For now, here is series 3 of my hand-drawn Social Media Icons. This makes a total of 15 and I’ve got 5 more for sure. I started this committing to 30 but may stop at 20.

As much as I enjoy drawing these, they are not doing well at the smaller sizes of 16×16 and 24×24. My thought is once I complete these I’ll convert all 20 to vector for better readability.

For now, click on the image to download this series for FREE…

If you missed out on the previous series, get them here:
- social media icons series 1
- social media icons series 2

Read Social Media Icons – series 1 and download these four for free.

This week I sketched out six more: WordPress, Blogger, Delicious, Digg, Stumble Upon, and Reddit.

Click on the image above or follow these links for FREE downloads
- social media icons series 1
- social media icons series 2

The more I sketch these icons, the more I want to start over. I’ve committed to thirty for this round so I have 20 more to go. Not sure how many more series but no more than 5 (at least that gives me at 5 more weekly blog posts!). Next time I may do them in a hand-drawn color vector…hmm…

Thanks for visiting and tell all your buds there’s free stuff here!

The one thing even better than having your favorite Girl Scout cookie is having your favorite Girl Scout Cookie in the off season.  That’s right, if you don’t stock up when they come knocking at your door you have to wait a year for another chance.  You can’t ask your co-worker if they still have an order sheet lying around, and you don’t see any makeshift concession stands out front of your local grocery anymore.  Not for another year!

The strategy here is to buy a year’s supply of these tasty little morsels.   Cookie sales vary throughout the year in different parts of the county and in my neck of the woods that’s late ‘winterish’ time.  I buy a few extra boxes and tuck away one in my drawer at work for mid summer.  At home, we stash a few boxes in the pantry for late summer and Fall.  There’s something about munching on a Peanut Butter Patty in front of co-workers knowing I may be the only one in the office with a Girl Scout cookie!

We’re still working through the first batch and I was taught a very important lesson recently.  Our normal routine in the morning is gathering in the kitchen preparing the day’s lunches.  I make coffee, my wife sorts through the available ingredients, and my step-daughter, Lauren is busy organizing her morning snack, lunch, and afternoon snack.

One morning Lauren says to me, “Would you like a Samoa?”  My response to her was, “Um..Duh! Of course I would. Thanks for asking.”  She asked if I would like two or three and I said I would just like two.  As she put two in a little baggy for me she asked in a very persuasive voice, “Wouldn’t you like three?”  At first I was catching on to her game because if I chose three cookies, she would assume it would be OK for her to have three also.  I said, “No thanks. Two is fine.”  What happened next made me laugh the rest of the day…

After that last response, she formed a rather pitiful sad look on her face and then all of a sudden got stern with me.  “You NEED three cookies today.  See, there are 12 left.  If you have three today and I have three today, that leaves six left.  That means we can both have three more tomorrow.”  I was impressed that she was planning so far ahead in assisting me in my lunchtime desert, but I had to challenge her.  “Yes, but if you and I both only have two today, there will be eight cookies left and we’ll have enough for two more days in our lunches.  She would have nothing to do with that math because what she said next made everything clear…

“We need to hurry up and finish this box! We can’t open another box until this one is finsihed and I want a Thin Mint!” (must be a rule my wife imposed)

Well then.  Appealing to her quest to get a Thin Mint, I agreed and had no choice but to accept three Samoa’s that day.

I’ve noticed in recent months the popularity of the Grunge design styles and the trend toward hand-drawn elements in websites.  Many folks like the hand-drawn style, but drawing their own elements may deter some of them because of skills or there lack of.   My goal while on this planet is to teach everyone how to draw for themselves!  Um…until I accomplish that goal, I’ll just draw them for you for now.

This is going to be a series.  This first set of four is among a few of the most poplular social media icons used today.  These four are RSS, Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIN.

Click the above image to download for FREE.   The .zip file contains three (3) of each icon in sizes 24×24, 32×32, and 48×48.  I just ask that you reference where you got them and give credit where credit is due.

I’ll be adding other sets to include many of the other popular icons.  The next set I’m drawing are these six: WordPress, Blogger, Delicious, Digg, Reddit, and Stumble Upon.   I have 30 more on tap to go in this series and if there are any in particular you’d like in the next few series, drop me a line and let me know.

