Human Studio's authoring tools enable you to create customized learning experiences that are uniquely tailored to your audience and their learning objectives. As with any authoring program, creating 3D models in Human Studio is more of an art than a science; your options are endless, and you are the expert in what your learners need to know.

However, there are a few basic guidelines you can follow when creating and publishing 3D models that will ensure the learning experience is as effective, convenient, and valuable as possible for your learners. Review these best practices below.

Emphasize key details in your 3D model

1. Use the Anatomy Tree to isolate essential anatomy.

2. Use Paint colors to emphasize primary structures and Paint effects to de-emphasize secondary structures.

3. Use labels and label descriptions to identify or describe key structures.

Segment complex concepts into easy-to-digest units.

1. Break up complex models into multi-chapter tours.

For anatomy, we recommend allocating one chapter for each region, system, or group of key concepts.

For pathology, you can use tours to compare and contrast health anatomy with the disease state, or to show the progression of disease.

In order to reduce cognitive overload and optimize performance on different devices, we recommend limiting tours to 10 chapters or fewer.

2. Minimize the number of labels in each chapter (we recommend 5 or fewer).

Minimizing labels reduces visual clutter and reduces the cognitive load on the learner, helping them focus on only the most essential concepts.

3. Include an overview chapter at the beginning of your tour.

An overview chapter is best used to introduce key structures and concepts that will be referenced throughout, and to set proper expectations for what the learner will learn.

Align text with corresponding visuals

1. When using labels to identify key structures, position the label tags as close as possible to their associated structures.

2. Embed models inline within related text, or in pop-up windows that do not obscure related text.

3. Hyperlink text on the page to corresponding structures in the model.

Note: Requires Viewer API and developer support.

Prompt the learner to interact in 3D

1. Include a "3D interaction prompt" when you publish your model.

2. Use interactive labels, which use  plus /  minus buttons, or "pins," to prompt the learner to click.

When the pin is clicked, the model automatically zooms in to give the learner a better viewing angle.

Here are a few tips for maximizing the educational value of your interactive labels:

• Enable Make Pin Glow in your label’s Style settings to signal interactivity.
• Under Actions, set your label’s description to expand on click to provide the learner with more information about that structure on demand.
• Give learners a better viewing angle by adjusting the zoom label options for select labels. Under Actions switch Zoom to label structure to Zoom to fixed position and navigate to your desired position. (You can even test your new zoom setting by unchecking box next to Disable label zoom while editing and clicking on your updated label.)

3. Set the Getting Started Tutorial to auto-launch when you publish your model.

This tutorial teaches the learner step by step how to interact with the model in 3D.

Consider a variety of screen sizes and device types

1. Be mindful of the size of your models and tours to ensure an optimal loading experience for learners who are using mobile devices or have slower internet connections.

If you can, avoid embedding the full body (i.e., the Male or Female Complete Anatomy), which can overload mobile devices and lower-powered laptops and can additionally overwhelm learners. Instead, focus on one or a few regions or systems at time.

We also recommend limiting the length of your tours and hide non-essential anatomy.

2. Adjust the height and width in the Publish tool to preview the position of the model and labels in case you need to make updates before embedding.

3. Test models in different browser sizes (e.g., laptop, wide-screen monitor) and devices (e.g., smartphone, tablet) to make sure the loading time, performance, and positioning of the model meet your needs.