Google Ad #1 - desktop - 728x90

Google Ad #3 - desktop - 728x90

Google Ad #1 - mobile - 300x200

Google Ad #3 - mobile - 300x200

ATD_Half_Page

Googel Ad #1 - Side Bar - Content pages

ATD Footer Logo

Tim Wright

Concept May 2004

Whether you’re designing an e-learning course, a presentation, or some other type of media, you want it to look good. For some of us, though, that can be a bit of a challenge. We all have the ability to be better graphic designers, but it’s not likely something we can master just by reading a book or taking a class. I like to think of graphic design as a muscle that can be strengthened and grown—it just needs to be exercised on a regular basis.For instance, I’ve been trying to lose an extra 30 pounds for the past several years with little success. Although I’ve become an expert on every weight loss technique, routine, and diet, I just can’t seem to shake off the extra weight. Is this because I haven’t educated myself enough about weight loss? Absolutely not! The reason I haven’t lost weight is because I haven’t gone to the gym to apply what I’ve learned!Becoming a stronger graphic designer is no different. It takes determination, time, and practice. Here are three ways you can exercise your graphic design muscles. Challenge YourselfIt’s easy to stay in your safe zone when practicing any new skill. Unfortunately, we all know that growth doesn’t occur unless your push yourself outside your comfort zone. One of the best ways to become a stronger graphic designer is by investing time to practice. This means investing time outside of your day-to-day projects to try something new.  Try joining an online design challenge. David Anderson from the Articulate E-Learning Heroes Community hosts weekly e-learning challenges, many of which are design-focused. Weekly challenges are a great opportunity to push your skills, try something new, and receive constructive feedback in a positive environment.I also suggest trying a technique- or tool-focused online tutorial. Let’s say you’re trying to learn how to use Adobe Illustrator. There are countless online tutorials that walk you through the process of creating a graphic or using a specific technique step-by-step. I like doing this when I want to learn how to use a specific feature through a practical exercise.  Find Sources of InspirationSeeing the work of others can be intimidating, especially when their abilities seem light years ahead of your own. But if you change your perspective, there’s a lot you can learn from analyzing the work of others.Finding inspiration is easier than ever–it’s just a Google search away. Here are some of the places I get design inspiration:Design category of PinterestBēhanceE-Learning Examples section of the Articulate E-Learning Heroes CommunitySo, once you’ve found a good source of inspiration, what do you do with it? The key to using the work of others is not to let it intimidate you; but rather, use it to help you learn and grow. I like to analyze the work of others to understand the different techniques used to create the final result.The next time you look at a source of inspiration, try looking at it from a technical perspective. Try drawing conclusions about the techniques or rules used to create the finished product. It might be helpful to know the principles of graphic design so you can recognize them and use them in your own work. Ask for FeedbackOne of the hardest aspects of learning any new skill is asking for and receiving feedback. Although feedback can hurt, you have to think of it as your friend. Understanding your strengths and weaknesses can help you focus your future efforts.When it comes to graphic design, I like to ask for feedback from both graphic and non-graphic designers. A graphic designer can help you uncover technique-related issues in your design. On the other hand, a non-graphic designer can help you understand how the average person will view your design. Unless your audience is a bunch of graphic designers, most of your work will be viewed by the average person–their opinions count!Finally, I suggest you get feedback from yourself—not on your current graphic design work, but on your past work. This is an exercise I practice on a regular basis. Looking back and analyzing your past work can help you discover how you’ve grown and realize your strengths. Looking at your past work gives you an opportunity to question what you would have done differently and helps you avoid the same mistakes going forward.Becoming a better graphic designer is a journey that is unique to each individual. Learning to challenge yourself, seek inspiration, and obtain feedback are simple ways to help the process gain momentum. What other ways do you exercise your graphic design muscles? Share your tips in the Comments below.

3 Ways to Exercise Your Graphic Design Muscle

Spring 2013 - The Public Manager

Successfully Managing Federal Rightsizing Initiatives

To determine the right assessment for your situation, avoid these three common mistakes.

