Design Team Enablement
Instructional Designer Enablement Framework
Creating a structured support system to improve consistency, confidence and quality across instructional design practice.
A connected enablement framework designed to support instructional designers from onboarding through to ongoing delivery. The system brought together Foundations of Production, a Style Guide and a Process & Admin Guide to improve consistency, reduce ambiguity and support high-quality learning outcomes.
Audience
Instructional Designers
Format
Online modules & PDF guides
Duration
6-modules & ongoing reference
My Role
Designed the framework, guides and support resources from structure through to implementation.
There was no single, structured system to support designers from onboarding through to ongoing practice.
THE PROBLEM
Instructional Designers needed clearer guidance on how to work consistently across learning products, internal processes and stakeholder expectations.
Without a central support system:
New designers relied heavily on informal guidance and one-to-one support.
Design expectations were not always documented or applied consistently.
Branding, styling and accessibility decisions could vary across products.
Internal processes and administrative requirements were difficult to navigate.
Stakeholder management practices were not always clear or consistent.
Knowledge was spread across people, documents and systems rather than one connected framework.
THE GOAL
Create a practical enablement framework that helped Instructional Designers work consistently, confidently and to agreed quality standards.
This solution was designed to:
Support new designers through a structured onboarding experience.
Clarify production expectations, processes and responsibilities.
Provide clear design boundaries for branding, layout, accessibility and style.
Reduce reliance on informal support and repeated guidance.
Improve consistency across learning products and documentation.
Support stakeholder management and administrative processes.
Create reusable guidance that could evolve with team needs.
A connected support system that helped designers produce consistent, high-quality learning while reducing ambiguity and rework.
MY APPROACH
1. Reframing the problem
2. Enablement strategy
3. Key design decisions
This was not just an onboarding need. It was an opportunity to create a sustainable support system for instructional design practice.
The focus shifted from answering repeated questions individually to building clear, reusable guidance that supported designers at every stage of production.
The framework was structured around the key areas designers needed to work effectively and independently.
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Foundations of Production for onboarding and role expectations.
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Style Guide for branding, visual design and consistency.
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Process & Admin Guide for workflows, stakeholder management and internal processes.
Several design decisions shaped the framework.
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Separated onboarding, style and process guidance into distinct but connected resources.
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Designed content to be practical, searchable and easy to maintain.
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Included examples and standards to support consistent decision-making.
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Created resources that could support both onboarding and ongoing performance.
Stakeholder and team alignment
Clear onboarding pathway for Instructional Designers
KEY OUTCOMES OF THIS APPROACH
Consistent design standards across learning products
Practical process guidance to support administrative requirements
It was reviewed and aligned with key stakeholders before implementation to confirm the resources were practical, accurate and suitable for ongoing use by Instructional Designers.
Aligned with leadership expectations and team priorities.
Validated against internal production and process requirements
Designed to support consistent practice across the Instructional Design team
THE SOLUTION
A connected enablement framework supporting onboarding, design consistency and ongoing instructional design practice
Structure
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Foundations of Production for onboarding and role expectations
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Style Guide for branding, layout, accessibility and design boundaries
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Process & Admin Guide for workflows, stakeholder management and internal processes
Support model
Foundations of Production > Design Standards > Process Guidance > Ongoing Practice Support
Practical Integration
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Reusable guidance for new and existing designers
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Practical examples to support consistent application
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Centralised resources to reduce reliance on informal support
EXPERIENCE PREVIEW
Foundations of Production
Six online modules introducing team processes, tools and production standards.
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01 | Foundations of Production: Team Processes
Course | 9 Lessons
Team Processes
Introduces team roles, expectations, key workflows and core production processes.
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04 | Foundations of Production: Canva
Course | 7 Lessons
Canva
Introduces core Canva features and how to create visually consistent learning assets.
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02 | Foundations of Production: Rise 360
Course | 9 Lessons
Rise 360
Introduces core Rise 360 features and how to create responsive eLearning content.
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05 | Foundations of Production: Vyond
Course | 5 Lessons
Vyond
Introduces core Vyond features and how to create simple animated learning content.
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03 | Foundations of Production: Storyline 360
Course | 5 Lessons
Storyline 360
Introduces core Storyline 360 features and how to begin building interactive content.
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06 | Foundations of Production: Camtasia
Course | 4 Lessons
Camtasia
Introduces core Camtasia features and how to record, edit and produce screen-based learning content.
FOUNDATIONS OF PRODUCTION
Colour and Accessibility
Accessibility
A low colour contrast makes words more difficult to read.
A high colour contrast makes words easier to read.
Colour accessibility enables people with visual impairments or colour vision deficiencies to interact with digital experiences in the same way as their non-visually-impaired counterparts.
Aim to achieve an AA standard for accessibility.
To check if your colour palette meets accessibility standards, visit Adobe's Colour Contrast Checker site.
STYLE GUIDE
Peer Review Process
Writing Feedback
There are two types of feedback that can be provided:
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Actionable feedback: Clear, required changes such as style guide corrections, spelling updates or grammar issues.
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Suggestions: Optional improvements that may enhance the product, such as design, flow or information layout.
Actionable feedback
“This list style does not align with the Style Guide. Update it to use the approved bullet format.”
Suggestions
“Consider adding a grey box to highlight this section and make the key information easier to scan.”
PROCESS & ADMIN GUIDE
CHALLENGES & KEY DECISIONS
1. Supporting New Designers Without Overwhelming Them
New designers needed enough guidance to get started confidently without being overloaded with every process detail at once
Structured the framework into clear guides that supported staged learning and ongoing reference
2. Creating Consistency Across Design Outputs
Learning products needed to feel consistent while still allowing designers to make appropriate decisions for different audiences and formats
Developed a Style Guide to clarify branding, layout, accessibility and design boundaries
3. Reducing Reliance on Informal Support
Designers often needed answers to recurring process, admin and stakeholder management questions
Created a Process & Admin Guide to centralise key workflows, expectations and stakeholder practices
4. Supporting Ongoing Practice, Not Just Onboarding
The resources needed to remain useful beyond a designer’s first few weeks
Designed the framework as a searchable support system that could be revisited throughout the production cycle
OUTCOME & IMPACT
Supported 21+ new Instructional Designers through a structured onboarding pathway since implementation
Provided ongoing guidance for all Instructional Designers through centralised style, process and production resources
Created three core enablement resources where no formal onboarding or reference system previously existed
Improved design consistency across 650+ learning products through documented standards, style guidance and production expectations
Reduced ambiguity by centralising onboarding, design standards, process guidance and stakeholder management expectations
Reflection
This project reinforced that strong learning design teams need more than good individual designers. Consistent, high-quality work depends on clear standards, accessible guidance and practical support systems that help people make confident decisions throughout the production process.