© Jim Gleason 20091 PowerPoint Basics Don’t ask “What can I do? Ask “What should I do?

© Jim Gleason 2009 1

PowerPoint Basics

Don’t ask “What can I do?

Ask “What should I do?

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Why does design matter?

Target audience needs and issues Goals and intended outcomes

Integration within overall look and feel Creative issues

Appropriateness Quality of execution Budget constraints Aesthetics

How will success be measured?

© Jim Gleason 2009

3© Jim Gleason 2009

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Impossible

A Volkswagen can’t boil over.

It’s physically impossible.

The reason is absurdly simple: The VW’s rear engine is cooled by air, not water.

Since air can’t boil, neither can the car.

If you had to, you could drive a VW all day at top speed through a desert. Or edge along in bumper-to-bumper traffic on the hottest day of the year.

You may get all steamed up, but not your Volkswagen.

Chances are you’ll appreciate the air-cooled engine even more in winter. Air can’t freeze any more than it can boil. So you don’t need anti-freeze. (You couldn’t put any in a VW even if you wanted to; there’s no radiator. And so no hoses to leak. No draining. No flushing. No rust.)

In the past, few VW owners have been amused to find a perplexed gas station attendant with a bucket of water and no place to put it.

But we’ve taken care of that in our ’61 model. This year, a windshield washer is standard equipment.

It uses water.

Let the man fill it up.

© Jim Gleason 2009

You can’t separate design and content


What contributes to “good design”? Seven basic principles:

Context – Remember your audience! Emphasis – Reinforce what’s important! Contrast – Avoid the similar! Repetition – Repeat for added impact! Alignment – Everything relates to everything! Proximity – Use space to relate or separate! Mechanics – Typography, color and language!


Typography


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Typography

Readability is affected by: Typestyle, boldness and size Line length Word, line and paragraph spacing Kerning Design and appropriateness Lighting and environment

Despite prevailing wisdom, not affected by: Serif vs. sans serif typeface

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Example: Logos

Format – abstract symbol, pictograph, type Use of sm, tm or ®

Design considerations Simplicity Distinctiveness and uniqueness Use of colors Variety of media uses Durability & trendiness

© Jim Gleason 2009

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Color

Psychology of color Red = excitement, danger, power Blue = calmness, coolness Green = natural, pure, safe, educational Purple = regal, spiritual, death Black = death, sophistication White = purity

Completely determined by culture White in China = death

© Jim Gleason 2009

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Qualities of color

Hue Red, yellow, blue

Value Lightness or darkness

Saturation Intensity or vividness

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Color wheel

Strive for contrast in hue (color) and value (lightness or darkness).

Similar values can cause visual vibration.

Blue & green and red & orange are particularly bad combinations.

Yellow and violet provide strong effective contrast.

White with dark colors; black with light.

© Jim Gleason 2009

What do you want your charts to do? Remember, it’s not fine art!

1. Who is your target audience?

2. What do you want to tell them?

3. How do you want them to react?

4. How can you best convey that message? 1. Tone, manner, personality

2. Powerful graphic treatment

3. Smart copy

4. Appropriate approach



First ask, “How will I use them?” To navigate or punctuate remarks? To convey information? To illustrate? As a standalone presentation later? As reference materials?


Trust your instincts

Make slides easy to read Make sure they’re legible from the back of the

room. Don’t choke them with too much info. Don’t apologize for a bad slide; ditch it!


Design tips

Fonts Clean, legible, big Avoid overly stylized fonts

Backgrounds Keep it simple so it doesn’t compete.

Colors Make sure there’s sufficient contrast. Consider how it will look when printed in b/w.


Design tips

Photos and graphics Add photos or graphics when they improve

communication or increase visual interest. Use quality materials. Don’t forget about copyrights.


Design tips

Avoid clipart. Please, I’m begging you. Everyone uses the same stuff. It’s too generalized and not specific enough. It looks dated. It doesn’t set your work apart. It’s heinous.


Sound and video

Appropriate or helpful animations Make sure they contribute to your message. Don’t be “cute” for the sake of being cute. Don’t forget about copyrights. Avoid clipart and freeware. It’s tired.

Eye candy is evil. It’s not cool. Avoid it. Again, if you need “real” design, hire a real

designer.


Content tips

What’s the right number of slides? Does the audience have time to digest? Do the math! Be prepared to edit on the fly.

Watch your grammar, spelling, punctuation Proof it! Twice!

Have a colleague be a “second set of eyes.”


10 Commandments of PowerPoint1. Don’t let your visuals come between you

and your audience.

2. Maintain eye contact with your audience.

3. Don’t dictate your slides to your audience.

4. Keep text to a minimum.

5. Make the font style simple and readable. (sans serif, at least 20-24pt).


10 Commandments of PowerPoint6. Use 3 - 5 points per slide.

7. Ensure consistent syntax from slide to slide.

8. Watch your punctuation and grammar.

9. Allow time to digest any complex information (e.g. from a graph or chart).

10. Turn off the projector or overhead to focus attention and re-claim the spotlight.


A few more things…

Don’t forget to bring a backup Hardcopy CD Memory stick

Test everything before the show. Do everything you can to eliminate surprises.

You are the show, not your charts.

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Remember…

The difference between the right word and the almost right word is like the difference between lightning and a lightning bug.

© Jim Gleason 2009

© Jim Gleason 20091 PowerPoint Basics Don’t ask “What can I do? Ask “What should I do?

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