0631 Design Simple Presentations

Before&After
BAmagazine.com
i U X
Shopping Preference
Inside
15%
Outside
85%
Design simple
www.VinewoodParkProject.com
presentations
Visual brevity will help a great talk.
Continued
Continued
Design simple presentations
0631
Before&After
BAmagazine.com
i U X

You, not your PowerPoint slides, are the key to a great presentation
Do you have a speech to give? Slidemaking software like PowerPoint or

Keynote makes it easy to add visual
information to accompany your
verbal presentation. Your slides can
include the company logo and colors,
headlines, bullet points, photos,
video clips, charts and more. Transitions can be made with cinematic
dissolves, wipes and other effects.
All of this is helpful. But the most
important thing to remember is that
you, not your slides, are the show.
The purpose of having slides is not to
make a documentary but to supplement your story with easy-to-remember points. Here are four basics.
Shopping Preference
Inside
15%
Outside
85%
A slide is a way for the audience to learn and

remember a point that youve made. Memory
is key, so keep each slide very simple.
2 of 9
0631
Before&After
BAmagazine.com
3 of 9
i U X
Use a plain background
A plain background will show your information best. Soft, neutral colors are easiest
on the eyes. Avoid bright, busy, complicated backgrounds.
$4.8B
$4.8B
Spent on consumer goods in 2005
$4.8B
$4.8B
$4.8B

They look good on a page
of templates, but add your
words, and the gratuitous
graphics impair readability
and send goofy messages.
As a rule, use plain dark or
soft neutral backgrounds,
and avoid pure white (left),
which on a slide is blinding.
$4.8B
$4.8B
Use a dark background
Use a soft gradient
$4.8B
$4.8B
Use a neutral background
Use a faintly textured background
3 of 9
0631
Before&After
BAmagazine.com
4 of 9
i U X
Use a clear typeface
Use a simple typeface that can be read easily from across the room. It should have clear,
basic shapes and little or no detail. Think plain. Avoid all embellishments.
What to look for
Type
Little or no weight variation
Large counters
Simple lines
What to avoid
A A Aed
Embellishments Outlines, shadows

and other details reduce readability while
adding a lot of visual noise.
Wide openings (apertures)
Shapes too much alike
ae
Tiny openings
Condensed and bold faces Clarity

requires difference; condensed letters are
too much alike. Bold letters have too-small
openings for good legibility.
4 of 9
Type
Extreme weight variations Large

differences in stroke weight dazzle the
eye. Superthin lines can disappear.
0631
Before&After
BAmagazine.com
5 of 9
i U X
Make one point per slide
Remember, you are the show, and your slides are memory prompts. Highlight one point
that sums up each part of your outline, put it on the slide, and speak everything else.
Before
The Rogers Community

is a magnet for shoppers!
This can be seen in its
consistently high trafc
volume. More than 22,000
vehicles use Howard Street,
and more than 27,000 vehicles
use Clark Street every day!
After
Key Market Facts

High Trafc Volume:
- Over 22,000 vehicles on Howard Street and
over 27,000 vehicles on Clark Street daily
Easily Accessible:
High Trafc Volume
- 4 CTA stations, 1 Metro station, 8 bus routes
Rogers Community has Value:

- Lower commercial rents, increasing property
value, homeowners with expendable cash
Too much information Look at this slide for 30 seconds, then cover it and see what you remember. Its too
much, isnt it? Your audience wont remember it, either,
and they especially wont remember a dozen of these.
Divide your information into brief memory hooks.
Just enough Put only the memory hook on the slide,

and speak everything else (right). This keeps the audience
attentive to you and the slide show moving. Choose your
hooks carefully, but use as many as you need. Lots of
simple slides are preferable to a few complicated ones.
5 of 9
0631
Before&After
BAmagazine.com
6 of 9
i U X
Add points one . . . at . . . a . . . time
Alternatively, when you have many points to make under a common heading, keep your
audience on track by cycling in successive points one at a time on a single slide.
Key Market Facts
Key Market Facts
Key Market Facts
High Trafc Volume
High Trafc Volume
High Trafc Volume
Easily Accessible
Easily Accessible
Rogers Community has Value
On a single slide, successive points appear as you get to them in your speech. The standing head (Key Market Facts) helps your audience remember what your points relate to. This
should be unnecessary for a short list, but its helpful for a long list. Note that as each new
point cycles in, the previous point fades back. All are brief.
6 of 9
0631
Before&After
BAmagazine.com
7 of 9
i U X
Unify with layout
Contentespecially graphical contentcan vary a lot. Hold it together with repetitive