Enjoy, and I’ll have the next series up soon…

Last year we had talked about going to Italy again but her daughter (my step-daughter) has a hard time with a babysitter for a few hours let alone her mommy being away for a week.  Instead, we stayed in an Antabellum Home B&B in historic Columbus, MS complete with the staff and hosts in period dress and an antique breakfast china layout.  Nice.  I gave her jewelry.  It was the year of paper and she gave me a post card and a map.

Looked at Italy again this year but we got a smokin’ good deal on Disney later this Summer.  Instead of going away for the weekend, we went to Bari Ristorante where we had our first date four years ago.  Pricey, but authentic Italian fine dining cuisine.  I got her more jewelry and chocolate.  She gave me another bracelet.  I still have it.

April 6 was on a Friday two years ago and we were married in the evening.  Today is Monday so technically our anniversary wasn’t until 6:30 PM tonight, so when my wife woke up this morning and said, “Happy anniversary darling” as she slung a card half way across the room and dinged me in the noggin while I wasn’t looking, it hadn’t truly been two years yet.  I could have slung it back, but I still had mine to give to her so I tactically waited for the opportune time.  Half an hour later I gave her a card with Mickey Mouse on it saying, “I still do…” and some chocolate.  My bracelet fell off.  (I gave her a more romantic card Saturday at our date)

As much as I would like to boast about all my wisdom and experience, I’ve learned more from her in the two years since we married than I ever could on my own.

1.  I am fully responsible for all things.

It’s easier this way. I find that trying to justify or use reasoning why something is not my fault is futile. By accepting defeat, I can get on with the task at hand and avoid hearing myself squabble incoherently trying to convince her otherwise.  It helps her feel better that she’s really in charge.  Yep.

2.  I can fix anything but her.

I’m pretty handy.  Got that from my dad.  I keep the cars running and can handle most repair jobs in the garage.  I can do plumbing, household wiring, landscaping, paint trim molding without masking tape, and even hang a picture level.  She often comments, “You’re pretty handy.”  However, when she’s had a bad day, or I see her struggling with something, it’s best to back away slowly.  The very second I suggest or even hint I may have a solution, there’s a deep red laser infrared piercing beam of light that omits from her eyes.  If I’m not careful my eyebrow hairs will get singed.

3.  Keep several stashes of chocolate readily available.

This is number three, but can clearly be at the top of the list.  Dark chocolate.  I think I spoiled her when we were dating because I’d bring her Milky Way Midnight bars occasionally.  That chocolate making class at the Viking school sealed my fate, too.  I put this number three because having strategically placed stashes of good quality dark chocolate can fend off #1 and quickly resolve #2.  We have a chocolate “cabinet” in which my sole responsibility is to ensure it is properly stocked with choices.  We work together at the same company and I keep a stash at my desk for when she calls and says, “I quit!” I can quickly come to her rescue. I’ve learned the only letter in the alphabet I need to remember is the letter “G.”  Ghiradelli and Godiva.   Can’t go wrong.

4. Honey Do lists are not an option.

My wife has an analytical mind where I am more of a visual and kinesthetic person.  She loves spreadsheets.  I go to sleep if I look at one too long and go into a deep zombie-like state.  She started making lists before we were even married.  I have a list for inside stuff, a list for outside stuff, and a list for general stuff.  She carries them with her on her thumb drive.  I hate lists.  I must admit without them I would be totally lost and useless, and it’s a wonder I survived this long without her or them.  As much as I try to ignore them or pretend they’re not as big, they are always there.  Always.  They’re growing on me.  I did write a “5 things” list for this post.

5. Not all women are dogs.

My wife and I make fun all the time that I’m the dog and she’s the cat.  See, dogs need constant attention.  They need to be petted and shown affection frequently.  Ever start petting a dog and it just won’t go away?  That’s me.  A cat doesn’t need attention.  It just goes about its way from one place to another and if it wants attention you have to ask it permission.  My wife is a cat.  She doesn’t need a lot of attention.  She does remind me on occasion that my pampering skills are lacking, though.  Kind of like a cat that lives in your house for days and then all of a sudden it starts purring and won’t leave you alone.  That’s OK…gives me more time to work on my lists.

Two years down and looking forward to all the ones yet to come.  Mabye one of those years we will be able to celebrate in Italy.

April fools day comes around every year, and every year leading up to the big joke day is finding that one unique gag you can play on family or friends.

I love a good prank just like the next guy, and I am guilty of inflicting many frustrated looks in the past. I thought I knew them all.

