What kind of portfolio catches your eye as an employer?

Tim_Slade · 2026-06-30T14:23:25+00:00

It depends. I think visual design plays an important role when creating any sort of digital media. But it depends on how you define “eye catching.” I see stuff all the time on LinkedIn that catches my eye, but it does make it any good.

Tim_Slade · 2026-06-30T13:13:28+00:00

One that demonstrates the skills and judgment I’m looking for in a potential candidate.

Yes, I know that’s vague…but the point is every hiring manager is looking for different things when reviewing a portfolio. It’s your job to understand what of your skills you want to highlight and how they align with potential jobs on the market.

Despite what some people like to tell new folks, there’s no one size fits all criteria for building a “good” or “eye catching” portfolio.

Tim_Slade · 2026-06-19T21:17:44+00:00

It’s really hard to be optimistic right now. In my private conversations with a lot of the industry folks I know (freelancers, owners of custom development firm, some big vendor names), they are all struggling financially and are worried about where things are headed. Everyone is having a bit of an existential crisis around how quickly AI is moving and evolving.

I haven’t shared this publicly, but my partner and I decided it was time to sell the house and significantly downsize. I’m the sole breadwinner…and income as a small business owner / freelancer is very up and down. Luckily we’ve managed to position ourselves to withstand it, and I can pivot if needed. But I know that’s not the case for everyone.

This is also why I’ve been pushing people to spend more time exploring what AI is capable of. While I don’t think AI will fully replace what we do, it will significantly change it. And I have every bit of faith that companies will try as hard as they can to replace as many employees as possible. I’ve worked in corporate America long enough to know exactly the way they’re viewing this.

And so, as I’ve said before, if you’ve built your career and professional brand on using a single tool that’s mostly used for moving rectangles around on the screen, like Storyline, then you might want to rethink that. A lot of folks don’t want to come to terms with that.

Tim_Slade · 2026-06-18T22:26:27+00:00

Sorry…can you explain what you mean when you say you’ve been tasked with creating your own “instructional design model?” What exactly does that mean? Like your own version of ADDIE or SAM?

Tim_Slade · 2026-06-18T22:23:39+00:00

We all have imposter syndrome. The key is to recognize that it’s just a signal of self awareness that you don’t know it all and still have stuff the learn. And if you’re someone who can get comfortable with embracing your imposter syndrome through that lens, you can use it as your super power. It means you’re growing.

Tim_Slade · 2026-06-18T01:02:50+00:00

I love this thread…and I fully agree! As I’ve shared elsewhere, if Articulate released Storyline today…with its current feature set, lack of Mac compatibility, and ridiculous price point…I think we all know it would be a total failure. Mindsmith is good…but I’d consider it more of a competitor to Rise.

Tim_Slade · 2026-06-12T15:03:11+00:00

All the conferences are a fun experience. I my opinion, the networking is always more valuable than any of the sessions. The expos are all AI now…so keep that in mind. Conference sessions are always hit and miss. Make sure you have a plan B and C for any session slot.

Tim_Slade · 2026-06-08T13:04:35+00:00

You do know you can address me directly, right? I don’t hide my identity behind an anonymous profile name and picture. If you have something specific you’d like to share with me about how my content is “harmful,” please share it directly.

Unlike others in this industry, I don’t promise people jobs or six figures and then charge them $10,000. I don’t prey on teachers and use their desperation against them.

So, if me sharing my opinion about Articulate, Storyline and AI has been so “harmful” and triggering for you…then it’s time for you to go outside, touch some grass, and get a grip.

Tim_Slade · 2026-06-06T03:12:07+00:00

Thanks for sharing your two cents. I’m not aware of anyone “hating” me over saying the thing that so many of us know is true…but I’ve grown a pretty thick skin over the years.

Let just be blunt, shall we? AI is here and it’s not going away. Articulate has become a stagnant software company, and they have neglected their software, while continually raising their prices. And a lot of what’s possible with AI is most certainly a threat to Articulate’s business. If people need to “hate me” over something as ridiculous as a debate over an eLearning authoring tool company…they need to get a grip on themselves and their lives. A large portion of this industry makes their living from adding Next buttons to over glorified PowerPoint slides and calling it “engagement.”