color, typestyle and layout. Divide the slide into zones, and stay within those zones.
Uniform alignment
Same typeface throughout; headers always white, body type always black.
Uniform colors and headers
Demographic
Marketing
Busiest month
Our new look
70%
Female
May
vinewood park
Align the photo to the top left grid corner (yellow), and extend it to the bottom if you can. Note
the left margin aligns with the header above it.
Align the chart in the same way. Rectangular

objects such as charts and photos are best at
holding together a rectangular space.
Align the type Unlike the rectangles, funny

shaped objects with indenite edges need your
good eye. In this case, the center-weighted logo
looks correct only in the center of the slide; the
head (Our new look) remains aligned to the left.
One point per slide, even if it has graphics.
7 of 9
0631
Before&After
BAmagazine.com
8 of 9
i U X
Article resources
Typefaces
9
10 11 12 13
14 13
Shopping Preference
8a
Colors
1 Myriad Pro Bold
2 Futura Condensed Bold
Demographic
3 Helvetica Rounded Bold Condensed

Inside
15%
70%
Female
Outside
85%
4 Zebrawood Regular
10 C0 M90 Y100 K60

11 C20 M50 Y100 K40
5 Linotype Didot Headline
12 C0 M35 Y100 K15
6 Runic MT Condensed
13 C0 M5 Y15 K0
7 Helvetica Neue Std Black
14 C35 M30 Y55 K0
17 18
15 16
C15 M25 Y100 K80
Images
14
8b
15 C0 M0 Y0 K100
8 (ad) iStockphoto.com |
$4.8B
$4.8B
$4.8B
$4.8B
Amount spent on consumer goods in 2005
a b c d
16 C0 M0 Y0 K35
17 C80 M20 Y0 K70
18 C55 M15 Y0 K50
1 (All typefaces above are set in Myriad Pro Bold)
A A A Aed ae
2
8c
8d
8 of 9
0631
Before&After
BAmagazine.com
9 of 9
Subscribe to Before & After
i U X
Before & After magazine

Before & After has been sharing its practical approach
to graphic design since 1990. Because our modern world
has made designers of us all (ready or not), Before &
After is dedicated to making graphic design understandable, useful and even fun for everyone.
Did you learn from this article? Subscribe, and

become a more capable, condent designer
for pennies per article. To learn more, go to
http://www.bamagazine.com/Subscribe
To pass along a free copy of this article to
John McWade Publisher and creative director

Gaye McWade Associate publisher
Vincent Pascual Staff designer
Dexter Mark Abellera Staff designer
others, click here.
Design advisor Gwen Amos
E-mail this article

323 Lincoln Street, Roseville, CA 95678
Telephone 916-784-3880
Fax 916-784-3995
E-mail mailbox@bamagazine.com
www http://www.bamagazine.com
Join our e-list

To be notied by e-mail of new articles as
they become available, go to
http://www.bamagazine.com/email
Copyright 2006 Before & After magazine, ISSN

1049-0035. All rights reserved
You may pass this article around, but you may not alter
it, and you may not charge for it. You may quote brief
sections for review. If you do this, please credit Before
& After magazine, and let us know. To feature free
Before & After articles on your Web site, please contact
us. For permission to include all or part of this article in
another work, please contact us.
9 of 9
Printing formats
0631
Before&After
BAmagazine.com
i U X
Before & After is made to t your binder

Before & After articles are intended for permanent reference. All are titled and numbered.
For the current table of contents, click here. To save time and paper, a paper-saver format of this article,
suitable for one- or two-sided printing, is provided on the following pages.
For presentation format

Print: (Specify pages 19)
For paper-saver format

Print: (Specify pages 1115)
Print
Format: Landscape
Page Size: Fit to Page
Save
Presentation format or
Paper-saver format
Back
Paper-saver format
Design simple
Shopping Preference
0631
Inside
15%
Outside
85%
presentations
Visual brevity will help a great talk.
Shopping Preference
Inside
15%
Outside
85%
A slide is a way for the audience to learn and

remember a point that youve made. Memory
is key, so keep each slide very simple.
1 of 5
Before&After | www.bamagazine.com
Do you have a speech to give? Slidemaking software like PowerPoint or

