THE GUIDEEven Bhansali wouldbe disappointed >p3

CENTRE STAGEMohit Chauhan getsinspired >p16

BIG BREAKBag the best jobs >p2SITUATIONVACANT >p10

CLASSIFIEDSTravel >p15DEAR DIANAMy girl’s dad has put anend to my love story >p25

TIMEPASSHoroscope, comics,and pen games >p8FILM ADS >p28

MiDDAY > WEDNESDAY, 15 DECEMBER, 2010, MUMBAI, 32 PAGES

I N S I D E >

Meet the

GIVE ABHISEK SARDA OF PPT SALON48 HOURS AND HE’LL TURN YOURSTAID POWERPOINT PRESENTATIONINTO ONE THAT WILL MAKE YOURCLIENTS SIT UP AND TAKE NOTICE

DHVANI SOLANIdhvani.solani@mid-day.com

For Abhisek Sarda, life and every-thing that comes with it is aboutgoing beyond the default template.The 26 year-old, who has attendedprecisely three days of college for aBachelor’s degree in a stream thathe doesn’t remember (“it wasprobably a BCom or a BBA or somesuch thing”), moved from Rajkot toGoa when he was 18 years old withno fixed plan in mind. Today, heruns the three month-old venturecalled PPT Salon that runs on theguarantee to turn around staidslides into funky PowerpointPresentations.

“You can either mail an existingpresentation to us and we will

make sure it looks good or provideus with an outline for what youwant to say and we will work fromscratch,” says Abhisek.

Give these guys 48 hours (less,if it’s a life-or-death situation, andmore if it’s not), to provide youwith a polished PPT. You couldeven sign up for a corporateaccount for discounted rates, ifyour work demands the making ofconstant PPTs throughout themonth. The guys at PPT Salon willeven do the research and take pho-tographs for you if the need arises.

“We look at each slide as aposter and think of how it can lookgood individually and in the largercontext. We are allergic to tem-plate designs,” says Abhisek.

PPT Salon has clients in eight

countries that include Taj Hotels,Dr Reddy’s, a US-based companythat sources rubber slippers fromThailand, and even a filmmakerwho sent his script as a PPT insteadof a Word doc.

You can catch glimpses ofAbhisek’s creativity in images of hiscolourful kitschy office on the web-site that has a blue handpaintedcommode function as his CEOchair. His cluttered desk is wherehe claims he and his designerbreathe life into ideas. “But,” readsthe cheeky caption of the photo-graph “our presentations arealways clutter-free. Always.”

LOG ON TO www.pptsalon.comCall 0-9890926072Prices start at Rs 8,999

More powerto yourpresentation

USEHEADLINES

Don’t try to fit inevery word youwant to say on theslide. Put a head-line to emphasisthe point.

AVOIDTEMPLATES

Treat each slide asa poster, and not aword document.

AESTHETICSCOUNT

Choose a goodtypeface that suitsthe subject of yourpresentation. Don’talways opt for thedefault option.

CHOOSEIMAGES

THAT SPEAKOpt for images thatare interesting,even shocking.Don’t use clichédvisuals.

HAVE AFOCUS

Say a few things,but say them pow-erfully, rather thanrambling through40 slides.

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