Designing a presentation is an art form. There’s a lot that goes into creating a presentation that presents the facts in an easily digestible way, while also being visually pleasing. If you start to play around with PowerPoint or another presentation tool, you can have fun discovering all of the features and special effects.
However, while these might be fun for a school presentation, they’re most likely not necessary for a professional presentation. Less is more when it comes to presentation design, and refining in your design choices can make your presentation much more impactful. Use these tips to make your next presentation attention-grabbing without going overboard.
Start Fresh
Using a template is a quick way to get started with a new presentation. However, if you want to avoid making a presentation that looks like dozens of others, you should avoid this step. Many other people use the templates, which means your presentation could end up looking just like theirs, and just like any other presentations that you make. Start with a clean slate by choosing a blank presentation.
Go Light on Text
A presentation shouldn’t include everything that you’re saying out loud. It’s there to act as a visual support for what you have to say, not to be a transcription. Too much text is hard to read and take in, and it won’t make your presentation look good. If you want to design an engaging presentation, keep the text short and avoid having too many lines.
Don’t Use Too Many Colors
A bit of color can enhance your presentation. Maybe you want to use brand colors to create a strong connection with your brand. However, you need to be careful about using too many colors in your presentation. It could all look pretty chaotic and distracting if you combine multiple colors that don’t really add anything. Choose a simple color palette instead, with only a few carefully chosen colors. Contrast the colors for your text to draw attention to it too.
Use Clear Visuals
Adding visual elements to your presentation helps to enhance and reinforce what you’re saying. But your visuals need to be easy to understand and digest with a glance. If there’s too much going on, it can just look confusing. When you’re using images, choose just one per slide instead of having too many. If you’re including charts and graphs, make sure they have a clear design that’s not too detailed so that they can be read and understood from a distance. Make sure your visuals are serving a purpose, rather than adding them in for no reason.
Make It Consistent
Your presentation is made up of multiple slides, and this is good to keep in mind when designing it. Your presentation can end up being a number of slides that don’t go together or make sense as a whole if you’re not careful. You should plan to create a cohesive presentation with slides that work together.
Be sure to keep things simple when you’re designing your presentation. It will help you to create a presentation that’s effective and easy to understand. If you still have trouble creating a captivating, concise presentation, look into freelance presentation design. A designer specializing in presentation design will be able to take your slide deck to a new level!