Keynote makes it easy to add visual
information to accompany your
verbal presentation. Your slides can
include the company logo and colors,
headlines, bullet points, photos,
video clips, charts and more. Transitions can be made with cinematic
dissolves, wipes and other effects.
All of this is helpful. But the most
important thing to remember is that
you, not your slides, are the show.
The purpose of having slides is not to
make a documentary but to supplement your story with easy-to-remember points. Here are four basics.
0631 Design simple presentations
$4.8B
Type
Wide openings (apertures)
Extreme weight variations Large

differences in stroke weight dazzle the
eye. Superthin lines can disappear.
0631
$4.8B
$4.8B
Use a soft gradient
Use a faintly textured background
$4.8B
Use a neutral background
Use a dark background
A plain background will show your information best. Soft, neutral colors are easiest
on the eyes. Avoid bright, busy, complicated backgrounds.
$4.8B
$4.8B
$4.8B
$4.8B
$4.8B

They look good on a page
of templates, but add your
words, and the gratuitous
graphics impair readability
and send goofy messages.
As a rule, use plain dark or
soft neutral backgrounds,
and avoid pure white (left),
which on a slide is blinding.
Use a clear typeface
Little or no weight variation
Shapes too much alike
Tiny openings
ae
Large counters
Use a simple typeface that can be read easily from across the room. It should have clear,
basic shapes and little or no detail. Think plain. Avoid all embellishments.
What to look for
Type
Simple lines
What to avoid
A A Aed
Condensed and bold faces Clarity

requires difference; condensed letters are
too much alike. Bold letters have too-small
openings for good legibility.
2 of 5
Embellishments Outlines, shadows

and other details reduce readability while
adding a lot of visual noise.
Before
Make one point per slide
The Rogers Community

is a magnet for shoppers!
This can be seen in its
consistently high trafc
volume. More than 22,000
vehicles use Howard Street,
and more than 27,000 vehicles
use Clark Street every day!
Key Market Facts
Easily Accessible
High Trafc Volume
Key Market Facts
0631
After
Just enough Put only the memory hook on the slide,

and speak everything else (right). This keeps the audience
attentive to you and the slide show moving. Choose your
hooks carefully, but use as many as you need. Lots of
simple slides are preferable to a few complicated ones.
High Trafc Volume
Remember, you are the show, and your slides are memory prompts. Highlight one point
that sums up each part of your outline, put it on the slide, and speak everything else.
Key Market Facts

High Trafc Volume:
Easily Accessible:
- Over 22,000 vehicles on Howard Street and

over 27,000 vehicles on Clark Street daily
- 4 CTA stations, 1 Metro station, 8 bus routes
Rogers Community has Value:

- Lower commercial rents, increasing property
value, homeowners with expendable cash
Too much information Look at this slide for 30 seconds, then cover it and see what you remember. Its too
much, isnt it? Your audience wont remember it, either,
and they especially wont remember a dozen of these.
Divide your information into brief memory hooks.
Add points one . . . at . . . a . . . time
Key Market Facts
High Trafc Volume
Alternatively, when you have many points to make under a common heading, keep your
audience on track by cycling in successive points one at a time on a single slide.
High Trafc Volume
3 of 5
On a single slide, successive points appear as you get to them in your speech. The standing head (Key Market Facts) helps your audience remember what your points relate to. This
should be unnecessary for a short list, but its helpful for a long list. Note that as each new
point cycles in, the previous point fades back. All are brief.
Rogers Community has Value
Easily Accessible
Unify with layout
C15 M25 Y100 K80
One point per slide, even if it has graphics.
Colors
9
10 C0 M90 Y100 K60

11 C20 M50 Y100 K40
12 C0 M35 Y100 K15

13 C0 M5 Y15 K0
14 C35 M30 Y55 K0
15 C0 M0 Y0 K100
16 C0 M0 Y0 K35
0631
Align the type Unlike the rectangles, funny

shaped objects with indenite edges need your
good eye. In this case, the center-weighted logo
looks correct only in the center of the slide; the
head (Our new look) remains aligned to the left.
vinewood park
Our new look
Marketing
Same typeface throughout; headers always white, body type always black.
May
Typefaces
1 Myriad Pro Bold
2 Futura Condensed Bold
a b c d
3 Helvetica Rounded Bold Condensed

