SJN Learning Lab is an e-learning platform that provides lessons and resources for practicing journalists on how to conduct solutions reporting across a variety of issue areas. It is one of four online platforms we designed for Solutions Journalism Network, a non-profit organization that advocates rigorous reporting about positive solutions to global issues.
Our challenge was to create a flexible template for online curricula—called Issue Guides—that could accommodate a growing library of content. To establish consistency, we identified content types within the lessons (video links, quizzes, professional advice, story examples, tips, etc.) and developed accessible graphic formats for each one. To help orient the user within a lesson, we provided multiple modes of navigation such as a slide-in content outline and paginated status bar. Our ultimate design solution organizes complex content into modular, digestible chunks.
We also created a custom illustration style and vignettes that speak to issues covered in the guides—such as the higher education gap, domestic violence, rising medical costs and police brutality.
