Learning designers are often doing all of this under pressure, expected to create numerous courses at scale without the power of a large team. They’re working with tools that weren’t built for rich interaction, supporting faculty who may be anxious about teaching online, and juggling the technical side of course building on top of everything else. When you’re troubleshooting HTML, fixing broken activities, or manually rebuilding engagement week after week, the real craft of learning design gets squeezed out.
Great designers thrive when the tools around them remove friction so they can spend their energy on the human work: guiding faculty, shaping learning journeys, and improving the learner experience. Even with tools like insendi which are designed to reduce the technical burden, it’s the human skills of learning designers that make the real difference.
So what are these skills that help learning designers thrive in the role? Here are a few essential ones we’ve seen demonstrated by the great learning designers we've worked with over the years…
1. Being a facilitator first
Learning designers aren’t just building courses—they’re helping academic staff build confidence. They’re not there to “tell” but to guide, question, and support. Many faculty are still learning how best to teach online, so a learning designer’s job is to meet them where they are and walk alongside them. The role encompasses not just designing content, but also teaching the teachers.
2. Managing people, not just projects
Deadlines. Stakeholders. Competing priorities. A big part of the job is making sure people (and projects) stay on track. That means understanding how to nudge when things stall, how to protect your own time, and how to keep the momentum going without burning out. It’s a fine balance—and learning designers are often the ones holding it!
3. Flexibility and readiness to adapt
No two projects are the same. One week designers could be working with a law professor building case-based activities. The next, they’re helping a neuroscientist narrate video scripts. Every subject brings its own quirks, challenges, and unknowns. That’s why being flexible is key, and a useful tool with various adaptable activities can help everything go smoother when the project throws curveballs.
4. A strong sense of humour
A sense of humour goes a long way. Especially when you’re knee-deep in unfamiliar content, or trying to translate lofty academic objectives into clear, engaging learner tasks. Learning designers live with uncertainty due to new topics, new tools, and new teams. The best ones don’t pretend to know everything. They ask smart questions, stay curious, and aren’t afraid to say, “Let’s figure it out.”
Learning design isn’t just about structure; it’s about people, teamwork, and adaptability. And the more we value the invisible skills behind the scenes, the stronger our courses—and our teams—will be. If you’re exploring tools that could help you focus more on relationship building and the real craft of learning design, insendi could help make that work simpler. Learn more about how it works in Canvas.
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