How can colours impact eLearning?
When it comes to developing eLearning, the colours you use is one of the most important things you need to consider during the design stage. Having the right set of colours can not only help with brand recognition but give your eLearning a modern and unique feel that your learners will enjoy.
Below are some things to consider when deciding on the colour scheme for your eLearning.
1. Consistency
When choosing the colours you want to use in your eLearning consistency is an important factor. As learners take your eLearning they will start to associate colours with certain elements of your course, as well as your companies brand. It is important to ensure that when you select the colours for your course to keep it as consistent as possible, for example if you use a certain colour for the Next button ensure that this same colour is used for the Next button on other pages, changing colours part way through the course can cause confusion and frustration for the learner as the colour associations have changed.
2. Limiting colours
When choosing colours it can be tempting to use a variety of colours, but this can have downsides. Using too many colours can not only make the screen look confusing but can also reduce learner familiarity with the course. Ideally 2-3 colours on screen at a time would be the best amount of colours to use, using up to 3 colours allows you to make the screen interesting while at the same time not overwhelming the learner. Having a style guide with particular shades of colour aligned to your companies brand can help ensure that colours used in courses are consistent and recognisable for the learner.
3. Choosing colours
It can be difficult to choose the correct colours for your eLearning course, you want it to be interesting while at the same time matching your companies brand. When deciding on which colours to use see what brand colours can be used for the backgrounds, text and buttons. If these colours are not suitable there are a number of tools you can use online to see what other alternative colours can be used. It is important to keep in mind that not all colours can be used together and that colours can contrast with each other. For example white text on a yellow background will be difficult for learners to read and does not make for a good user experience.
