design elements when you are working on your project. These include form, line, shape, size, space, and texture.
The following sections briefly describe three common course assignment formats that require graphic design skills – presentations, infographics, and academic posters – and highlight some of the digital tools you can use to create them. Developing digital skills to create presentations, infographics, and academic posters will support your success in coursework and also transfer to your current or future workplace context.
Click on the accordion tabs below to learn more about presentations, infographics, and academic posters.
Presentations are commonly used in post-secondary and workplace contexts. A presentation is a way to communicate ideas or information on a particular topic to an audience. Effective presentations are well-organized, engaging, and tailored to the needs and interests of the audience. Digital presentations are often in the form of a slideshow, with graphic design playing an important role in making your message visually appealing and clear for your audience (The Learning Portal, n.d.).
Watch this video to learn more about creating and delivering presentations in post-secondary learning and the workplace.
Video 4.2
Source: The Learning Portal / Le Portail d’Apprentissage. (2022, October 4). Presentations Module Introduction [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XXHJnGIPiYM
Length: 4:38
You can create presentations using various digital tools, including Google Slides, Microsoft PowerPoint, Canva, Prezi, Sway, and Keynote. Optional - take a moment to explore some of these tools.
Learn more about creating and delivering presentations (The Learning Portal, n.d.)!
Thinking about digital presentations…
- Have you created a digital presentation?
- What digital presentation tools have you used or do you want to try?
- Who or what can help you create and deliver digital presentations?
Infographics have gained popularity in post-secondary coursework, research, and the workplace. An infographic is an expression of information, most often data, as a graphic or other visual representation. They are an intersection of data, text, and message combined into one artistic representation, and they are an excellent method of storytelling. Infographics can be used to convey complex information in a concise and visually appealing manner (The Learning Portal, n.d.).
There are several different types of infographics, including:
- Article – used to add graphic elements to a text document
- Comparison – used to highlight similarities and differences between topics
- Data Visualization – used to showcase data using graphs and charts
- Flow Chart – used to create decision trees
- List – used to condense text with bullet points, numbers, and acronyms
- Map – used to compare information across locations
You can create infographics using various digital tools, including Canva, Piktochart, Adobe Express, and Microsoft Power BI. Optional - take a moment to explore some of these tools.
Watch this video to learn more about infographics!
Video 4.3
Source: The Learning Portal / Le Portail d’Apprentissage. (2022, March 30). Infographics [Video]. YouTube. https://https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ZvDJoN6NOM
Length: 5:41
Thinking about infographics…
- Have you ever created an infographic?
- What infographic creation tools have you used or do you want to try?
- Who or what can help you create effective infographics?
Academic posters are commonly used in post-secondary coursework to share research findings. An academic poster is a visual representation that shares the narrative, or story, of your research using graphic design principles. You may also choose to include an infographic on your poster to represent key data and findings.
Check out some examples of academic posters (Balbin, 2021).
When creating an academic poster, it is important to approach the task like a graphic designer. You are not trying to tell the audience EVERY detail about your project, just the highlights. Here are some graphic elements your poster should include:
- a catchy title
- adequate white space
- minimal text: your audience doesn't want to stand there reading for 30 mins, just give the highlights.
- clear and readable fonts: large enough to read from a distance, and don't be afraid to mix typefaces: Best Practices Of Combining Typefaces
- clear and readable charts and graphs (if applicable)
- appropriate images
- balance: whether symmetrical or asymmetrical, see Principles of Good Design to learn more about balance.
- an attractive colour palette: try this tool to generate a palette coolors.co
You can use several digital tools to create academic posters, including Microsoft PowerPoint, Canva, Smore, Adobe Express, Adobe Illustrator, and Adobe Photoshop. Take a moment to explore some of these tools. Your post-secondary institution may also have poster guidelines and templates to help you.
Thinking about digital academic posters…
- Have you ever created a digital academic poster?
- What digital academic poster creation tools have you used or do you want to try?
- Who or what can help you create effective digital academic posters?
Finding Media
Whether you’re working on a course assignment, a personal project, or a professional task, there are images, audio, video, and tools that you can use for free as long as you attribute the source in your work.
There are also legal ways that you can use some copyright-protected media under the right circumstances. And, of course, you can use media that you create yourself (The Learning Portal, n.d.)!
Free Images
Use the resources below to find that perfect picture without worrying about infringing on copyright. Some of these websites have only free images, while others have a mix of free and traditional copyright works. Make sure you filter your search to free images (such as Creative Commons licensed images) and that you read what you are allowed to do with the image.
- Flickr – Creative Commons
- Pics4Learning
- Getty Open Content - The Getty makes available, without charge, all available digital images to which the Getty holds the rights or that are in the public domain to be used for any purpose. No permission is required.
- Google Images After you do a Google Image search, click Search Tools, then select Labeled for Reuse from the Usage Rights menu.
- 16 Resources for Free Images for Educators
- Open Clip Art Library
- 31 Sources of Royalty-Free Images
- Noun Project
Try It!
Create a digital presentation, infographic, or academic poster using the tips and tools you learned about in this section.
- Focus on a topic or course assignment of your choice.
- Get feedback on your digital creation from a few of your peers.
- Exchange tips for using digital creation tools with your peers.