My step-daughter Lauren was all excited yesterday knowing today was the big Joke day.  She’s almost 11 yrs. old and her idea of a good prank is innocent, harmless, and at best, mischievous.  She acted like she couldn’t wait for today to arrive more than Christmas morning or the night before traveling to Disney World!

The best part of her scheming was asking advice on which gags would be the best and permission to follow through.  She has a list of some really good ones. too.  I guess knowing she had my approval there was no way she’d get into any trouble.

Little did I know, she was saving a good one for me.  I’m actually a bit bummed that I hadn’t thought of this brilliant gag before.

I don’t have an actual set routine in the mornings, but at some point I will eat a bowl of cereal.  I love cereal!  At any given time there is at least half dozen assorted boxes in the pantry ranging from the healthy bran and fiber types, to the more fun like Fruity Pebbles and Crunch Berries.  I had a flavor for Raisin Bran this morning.

I snatched my favorite cereal bowl and fetched the predetermined box of choice from the pantry.  Like any habitual ritual, I went through the motions of filling the bowl to its absolute maximum…to learn what came out of the Raisin Bran box was in fact Choco Crunch!  Ever try to put cereal back in the box?!

Ms. Lauren had gotten into the kitchen early and switched ALL the bags inside each box of cereal so every box hand the wrong flavor. She was secretly watching from the other room and at the moment of climax, she burst into a hysterical laughter rolling on the floor.  Yeah, yeah…you got me.  Drats!  I’ve been fooled!

The day is not over yet! [expressed with deep seeded eyebrows, curled lip, squinty eyes, and rubbing hands together feverishly]

LearnNugget: Always look inside your cereal box before you pour!

The term Instructional Design always bugs me when most of the focus and energy is placed on the design of the instruction and not much thought is given to the design of the delivery. Instructional Design encompasses the whole gamut of learning, yet most often when it comes to eLearning, somehow the design process gets overlooked.

Ever work on a collaborative eLearning project, and once it made it over to your desk you look at it and say, “If everyone would just design like me we’d have the bestest eLearning ever!” If you’re a soloist then it’s no problem. If you work on a team or in a training department then you may be familiar with having a meeting to discuss when the next meeting is to then discuss 17 color choices for the interface!

This post is not about getting bogged down on all the things to consider in the overall design of an eLearning course.  This is about following a theme.   Think of a collection of icons or icon packs.  All the elements follow a design theme whether they are 3D or hand drawn.  In my view, eLearning courses should follow a similar design theme across all elements.

Some of the overlooked elements are those small images or icons used as a way to direct learners to more information.   For example: More Information icon or button; a Tip or Reminder image or icon, etc. Even after the instruction or lesson, the assessment should follow the same design theme.

So how does giving directions with your hands tie in with eLearning?  The simplest way I can think of is if someone points me in a direction, my assumption is they want me to go there.  Same in eLearning.  If I want to draw your attention to something I may put an arrow, or use a brighter contrasting color with some instructional text.  You’ve done it a thousand times.  I’m a big proponent of communicating graphically, so if I can use an image to direct you, that’s just less text I have to write – and I’d much rather draw than write!

Ever say, “Go that way…” and point with your index finger?  Why? You just said “Go that way,” so why do we have to point, too?  Unless some sort of body language is included with that statement, the directionee will be as lost as they were before they asked you.

This theory of mine kind of works the same way in eLearning.  If I put a string of text that says, “Go to the Next page,” learners won’t know how to proceed without some visual representation of where ‘Next’ is.   A simple hand drawn hand with the index finger extended may be useful as shown here:

By drawing one hand and reflecting it vertical (flipping) it can be reused.  The same hand rotated can be used as a directional pointer to visually say, “Look Here!” or by adding a string, this image can be used as a reminder or a tip as shown here:

Just as the index finger extended has several uses, the hand with the thumb extended can communicate other uses.  For instance, a thumbs up image can communicate a correct answer to a question, while a thumbs down would be the opposite – incorrect.   Or perhaps when emphasizing a Best Practice, a thumbs up can be a visual symbol to say “This is good stuff!”

If you take a moment to think about it, there are countless ways to use hands a simple communicating images.  How many can you think of right now?  How many ways can these two communicate?