4 Zebrawood Regular
5 Linotype Didot Headline
7 Helvetica Neue Std Black
6 Runic MT Condensed
Images
8 (ad) iStockphoto.com |
17 C80 M20 Y0 K70

18 C55 M15 Y0 K50
Uniform colors and headers
70%
Female
Align the chart in the same way. Rectangular

objects such as charts and photos are best at
holding together a rectangular space.
Busiest month
Contentespecially graphical contentcan vary a lot. Hold it together with repetitive

color, typestyle and layout. Divide the slide into zones, and stay within those zones.
Uniform alignment
Demographic
70%
Female
Article resources
14 13
Demographic
8a
Align the photo to the top left grid corner (yellow), and extend it to the bottom if you can. Note
the left margin aligns with the header above it.
10 11 12 13
Shopping Preference
Inside
15%
Outside
85%
8b
$4.8B
14
$4.8B
17 18
$4.8B
15 16
$4.8B
4 of 5
8d
8c
A A A Aed ae
1 (All typefaces above are set in Myriad Pro Bold)
Subscribe to Before & After

Before & After has been sharing its practical approach
to graphic design since 1990. Because our modern world
has made designers of us all (ready or not), Before &
After is dedicated to making graphic design understandable, useful and even fun for everyone.
John McWade Publisher and creative director
Gaye McWade Associate publisher
Vincent Pascual Staff designer
Dexter Mark Abellera Staff designer
Design advisor Gwen Amos
323 Lincoln Street, Roseville, CA 95678
Telephone 916-784-3880
Fax 916-784-3995
E-mail mailbox@bamagazine.com
www http://www.bamagazine.com
Copyright 2006 Before & After magazine, ISSN
1049-0035. All rights reserved
You may pass this article around, but you may not alter
it, and you may not charge for it. You may quote brief
sections for review. If you do this, please credit Before
& After magazine, and let us know. To feature free
Before & After articles on your Web site, please contact
us. For permission to include all or part of this article in
another work, please contact us.
0631
Did you learn from this article? Subscribe, and

become a more capable, condent designer
for pennies per article. To learn more, go to
http://www.bamagazine.com/Subscribe
E-mail this article
To pass along a free copy of this article to
others, click here.
Join our e-list
To be notied by e-mail of new articles as
5 of 5
http://www.bamagazine.com/email
they become available, go to

0631 Design Simple Presentations

Uploaded by

Document Information

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

0631 Design Simple Presentations

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Before&After

Design simple presentations

Design simple presentations

Do you have a speech to give? Slidemaking software like PowerPoint or

A slide is a way for the audience to learn and

Design simple presentations

Design simple presentations

Use a plain background

Spent on consumer goods in 2005

Spent on consumer goods in 2005

Spent on consumer goods in 2005

Spent on consumer goods in 2005

Use a plain background

Spent on consumer goods in 2005

Spent on consumer goods in 2005

Use a dark background

Use a soft gradient

Spent on consumer goods in 2005

Spent on consumer goods in 2005

Use a neutral background

Use a faintly textured background

Design simple presentations

Design simple presentations

Use a clear typeface

What to look for

Embellishments Outlines, shadows

Wide openings (apertures)

Shapes too much alike

Condensed and bold faces Clarity

Extreme weight variations Large

Design simple presentations

Design simple presentations

Make one point per slide

The Rogers Community

Key Market Facts

High Trafc Volume

- 4 CTA stations, 1 Metro station, 8 bus routes

Rogers Community has Value:

Just enough Put only the memory hook on the slide,

Design simple presentations

Design simple presentations

Add points one . . . at . . . a . . . time

Key Market Facts

Key Market Facts

Key Market Facts

High Trafc Volume

High Trafc Volume

High Trafc Volume

Design simple presentations

Design simple presentations

Unify with layout

Contentespecially graphical contentcan vary a lot. Hold it together with repetitive

Our new look

Align the chart in the same way. Rectangular

Align the type Unlike the rectangles, funny

Design simple presentations

Design simple presentations

1 Myriad Pro Bold

2 Futura Condensed Bold

3 Helvetica Rounded Bold Condensed

10 C0 M90 Y100 K60

5 Linotype Didot Headline

12 C0 M35 Y100 K15

7 Helvetica Neue Std Black