The Learning Design Voices Book Cover

It has been a long time coming but we finally have a book cover for Learning Design voices! We looked for a graphic designer for ages and perused many portfolios and moodboards; we were fussy especially as we wanted to find a young black South African artist. Eventually we came across Phathu Designs. We love their style of African illustrations and thought it would complement what we wanted to create. 

For the design, we envisioned a concept that emphasised the diversity and voices of the authors. We chose bright colours to establish the sense of optimism, encouragement and joy that the book will give to readers. We went with orange as our primary colour

At the centre of the book we have a group of people representing the many voices in the book, fittingly in the shape of a world globe. Around the globe are radiating  lines – which can be interpreted as  sound waves broadcasting voices across the globe – some louder than others! With many chapters reflecting on COVID-19, we decided to include masks to depict current times.

We see both the practice and study of learning design as oriented to the idea of thriving, of giving all doing and using learning design work an opportunity at better lives – students, learning designers and educators. For us, a fundamental requirement for that better life is a more peaceful world.  The oves are symbols of peace but also of conversation and covenant. What are our ‘covenants’ or agreements with each other? How are we reconstructing our work in ways that “un-marginalise”, or disturb the idea of margin and  periphery, and lead to more equitably peaceful lives?  We added proteas, the South African national flower, which for some represents diversity and for others hope and peace. We trust that while you read the book you find some of these concepts threaded throughout the chapters.

We hope you like it!

Tasneem Jaffer

(@tasneemjaffer) – Tasneem is a senior project coordinator and learning designer at the University of Cape Town in South Africa. She has worked as a learning designer for the last seven years and has prior expertise in the field of user experience (UX). She has completed an MEd in Educational Technology and is currently an MBA candidate. Her work includes being involved in the development and research of MOOCs, as well as the development of formal online courses. She has a passion for learning, specifically the intersection of learning design and UX.