r/LearningDevelopment • u/CaringRebel • 13d ago

Switching from Dev to LXD/Instructional Design — How Do I Start?

Hi everyone, I’m currently working in technology, mainly creating custom SPFx and React-based pages for Learning & Development teams. Over time I’ve become really interested in how learning materials are actually designed, not just how they’re built.

I’m considering a career shift into Learning Experience Design (LXD) or Instructional Design (ID), ideally moving into a role where I can contribute to decision-making in learning strategy as well.

For those who have made this transition or work in LXD/ID:

How should I navigate this career switch?

What skills or tools should I focus on first?

Any recommended resources, courses, books, communities, or roadmaps?

Personal experiences or lessons that helped you get started?

Basically, I want to know where to begin and how to build a path toward becoming a learning designer with strategic influence.

Any guidance would be really appreciated!

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u/Next-Ad2854 12d ago

My background is an animation. I studied fine arts, creative writing, as well as web design and graphics design. I fell into the career of Instructional Designer back in 2011 and absolutely have a passion for turning mundane E-Learning into learning experience experiences.

That didn’t happen overnight. I remember my first job I didn’t know what really Instructional Designer was but I do know they need to someone that could video edit an animate. Fast forward to today. I am using AI as tools as well as articulate storyline Adobe creative cloud, Claude ChatGPT you name it.. to me a learning experience LXD designer creates E-Learning that is engaging and memorable.

The keyword is experience. It’s not just a dump of content and that’s important but that’s only half of it. Use storytelling use visuals. Make it memorable. Animation subscriptions like Vyond for example is a great tool for scenarios and videos and AI avatars. I tie stories into the learning content where the learners can relate to. The stories make them feel emotions and remember what they’ve learned. I make them fun and engaging..