When "Make it Pretty" Takes Precedence

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Companies often like to repurpose content. Leveraging resources in multiple ways is a decent business strategy (saving time and money). But what about when the stakeholder says these four words, "Just make it pretty"?

I know those four words can make an ID cry. We have solid expertise in designing learning experiences to get results, which yes, can include creating something visually appealing. That is not all we do.

But sometimes that's all that's needed.

?? Did Mandy just say sometimes IDs just make the deck pretty?! Yup. I did. But before you unsubscribe, let me explain.

In universities, ID bootcamps, and even industry books, we're presented with the ideal build, moving through ADDIE. What I've learned through my work experience is that the ideal doesn't always happen.

Sometimes you're completely clueless to the needs Analysis and just given the assignment after someone else Designed the asset. Maybe you're just being asked to Develop and hand it off to other teams to Implement and Evaluate.

I've been in this situation a few times over the last few learning programs. For one of these builds, we had data that the current slide deck was effective for learners. (If it ain't broke, don't fix it.) Because the new iteration would be for tenured associates, stakeholders wanted to elevate the look and feel for participants and remove irrelevant onboarding materials.

So I used some of my learning expertise to make sure we didn't insult tenured associates with basic material. But the majority of the design had already been decided for me. I just had to "make it pretty."

Here's what else I did:

• Upskilled my visual design and presentation skills. I made that deck a piece of art, adding crisp details and transitions/animations that built meaning. ??????
• Advocated for additional tools. This is the project where I finally got the facilitators on board to use a new engagement tool! I'd been pushing for this tool for two years. Not having a full build freed up time for me to make my case and strategize with my SMEs about getting additional buy-in.
• Communicated my morale levels to my manager. "I understand this is part of the job, and I'll do it. But I also need to own that if this is the norm for all projects moving forward, my motivation is going to suffer. And I want you to get my best work by taking advantage of my expertise." This is what I shared in a 1:1, to which my manager assured me (and showed me that the next project is more design-heavy. They're trying to vary up the assignments so everyone on the team gets variety, which I can appreciate. Consider your psychological safety before sharing with a manager. If I was navigating a micromanager, toxic positivity, and/or apathy in my workplace, I would not have said any of this.

Yes, there are moments to push back on the "make it pretty" mentality, especially if your stakeholders have never been through the design process. But as with all jobs, sometimes we just have to do the less-than-thrilling side of things and look for how to make the most of it.

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