You’ll notice these hands only have three fingers typical of a more cartoony style rather than a more realistic drawn hand.  That’s not the point.  The point is the theme in which they are used.  The same hand with the index finger extended can be done in a more pixel style like this:

Obviously I’m not suggesting using hand-drawn hands in all your eLearning.  I’m merely suggesting that images can communicate just as effectively. Just as the juxtaposition of words (spoken language) and hand gestures (body language), the juxtaposition of text and images opens up a wider range of possibilities.   Using hands are natural as we communicate with them everyday!

Now your lesson for the day is to look at your hand and list as many ways to communicate with it (middle finger doesn’t count).  First one to a hundred wins!

Zeroing in on Eric’s reply of the “interplay of text & images in a novel way” has many variations. One way in particular is communicating sound. You know the sounds: Ouch, Ow, Splat, Zonk, are just a fraction of words used to describe a sound. There are virtually an infinite number of words known and not yet thought of that are whizzing (Hey! There’s another one – Whiz) around our imagination.

Just reading them on a screen wrapped with a fancy interface in an elearning module may…may just not get it. A simple shape with a word inside is exactly what juxtaposition is in this context. You’ve done it a thousand times building a PowerPoint slide.

Scott McCloud in his book Understanding Comics talks about how panel shapes vary considerably, and while differences of shape don’t affect the specific meanings of those panels, they can affect the reading experience. I believe this to be true in the shapes used to invoke sound or emotion and can be effective in elearning.

The two examples below “speak” better than I can explain. Which one communicates or invokes more of a message?  Which one has more meaning and supports McCloud’s reading experience?

Can you hear what I’m saying?  The one on the left seems to have more of an umpf, yes?  (Lookie there…another one – umpf).  Just imagine what it could do if it were animated to zoom in fast.

If I knew half of what most folks in this industry forgot, I’d be a best selling author. The world of elearning can be very overwhelming from LMS’s to HRIS systems and from authoring tools to SCORM, not to mention how it all fits in the big scheme of  ‘all things HR.’

Keep it simple. Go draw some pictures. They’re fun to make, easier to read, and learners like a bit of schniznoodle in their soup. Go forth and make some sounds in novel ways! *POOF*

NOTE: The images in this post were quickly made in PowerPoint 2007. If you’re not a regular user of some of the more popular graphics editing tools, once you get used to the new look and feel of PowerPoint, it is very powerful and quick.

He went on to explain that it means to focus ‘here’ and ‘now’ and not to worry about what failures or mistakes we made rather learn from them, and not to worry about deadlines and outcomes rather plan for them.

I just returned from the eLearning Guild’s Annual Gathering and as with every conference I have a full head of info to decipher and a renewed sense of energy…or should I say a ‘focus.’

I was pleasantly rewarded with many great comments from my presentation at AG09 and am humbled at the overall interest. With that, I’m working on an outline to write up more tutorials and articles on visual design and graphic communication. This is my “Be Here Now.”

Here’s a birds-eye view of an outline of upcoming posts: (in no particular order)
1. Reverse Engineer Written Language back into Graphic Language
2. Elements of an Image
3. An Object is First a Shape
4. Effective use of silhouettes in eLearning
5. Building a Reusable Image Library
6. Image types: Difference between .jpg, .gif, .png

That’s a good start, eh?

I digress…

As with any conference like this, it goes without saying that is a jam-packed event with a lot of information to decipher. As of this writing we still have half a day tomorrow, but I think I’m safe in saying there’s not a single person I’ve met that hasn’t gotten a full plate of great material, tips, takeaways, and advice thus far. Big kudos for all the vendors at the Expo, too. I hope their experience was as productive as the conference-goers.

I sat down tonight after having dinner and a leisurely stroll through downtown Disney with new friends to write about my last two days here. Like many, I’m toast and it’s a long day tomorrow along with traveling home. So, I’ve changed my mind and am updating my blog with this short post by shouting out to everyone who made this event successful.

I have to admit that I’ve secretly held an enormous amount of nervousness about presenting my thoughts and theories about communicating graphically and am glad everyone like it. What I learned is it seems to be a true “need.” Not only for practical applications in eLearning, but in general having the basic understanding of how we as humans interact and already communicate with graphic images.

I’m more inspired now that before and have a new level of energy to organize my ideas and work toward publishing something within the next year or two.

Not sure about how to go about that as I can draw better than I can write, let alone publishing anything I write. Anyone know how a “Toon Geek” can start this new journey?