How to Become an Instructional Designer in 2025

You’ve landed here because you’re interested in developing instructional design skills. Strap in because there’s a lot to learn!

You’ve landed here because you’re interested in developing instructional design skills.

Strap in because there’s a lot to learn!

What you’ll discover is a fascinating, multidisciplinary field that blends creativity, technology, and psychology.

This guide offers practical advice on how you can get started in this profession and kick off your career as an instructional designer (ID).

Find your “why”

A lot of people lump instructional design in with other learning and development roles, but the reality is that they are quite different from one another.

So, to start, I urge you to think about your reasons for wanting to become an ID.

If your passion lies in the delivery or facilitation of training, then instructional design may not be the best fit.

While some IDs do engage in training delivery, it’s not the primary focus. Instructional design is about establishing learning objectives and designing experiences that achieve them.

So, there’s a lot of theory, analysis, and problem-solving involved. Be prepared to spend a lot of time researching and engaging with subject matter experts (SMEs). You’ll also be doing plenty of design work and evaluation.

And you have to love technology and software.

If that all sounds good, then read on.

Start by learning key theories and design frameworks

The first task is to get acquainted with the various theories and frameworks that support instructional design.

The first – and most important – is ADDIE (analyze, design, develop, implement, evaluate) which provides a structured process for developing effective learning experiences.

You should also get to know:

The majority of this information is widely available online and for free. So, it’s a quick and easy way to kick things off.

Get hungry for knowledge

The learning doesn’t just start and end with the classic theories.

It will help you enormously if you are curious and invested in the things that are shaping instructional design.

I recommend joining communities and networking with fellow IDs. LinkedIn is a great place to start because you can connect directly with industry leaders and learn their insights.

Read books, blogs (like this one!), and publications to stay abreast of what’s going on. Here’s a comprehensive list of recommended books that you can dig into.

You can even take online courses to help build your knowledge. For instance, Cathy Moore’s Partner from the Start and Scenario Design courses will teach you valuable skills.

The key is to get hungry for knowledge and stay hungry.

Develop your technology skills

This is a fundamental part of instructional design. You have to be tech-savvy and know how to use a wide variety of tools.

The vast majority of your design work will take place online, so the earlier you can begin getting to grips with these tools, the better.

Here are some common platforms or software apps used in instructional design:

  • Content authoring: Articulate 360, Adobe Captivate, Lectora Inspire
  • Learning management systems: Moodle, Canvas, TalentLMS
  • Multimedia tools: Camtasia, Adobe Premiere Pro, Vyond, Canva
  • Project management: Asana, Trello, Slack
  • Collaboration Tools: Microsoft Teams, Google Workspace, Zoom
  • Graphic Design: Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, Figma, Sketch
  • Gamification Tools: Kahoot, Genially, Classcraft
  • Assessment Tools: Kahoot, Quizizz, Google Forms
  • Data Analysis: Microsoft Excel, Google Sheets, Tableau
  • Scenario Building: Twine, BranchTrack, Articulate Rise, Storyline 360

I know, it can feel very overwhelming to start with. But you don’t have to master them all at once. Besides, you probably already know how to use a good handful of them.

Focus on the tools that are most relevant to your immediate goals. Learn which platforms and apps are most commonly used in your preferred industry and start there.

Learn visual design and composition

It’s one thing to design effective learning experiences; it’s another thing completely to make them look good.

That means you’ll need to add graphic and visual design to your skill set.

For example:

  • You must understand principles like contrast, alignment, proximity, etc. to create learning interfaces that are as functional as they are attractive.
  • Selecting the right color schemes and fonts is also an art form. Everything has to look cohesive.
  • You’ll also often find yourself creating custom graphics or selecting stock images and animations. You need to know how to ensure they enhance the learning experience and not just act as filler material.
  • Familiarity with tools like Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, or Canva is key. They will be invaluable in enhancing the visual quality of your designs.
  • Finally, learn universal design. This is crucial for ensuring your learning modules are accessible to all.

Build your experience and portfolio

The biggest thing that will count in your favor is demonstrating a strong portfolio of work. It needs to showcase your experience and your ability to design successful learning experiences.

Ideally, it should contain at least three completed projects.

But how do you get that, exactly?

Get experience in your current job (if possible)

If circumstances allow, you can start with your current job.

Identify a suitable project that has a need for instructional design and volunteer yourself to get involved.

One good place to start is with a business process or situation that isn’t working. Or, an existing learning experience that is receiving a lot of complaints.

Request the chance to overhaul it, but be mindful of stepping on others’ toes – another useful skill to learn as an ID!

I appreciate that, depending on your current job role, this approach might not be possible. And it can be challenging to add this on top of your existing workload.

Find volunteer opportunities

A good avenue to explore is to volunteer your skills.

