Finding the Right Visuals: “Um, Try Again!”

In preparing to be an instructional designer, I have learned that there are a few ways to source graphics for your eLearning projects. Considering I lack the skill and time to make the graphics myself and don’t have a budget for a graphic artist, I am left with two options – image bank websites or AI-generated bots.

Instructional designers can source vector graphics from an image bank website like Freepix. The upside to this approach is that the graphics are already created. You don’t need to wait for them to be created. Designers need to know the correct keywords to search for content successfully. The downside is that the artwork the instructional designer has in mind may not be in the image bank.

Image generating AI tools like Midjourney and Blue Willow can also be used to create content. The advantage is that the tools can generate graphics not in the image repository websites. Like image bank sites, designers need to know how to prompt the bot to generate the content. The downsides include content that doesn’t align with the prompt. I prompted for a white background in one AI tool, and every image had a non-solid, colored background. I included “a man in tank top” in the prompt in another AI tool. When I changed it to “a man wearing a tank top,” it produced a version of a man wearing a crop top and a version of a man wearing a sports bra. The other attribute I noticed is that all the running characters were extremely muscular in both tools.

Ultimately, I used AI tools to generate some backgrounds for my Articulate Storyline project. I will scour a site like Freepik or Vecteezy for some character pack sets. I have learned a lot about the AI generation process this week.

Do you have a preferred source for graphics for your projects? In the comments below, I would love to hear your thoughts about different services.

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