3 Common Mistakes Leaders Make When Choosing an Assessment

You have a network and ways to upskill, even from afar.During recent months, many of us may feel as though we’ve lost our network. It’s no longer easy to pop by a colleague’s office and bounce off ideas for a new training program or discuss a new tool. However, the Association for Talent Development has several resources that can help make up for the peer expertise you feel you’ve been missing.Ask a Trainer. This online question-and-answer column featured on TD.org seeks to be responsive to real-world talent development problems, reflecting what’s on practitioners’ minds and offering practical guidance. The series enables talent development professionals to ask questions anonymously and receive advice on training dilemmas, instructional design snafus, e-learning challenges, and any other stumbling blocks that come their way. Originally featuring Tim Slade answering questions, the column now includes guest columnists weighing in.For example: Do you have multiple generations in your training audience? How do you deliver effectively to all of them? Management and generational diversity expert Bruce Tulgan answered this diverse audience question. The individual who submitted the question posited, “Younger learners seem to respond to a more conversational facilitation style and appreciate interaction, while older learners seem to be less bothered by lecture.” Tulgan advised, “No matter what, I try to teach like I’m talking to each and every individual. Whenever possible, we survey the audience in advance to find out what’s bothering them and what their learning goals are.”Other columns have addressed such topics as how L&D professionals can support frontline workers, ways to develop an online learning support system, and how to prove the value of talent development in a down economy. Submit your pressing talent development questions to askatrainer@td.org.The Accidental Trainer. This bi-monthly podcast series, which kicked off on January 20, features interviews with renowned experts in the talent development field. Among them have been Elliott Masie, Karl Kapp, Connie Malamed, and Bev Kaye. Moderated by ATD’s Career Development Content Manager Lisa Spinelli and sponsored by GP Strategies, The Accidental Trainer has relayed expert advice on such topics as how to stay on top of trends in technology, why talent is everything, and how to gain confidence in your training delivery.An especially timely guest was Whitney Johnson, author of Disrupt Yourself: Putting the Power of Disruptive Innovation to Work. Given the massive upheaval these last few months—to our businesses and to the way we do work but, most importantly, to life in general—how can you manage more easily? That is a challenge regardless of the circumstances behind it, even when we disrupt ourselves. Gather some tips from Johnson and hear how she has managed during challenging times. (Bonus: Access Whitney Johnson’s Disrupt Yourself podcast for further tips.)Friday Twitter Chat. When the COVID-19 pandemic first began, most of us (who weren’t already doing so) began working from home. Even for those who had been working remotely, things likely felt different: uncertain, scary. To help connect and share what we are going through together, ATD began Friday Twitter Chats, beginning at noon ET. Participants have talked about how they’re staying productive and healthy and about how they’re supporting each other. Niranjani Chidamber Papavaritis, manager of ATD’s healthcare community, mentioned that she asks about others’ well-being rather than jumping right into work discussions. For her own health, she takes breaks to focus on deep breaths throughout the day and to clear her head.On March 20, participants shared some of their virtual training tips—including suggestions on engaging learners in the virtual environment and advice for first-time virtual trainers. A recap of the conversation is available at TD.org.What are you learning? Take part in the next @ATD chat to share and learn from your talent development colleagues.ATD Virtual Training Resources. Many in the talent field are embarking on training, managing, collaborating, as well as other processes virtually for the first time. That’s why ATD has pulled together some of its best resources on virtual training in one place. Watch, read, and learn. And discover how you can access additional resources. Check out “6 Things to Consider When Transitioning to Virtual Training,” “Remote Workers Need Real Communication,” “Producing Virtual Training Certificate,” and much more.Times are challenging, but now is also a great time to grow yourself so you can continue to upskill and reskill learners.Share your ATD Virtual Conference experience on social media. #ATDVirtualConference

ATD Resources to Keep You Connected

What can we do to support frontline workers right now? Here are a few general tips.

How Can L&D Support Frontline Workers?

