Revision with unchanged content. Academics are increasingly expected to design and develop projects for slide pre sentation and Websites. This is in part because the technology is available in the form of personal computers and development software. Access to the technology however doesn t mean access to design skills. This thesis describes an investigation of methods of developing online learning material by non-professional visual designers. The primary areas of investigation for the research were visual design and instructional design. The thesis was written with academics in mind and the students they teach be cause if the information is visually incoherent how can anyone learn?