Start with local non-profits. They are often willing to take on lesser-experienced individuals if it means they can save on costs. You can try community projects and associations, too.

Do any of your family and friends own businesses? They may also be willing to let you take on an instructional design project on a volunteer basis.

Create your own projects

If all else fails, come up with your own project to work on.

Create a fictional business profile and its learning objectives, and build the project around it. Alternatively, find real business case studies and demonstrate what you would do to overcome the challenges.

Three things that make a portfolio stand out

Besides what I have outlined below, my biggest piece of advice is to look at what other IDs are doing.

How do they display their portfolios? What do they include? What makes it stand out?

The more research you can perform here, the better. Learn from others and apply it to your own portfolio.

1. Choose the right site builder

How exactly are you going to showcase your portfolio?

Most IDs set up a website for this purpose, and I recommend you do likewise. They’re easy for potential employers to access and simple to update with new projects.

However, be sure to pick a reliable website builder that provides suitable templates for portfolio sites. Wix, Squarespace, and WordPress are the top names in site builders, and you can set up a great-looking site for a relatively low cost.

2. It should reflect your personality (but keep it professional)

Your personality will influence how you approach instructional design, and this should be reflected in your portfolio. Additionally, clients want to see your design philosophies and the approach you take to reach a solution.

After all, it’s what sets you apart from other IDs.

However, keep it professional. Remember, you’re aiming it at potential employers, so strike a good balance between showcasing your creativity and adhering to industry standards.

For instance, avoid excessive animations or cluttered designs that may detract from your work.

3. Develop a flagship project

It’s okay to have smaller projects in your portfolio, but you will need to pick one that will serve as the “crown jewel.”

This is the project you are most proud of. Your most comprehensive and detailed work. And one that covers every aspect of the instructional design process.

Your flagship project should include the following:

  • An outline of the client’s problem and objectives
  • The process you took to determine the end goal
  • Storyboards (text- or visual-based)
  • A design document
  • Virtual instructor-led training (VILT) package
  • At least one complete microlearning module (ideally more)

This portfolio project by Sean Anderson is an excellent example of what to include.

We also have a comprehensive article on what needs to go into your portfolio.

Do you really need a degree?

Nope.

Although getting a degree will certainly support your career, many successful IDs broke into the industry through self-directed learning and by building a strong portfolio.

A degree is going to give you strong theoretical knowledge and a deep understanding of all the various frameworks.

However, you’ll likely find that you won’t learn how to apply this knowledge to real-world workplaces or how to properly understand and address business needs.

If you do want to go down this route, choose a degree that gives you experience in real-world business projects in addition to the theory. The program should also teach you about the metrics used to measure performance.

You shouldn’t spend thousands of dollars on a degree and not learn what a “key performance indicator” is.

For more context, read this post on the best instructional design master’s degree programs.

Also, here’s Cathy Moore’s response when asked this very question – should IDs get a degree:

Compared to other instructional designers, I’m less enthusiastic about degrees. I worked with several recent graduates of respected ID degree programs. I usually found that they learned a lot of theory but had little understanding of business needs and no experience applying the theory to a real-world workplace.

If you think a degree will help your career, be skeptical of programs that lump educational and corporate design together. Based on my experience in both sectors, they have different goals and require different approaches. Applying educational approaches to business problems creates the irrelevant information dumps that so many people complain about.

The greatest weakness I see in corporate instructional designers is that they don’t consider the needs of the business and the need for behavior change. I blame the academic “knowledge transfer” focus for that.

Consider programs that give you real-world business projects in addition to the theory. The program should also teach you about the metrics used to measure business performance. You shouldn’t spend thousands of dollars on a corporate ID degree and graduate without knowing what a “key performance indicator” is.

Also look out for pseudoscience that the instructor is presenting as fact. Does the program say that you should accommodate learning styles in your design? Do they apply fictional percentages to theoretical models to make them look science-y? Do they treat theory as proven fact? If so, go elsewhere.

Finally, I don’t think software training belongs in a graduate program, especially when people in the real world learn the software on their own for free. Your education should equip you to diagnose performance problems and help people change what they do; you shouldn’t pay thousands of dollars to have an instructor tell you which buttons to click.

I haven’t looked for an ID job for a long time, so I don’t know how many employers require degrees now. However, I can say that when I helped evaluate instructional design applicants, I didn’t see a strong correlation between having a degree and having a portfolio that shows effective design decisions.

Wrap up

This article has covered a lot, so if you’re still not sure where to start, you can dip your toe in gently by reading the rest of the articles and resources on this site.

Cathy Moore is one of the greatest experts in instructional design, so you will be learning from the best.

You’ll get some great foundational knowledge and hopefully ignite your thirst to discover more!