Blog

Dr Lizzy Steenkamp

How Learning Experience Designers Sacrifice Learning on the Altar of Consistency

September 29, 2025

‘Let’s keep it consistent.’ If you’re a Learning Experience Designer, you’ve heard that before. You may even have said it. It promises predictability, reduces cognitive load (Sweller, 1988), and helps maintain brand integrity. But the idea that consistency is the ultimate goal is a dangerous and pervasive myth amongst Learning Experience Designers.

The Value of Discomfort: Growing as a Learning Experience Designer

September 18, 2025

Ever felt a sense of discomfort when learning something new? What if this discomfort is actually a sign you’re growing? In this post, I reflect on the “growing pains” of moving from teaching to Learning Experience Design – and how embracing feedback, rather than chasing perfection, has shaped my approach to learning and work.

Common Accessibility Mistakes in E-Learning and How to Avoid Them

September 15, 2025

Accessibility isn’t just a compliance box to tick; it makes learning better for everyone. Too many e-learning experiences still shut out people with disabilities because of myths, limited skills, and ‘that’s just how the tool works’ thinking. If your learning experience isn’t accessible, it isn’t truly complete.

Kira Theunissen

Constructive Feedback in Learning Experience Design: How to Give It, Receive It, and Make It Work

September 4, 2025

How one moment broke my confidence and what it taught me about the power of feedback to break or build.

Stephanie Bandli

Understanding Colour Theory for Learning Experience Design

August 27, 2025

Colour is more than decoration. In learning experience design, it shapes how learners feel, focus, and find their way. Get it right, and your design feels effortless. Get it wrong, and you risk confusing and distracting your learners. In this guide, we’ll cover the basics of colour theory and how to apply it in your digital learning projects.

Stephanie Bandli

Designing Effective Interactive Elements for E-Learning

August 26, 2025

Interaction isn’t a bonus, it shapes how learners engage with and absorb information. Used well, it transforms passive viewing into active learning. Here’s how to design interactions that truly serve your learners.

Dr Lizzy Steenkamp

Information Architecture for E-Learning: Organising Content for Clarity

August 15, 2025

Dive into the core principles of IA, learn to avoid common pitfalls like the 'knowledge dump,' and use our practical checklist to design e-learning that is intuitive, effective, and frustration-free.

Dr Lizzy Steenkamp

A Beginner’s Guide to Common E-Learning Tools and Systems

Ever wondered what powers your online learning experience? Or perhaps you’ve clicked around a new learning platform and thought, ‘What exactly is this thing?’ In this guide, we’ll demystify the most common e-learning technologies, without the jargon, and show you what’s behind the scenes.

Stephanie Bandli

Creating Learner Personas for Effective E-Learning

Still designing for “the average learner”? That’s like writing a love letter to “whom it may concern.” Learner personas give your design a backbone, a brain, and a beating heart. Here’s how to make them good, and make them count.

Dr Lizzy Steenkamp

How to Reduce Cognitive Load in E-Learning: A Practical Guide

Welcome to the remarkably practical world of Cognitive Load Theory (CLT). While it might sound like something you'd discuss over lukewarm tea in a particularly earnest academic seminar, this theory is, in fact, incredibly useful for crafting online learning experiences that actually work.

Dr Lizzy Steenkamp

ADDIE: The Instructional Design Dinosaur That Just Won’t Die 🦖

If you’ve ever wandered into the world of instructional design, corporate training, or e-learning, you’ve probably met this dusty old acronym. It’s considered the beige cardigan of design frameworks: dependable, outdated, and somehow still invited to every party. But what is ADDIE, where did it come from, why are we still using it, and should you be using it too.

Transitioning From Pedagogy to Adult Learning

Join me as I reflect on my experience moving from secondary to adult education. I’ll unpack what I’ve discovered about teaching and learning, and the skills I’ve been developing to help me transition.

Dr Lizzy Steenkamp

The Trouble With Bloom's Taxonomy

What happens when the principles that underpin a theory of assessment are used to scaffold an entire learning pathway? Well, in short, it can go pear-shaped quite quickly.

Kira Theunissen

Tapping Into Human Potential

November 3, 2023

Join me as I delve into some interesting corners of the theory that underpins commonly understood notions of human potential. I'll consider the conditions needed to make it possible for people like Elon Musk, and perhaps even myself, to reach our full potential.

The CRAP Rule: Layout Basics for Learning Experience Designers

January 6, 2022

We know design should support learning, not distract from it. Yet many Learning Experience Designers feel unequipped to evaluate whether their creations look and feel good to engage with. The CRAP rule is here to help you rescue your learners from a… well, a crap e-learning experience.