What instructional designers can learn from advertisers
There is always one challenge in both learning and advertising. It’s about getting noticed in a world full of distractions. Instructional designers focus on structuring knowledge, while advertisers focus on visibility, clarity, and instant understanding. Remarkably, the same visual communication principles that make advertising effective can also make e-learning more intuitive, engaging, and memorable. Having worked closely with visual communication in high-traffic environments, I’ve seen how small design choices can impact the way people notice, process, and retain information. These choices, when applied correctly, directly translate into a more powerful learning experience.
1. Simplicity improves understanding
Outdoor advertising, especially formats such as bus ads, billboards, and transit media, requires creators to communicate quickly. It often takes viewers only a few seconds to understand your message.
minimal text. Clean visuals. strong hierarchy. Focus clearly on one core message.
These same rules reduce cognitive load in e-learning.
How to apply this to e-learning
Break long paragraphs into short, digestible sections. Use a clean layout instead of crowded screens. Highlight one key point per slide or module. Avoid cluttered backgrounds and unnecessary decorative elements.
Simplicity helps learners stay focused on what really matters.
2. Visual hierarchy guides the eye
Advertisements need to instantly guide the viewer’s attention, asking them, “What should the viewer see first and what should they remember?” This is done using:
size. Contrast. color. Placement. typography.
Hierarchies help learners in e-learning
Navigate your content intuitively. Understand support and what’s important. Follow the intended progression, avoid confusion and fatigue,
A well-designed learning screen should be “automatically readable” by the learner without any hesitation.
3. Consistency increases awareness and reduces effort
Branding relies on visual consistency, including logos, colors, tone, and layout. This is because recognition is established through repetition. The same goes for learning. If modules share consistency:
color icon pattern navigation heading typography
Your brain needs less effort to process new information. This frees up your mental space to focus on actually learning instead of thinking about how to access content.
4. Strategic use of color improves focus
In advertising, color is used intentionally to evoke emotion, emphasize action, and attract attention.
In eLearning, color allows you to:
Highlight important ideas. Signal transition. Indicates correct/incorrect answers. Supports branding. Create an emotional tone (calmness, urgency, curiosity)
However, using too many colors creates noise. Advertising has taught us that a restrained palette has more impact.
5. Repetition strengthens memory.
Outdoor advertising relies heavily on repetition, and seeing the same ad every day creates familiarity and memories. Repetition is also an important memory principle in learning, especially when applied in the following ways:
Spaced learning. visual pattern. A recurring icon or framework. Consistent modular structure. Reinforced slide.
When learners repeatedly encounter the same visual cues, they form stronger associations and remember concepts more easily.
6. Emotional connections drive deeper engagement.
Good advertising works to stimulate emotions such as curiosity, excitement, recognition, and even humor. Emotions improve memory retention, which is equally important in training and education.
How to introduce emotion into eLearning
Relatable scenarios Human-centered storytelling Approachable microcopy Real-world examples Visuals that match the tone of the lesson
Engagement increases when learning feels relatable and human rather than purely instructional.
7. Patterns of movement and attention
In public service announcements, designers consider how people move, where their eyes naturally fall, and which elements are best seen in motion. In e-learning, learners are constantly performing “actions” such as clicking, scrolling, and transitioning between screens. Understanding these behavior patterns helps designers:
Buttons that naturally catch the eye. Navigation to the most accessible locations. Important messages are in the top left or center.
A good visual flow helps learners stay focused on learning without getting frustrated.
8. Clarity over creativity
Advertising teaches us a powerful lesson: clarity always wins. Clarity ensures understanding while creativity adds charm. In e-learning, clarity means:
direct words. Clear CTAs (Next, Submit, Continue) Concise instructions. Predictable user interface. accessible design
When learners have less trouble deciphering the user interface, they learn faster and with more confidence.
conclusion
Instructional design and advertising may seem like worlds apart, but they both revolve around understanding human attention. The visual communication principles that help your ads stand out in a crowded environment (simplicity, clarity, hierarchy, emotion, and repetition) are the same principles that make eLearning content powerful and effective. By carefully applying proven visual communication principles and strategies, eLearning designers can create experiences that not only look good, but truly support the way people absorb and retain information.