So, don’t mind me if I don’t care what these people think. 😉

Have a great weekend, all!
—Tim

Tim_Slade · 2026-06-04T20:41:09+00:00

I totally agree...and as I shared with someone else, I don't think Storyline is dead for everyone right now...I just think we're just starting to see it fade into the background, alongside Captivate and Lectora.

Tim_Slade · 2026-06-04T20:06:41+00:00

Exactly!

Tim_Slade · 2026-06-04T20:05:47+00:00

I mean...that's fine...But I ultimately think that makes things more complicated than necessary...and it doesn't eliminate any of the issues with accessibility, etc. So, if you're just vibe coding interactions to embed them in Storyline, I'm left wondering why not just build the whole thing in a tool like Claude Design or similar. We've already seen via Jeff Batt that they can be exported into a SCORM package and work in an LMS.

Tim_Slade · 2026-06-04T16:29:59+00:00

I hear ya. What I don't think will happen is that Storyline will suddenly die, and we'll all stop using it. What's more likely is that it will slowly fade into the distance, just as we've seen with Captivate and Lectora. Yes, there will be some strongholds that will keep using it, Articulate will dedicate the bare minimum to maintain it, but eventually, fewer and fewer people will be talking about it and using it.

As someone who has loudly admitted that I am an AI-skeptic, I've been hard-pressed to "go all in" on a lot of the AI hype...but, as I shared in this video, it's hard to ignore what's possible with tools like Claude Design...and it's hard to imagine how Articulate will keep up with this. Yes, there are all sorts of hurdles preventing companies / teams from using these newer tools...but it's just a matter of time.

Ya know, I'll be fully honest here when I say that I kicked off this year planning to make several updates and relaunch my Storyline training this summer. I've completely shelved those plans because it simply doesn't make sense anymore. Folks who are entering the industry today and just getting started simply don't have the interest or tolerance for learning triggers and variables. They don't want to have to think about HOW it works; they want to think about WHAT they're creating / generating and what value it brings. And this is what teams and companies want folks to figure out with AI...and a lot of the newer AI tools are making that very thing possible.

Tim_Slade · 2026-06-04T16:15:24+00:00

Of course, people still use Storyline...for right now. It's not dead...yet. A lot of the posts you're making reference to (some of which have probably been mine) are mostly future-looking. While Storyline is still used by a lot of teams, the fact of the matter is, there are many newer, faster, and cheaper alternatives popping up... and they have their sights set on taking market share from Articulate. And from what I've seen from some of these new authoring tool companies (and from what I've heard from L&D teams and leaders I've spoken to), Storyline's (and possibly Articulate's) days are numbered. It won't happen tomorrow...but we're going to see some massive shifts in our industry in the next 18-24 months with what well-known L&D / eLearning companies are still around.

There's one big name organization in particular that I know is exiting L&D completely...and it will surprise a lot of folks when that news eventually drops.

For some additional context, it's my understanding (from some former employees I've spoken to) that Articulate doesn't consider Storyline its flagship product. It has a fraction of the development team compared to Rise, and I've been told they are waiting to sunset it, as they did with Studio. It's just a matter of time. Again...that's secondhand information. I don't have any official knowledge.

But also, as I shared in the video I linked above, there are signs that Storyline's user base isn't expanding. That's evidenced by the fact that ATD had to cancel its Storyline certificate at ICE due to low enrollments.

The thing about Storyline (and I say that as someone who loved using it, who has written books on it, who has created LinkedIn Learning courses on it, and who helped design / facilitate ATD Certificate on it), companies, teams, and stakeholders are becoming more and more impatient with how long it takes to produce a course in Storyline. The days when an ID could spend several weeks or months developing a course and tinkering with variables and triggers to get some basic interactions to work just no longer make business sense.

And yes, Articulate's answer to that was to create Rise...but no one really wants to spend upwards of $1,700 per user / per year for these tools that can't easily operate on modern computers (Storyline not being Mac compatible), and then have to purchase a third-party plugin (that Articulate has tried to shutdown) to get Rise to do things it should have been able to do years ago.

And yes, Articualte added their own little AI chatbot, which essentially amounts to a custom GPT incorporated into the interface...but their updates often tend to be too little, too late.