The worldwide talent development community is diverse. Our members bring a wealth of experience and insight to their work. We're spotlighting their stories.Viacheslav Yurchenkov has been a member of ATD since 2016 from Russia. Here's his story in his own words.Tell us a little bit about yourself.I am head of the Centre for Advanced Learning Technologies at Sberbank Corporate University in Russia. My team and I research the best instructional strategies and technologies to implement in our in-class, distance, and blended-learning programs. We host monthly EduTech seminars for L&D professionals, universities, business schools, and training providers to share the best practices in the field. Based on these events, we develop the monthly EduTech magazine with the tips, cases, and additional research content on the specific educational technology. I am also responsible for developing the EduTech digests with the latest trends, news, startups, and events. Additionally, my department consults our program development staff about methodology and instructional technology-related questions regarding how to create the best learning experiences. Prior to working at Sberbank Corporate University, I completed my master’s degree in learning, media, and technology at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and also worked as an instructional design intern at Volvo Group in Greensboro, North Carolina.What are your professional goals?My main goal is to develop, for all interested, the educational technologies and instructional design content, research evidence, and tips that will help to provide the best learning experience for their audience and to show return on investment—how learning and development add value to the business.What challenges have you overcome in your career?The biggest challenge was to develop the fire-prevention e-learning program for more than 100,000 Sberbank managers. I was under pressure because I had to deal with SMEs who wanted everything to be included in the program. Additionally, I felt a high responsibility for writing clear instructions as they may have saved thousands of lives. This project helped me understand how to deal with project stakeholders, external providers, and the e-learning program audience.What’s the most valuable thing you’ve gained or experienced during your membership with ATD?I am taking advantage of the many ATD resources with membership. TD magazine helps me find cool tools and instructional design strategies that I can share with my colleagues at Sberbank Corporate University. ATD Research helps me prove why learning technologies improve employees’ knowledge retention. Additionally, the Ask a Trainer section helps me to understand opinions on solving training development challenges.Could you share any professional tips, specific to talent development, that you have picked up along the way?My greatest tip is to continue constantly exploring and learning new information. We have a lot of resources available. They might be helpful when working on your latest project. For example, I learned a lot from Tim Slade’s about how to use animation, design storyboards, and prototypes from Tim Slade’s webcasts. Additionally, talk to people because they have different opinions. You develop learning for people, not yourself, so their advice might help you to create something relevant for them.What’s a common misconception you see when it comes to talent development?A misconception is that educational programs can solve every issue. It is certainly not true. We first need to diagnose a performance issue to find a problem then provide an appropriate instructional strategy and format. However, it may be something more serious that training won’t fix and may need leadership’s attention. We cannot, nor should we, develop training just because “it is your job to fix problems.”Do you have any advice for people looking to further their careers?Search for projects that require you to share the best practices and building TD knowledge, skills, and confidence in what you are doing.What is your personal definition of talent development?For me, talent development is about helping people to gain relevant knowledge and use it right away. When they can demonstrate what they have learned, it is a signal you are doing your job correctly.How do you stay motivated?I love what I am doing. I focus on the audience and the project. I am happy when people recommend our EduTech project (seminars, workshops, issues) to their colleagues and friends.How do you find meaning in your work?The target audience feedback is key and my manager’s support keeps me motivated.Have your own story to tell? Share it with us.

"Constantly Exploring and Learning New Information"

If you're thinking about using e-learning to deliver your learning content, use this job aid to help determine if it's the right answer.

Criteria for Choosing a Learning Modality

Every year, Gallup releases the State of the American Manager, its analysis of the current condition of managerial expertise. The latest results, released December 2017, contained several new conclusions, but the grim fact remains: Little has changed with the state of management in the United States. The sobering news:One-third (35 percent) of managers are engaged in their work.One in five managers (18 percent) has the “high talent” needed to succeed in their roles.Bad management costs the U.S. economy anywhere from $319 billion to $398 billion in lost productivity annually.We all know that bad managers wreak havoc on employee performance—either by not developing their teams and enabling accountability for results, or by simply creating an environment where employees don’t want to come to work. In fact, Gallup reports: “Managers account for at least 70 percent of the variance in employee engagement scores across business units. Gallup’s study of employee engagement found that just 30 percent of U.S. workers are engaged, demonstrating a clear link between poor managing and a nation of ‘checked out’ employees.”Yet, the most somber news in the Gallup analysis may not be that the state of management is in disarray. More worrisome is Gallup’s conclusion about the innate nature of good managers: Only a certain number of managers are born with the capacity to manage others and, as a result, companies should focus more heavily on selection of managers rather than the development of them.“If great managers seem scarce, it’s because the talent required to be one is rare. Talents are innate and are the building blocks of great performance,” the report states. “Gallup’s research reveals that about one in 10 people possess high talent to manage. Though many people are endowed with some of the necessary traits, few have the unique combination of talents needed to help a team achieve excellence in a way that significantly improves a company’s performance. These 10 percent, when put in manager roles, naturally engage team members and customers, retain top performers, and sustain a culture of high productivity.”It's an odd conclusion to make because it defies the fundamental understanding we have about human development and the ability for people to change in a positive, progressive way. What’s more, taking such a static view inherently limits many people by default into managers or nonmanagers, ignoring the capacity for people to develop their skills.So, are there some leaders who are just bad managers and can never be that great? Sure. But I would argue that a majority of individuals can be great—with the right tools, culture, and framework. That’s where ATD can set the right approach with its ACCEL model, a framework for the core skills managers need to be successful: accountability, collaboration, communication, engagement, and listening and assessing.ACCEL revolves around establishing a culture (from the CEO to every manager on down) where learning and improving is the focus. And rather than focusing only on an individual’s strengths, ACCEL encourages managers to develop in five core areas, which might be areas that they currently are not considered strong.Some might say this notion is folly, because having a talent for managing is simply innate. But ATD believes that everyone has the capacity to become better—where weaknesses can become strengths, with a focused effort on culture and learning as a priority.Think about it: If every executive focused their efforts on improvement of their team, wouldn’t they see improvement in performance? Wouldn’t their results also improve? Indeed, in the end, your business certainly isn’t static, so why should your view of people be?Learn more about our ACCEL model at www.td.org/accel, and make sure to check out our ATD/Yale Foundations of Management Excellence program, which is based on our ACCEL model.

Search results for 'Tim Wright'

Categories

Refine By