Summary

When designing multimedia, there are certain principles to follow to facilitate learning and effectively communicate ideas.

Some key principles include:

• Coherence: There should be a logical flow with all the elements supporting key themes and messages. Extraneous information that does not support the overall goals can distract and overwhelm.
  
• Conciseness and economy of means: Only essential media should be included. Each element should have an explicit purpose contributing to the goals. Avoid superfluous cognitive processing.
  
• Interactivity and variety: Allowing users to engage actively and incorporating different media types caters to different learning styles and maintains interest. However, too much variety should be avoided from a cognitive load perspective
• Legibility, consistency, and visual impact: On-screen text should be easy to read. Consistent layout and design allow users to focus on content rather than adjust to new schemes. Images and graphics should maximize interest and reinforce learning.

Building on these overarching principles, Mayer outlined additional evidence-based principles specifically centered around optimizing multimedia for how people learn most effectively:

• Multimodal: Use audio narration combined with appropriate graphics rather than text alone.

• Segmenting: Break narrated presentations into user-paced segments.

• Signaling: Use cues to highlight essential material and organization.

• Spatial/temporal contiguity: Align narration with corresponding graphics.

By considering both general multimedia design and Mayer’s multimedia learning principles, we can craft presentations and products that facilitate meaningful engagement and learning through varied media.

Accessible Slides

Mayer's Principles of Multimedia Learning

Other Resources

Mayer's 12 Principles of Multimedia Learning | DLI

Principles of Multimedia Learning - Center for Teaching and Learning | Wiley Education Services

Prof. Richard  E. Mayer - On the role and design of video for learning