I received feedback on these three options, and although we all really liked the look of the screens that featured the larger blue blocks and the associate, I ultimately decided that the importance of cleanliness in the learning objective dictated that a “cleaner” screen would best set the mood for the course.

In a professional setting, I might choose to create my mockups in a program like Adobe XD or Figma, but to save time and to have a single design file, I started designing right in Storyline. I designed several looks for my text boxes, buttons, backgrounds, and buttons, relying heavily on the provided style guide. The guide included not only logos, fonts, and colors, but the guide itself included elements like a small blue strip at the bottom of the slide, overlaying an image of drugstore shelves, as well as subtle pink and blue shadows behind text boxes and characters. I incorporated those elements, as well as the general layout, into several of my own templates.

I continued to source assets such as vector images and audio files, adapting visuals with Adobe Illustrator, and then I dove into the development phase. I loved the idea of “wiping” fingerprints and sneeze marks off of the surfaces of the store, so I spent some time developing triggers, layers, and states in Storyline. I made sure to include just enough information on the “Observation Challenge” and “Get Ready” slides to orient learners to the operation of the challenge - hovering over the fingerprints and sneeze spatter that randomly appeared on-screen - and the time clock, so learners were prepared for the challenge, even if they might not be ready to earn the necessary number of points to “win.”

I planned for my learners to fail at first. The timer is set for only 30 seconds, and it’s not easy to visit all four store areas and “wipe clean” the smudges that appear over the course of 5-6 seconds; in fact it is impossible to wipe out every smudge in the challenge. This was meant to reflect the real experience of a Gilbert’s associate, who has limited time to clean the store, and faces a constant battle against germs and disease-carrying smudges, but also was meant to make an uncertain outcome - increasing engagement.

I made sure to also include many “moments of delight” - easter eggs, such as an icky green splotch appearing when you hear a sneeze or cough, and messages that appear during the learner interaction if you’re slow on your clicks.

Finally, I decided last-minute to add a “Review” screen, to reiterate which areas of the store would be considered high-touch. A better and more complete training program would probably include a job aid poster that could be visible in the workplace.

I used Storyline’s text-to-voice function to create narration for each screen, and I also made sure to include a closed caption option. Storyline is great at many things, but I must admit that I prefer human voices to the electronic Betty voice that I used for this project. And, although my project did not turn out to be completely accessible (I was not able to adapt every screen for accessibility due to time constraints), I am ready to use that functionality on my next project.