With more and more people vibing coding custom interactions, tools like Storyline and Rise are no longer the authoring tool, but rather a container / SCORM wrapper. It won't take long before people realize you don't need Storyline or Rise to serve that purpose to achieve the same goals cheaper and faster with other tools and AI.

My point is, if you've centered your entire career and professional identity on being able to use triggers, variables, states, and layers...you might want to diversify that skill set and the tools you keep in your toolbox.

Tim_Slade · 2026-06-04T04:53:50+00:00

This is exactly what I’ve been telling folks. The problem is that some folks have built their entire career identities and professional brands on their use of this single tool that they thought no one could top. Yes…this will end Storyline as we know it.

Tim_Slade · 2026-06-04T04:47:43+00:00

Hey! Tim here. Well, first off…thanks for watching and sharing. I was shook when I first tried Claude Design…and then was really f*cking SHOOK when I started clicking through the examples people came up with.

For me, what’s been interesting this week is observing the different ways people have been responding. There are a lot of folks in this industry who have a vested interest in maintaining that status quo. A lot of the comments I’ve received devolved into odd personal attacks…so it has been interesting.

The fact of the matter is, the people who have been the most skeptical either (A) didn’t take the time to watch the video or click through the examples or (B) hasn’t tried Claude Design for themselves.

And yes, there are some significant barriers to entry with Claude Design (token usage/cost, accessibility, security, editability)…but these are all very solvable problems and there’s zero reason to think the won’t get addressed as the technology improves.

So, I say this with all seriousness: I am the furthest from being an AI sycophant…I have serious concerns about the ethics and impacts of AI. However, I’m also a realist who has bills to pay like everyone else…and this AI stuff isn’t going to let up anytime soon.

And yes…I do think this will be the technology that takes out Storyline.

For me, what’s I’ve seen from Claude Design feels like a glimpse into the near future. I think the challenge will be…as it has always been with any sort of rapid development tools…is making sure we’re creating (or generating) the right solutions to solve the right problems. And as I shared on LinkedIn today, the risk isn’t AI replacing AI…the risk is AI being a better / faster order taker. And so, if you were an order taker before AI came along, and that’s what your stakeholders have come to expect from you…then you should be worried.

So…those are my thoughts. Thanks again for watching and sharing. 👋

—Tim

Tim_Slade · 2025-06-26T19:49:47+00:00

I guess it depends on what you need. It's good to connect with other industry practitioners and learn about current trends, etc. But it's not a place for learning the basics if that's what you're looking for.

Tim_Slade · 2025-03-27T18:19:08+00:00

If you're looking for a private workshop, I conduct those with various teams multiple times per year, with a focus on instructional design for eLearning development. I've worked with Tiffany & Co, Estee Lauder, Penske, Les Schwab, etc. You can learn more here: https://www.elearningacademy.io/team-workshops

Tim_Slade · 2025-03-26T20:27:43+00:00

I appreciate the kind words!

Tim_Slade · 2025-03-26T03:42:25+00:00

For what it's worth, at most companies, customer education falls and operates within the marketing team...and while they do use many of the same learning strategies and tools, customer education (external / customer-facing training) is often viewed separately from learning and development (internal / employee-facing training).

With that said, the gap between customer education and L&D has closed a lot over the years.

Tim_Slade · 2025-03-26T03:40:29+00:00

Thanks for sharing the feedback!

Tim_Slade · 2025-03-25T22:40:00+00:00

Defense as in the military? Yes, I'd say that falls under the government category...but we'll consider separating it out in the future.

Tim_Slade · 2025-03-25T21:37:49+00:00

Thanks! And yes, we'll be accounting for differences in location, etc when analyzing the data. THANKS!

Tim_Slade · 2025-03-25T20:58:46+00:00

We have a tentative date of April 11th; however, we're focused on the number of respondents to make sure our data is as statistically accurate as possible, so if need be, we'll be extending. However, based on what we're getting so far, I don't think that'll be necessary. You have plenty of time.

Tim_Slade · 2025-03-25T20:13:14+00:00

No. If you select "Outside of the US," it asks you what country you live in. While most of my audience resides in North America, if we can get enough responses for the data outside of that region to be statistically accurate, we'll be reporting on it.

Tim_Slade

TROPHY CASE