what is presentation design

A Beginner’s Guide To Presentation Design [+15 Stunning Templates]

Table of Contents

• What Is Presentation Design? 

What Is the Significance of Presentation Design?

Understanding various forms of presentations.

• 10 Tips to Create a Compelling Presentation Design 

5 Inspirational Presentation Design Trends

• 15 Best Presentation Design Templates to Consider 
• Key Takeaways 
• Conclusion 

Once you’ve mapped out your presentation, it’s time to tackle the intimidating task of creating a visually stunning presentation design . Creating an excellent presentation design becomes simpler by learning and adhering to fundamental presentation design standards. Here is a presentation design guide to creating an engaging and well-designed presentation,  regardless of the kind of project you are putting together. 

What Is Presentation Design?

Presentation design focuses on the visual facet of your presentation to captivate your audience. An outstanding presentation design may significantly impact your target audience, whether it is investors, employees, collaborators, or potential customers. The design must ideally complement the material of your presentation to help get your views across and convince your audience.

Creating a presentation for the first time to present in a professional setting or to a large audience might feel challenging. This guide to presentation design will walk you through the elements required for building a visually appealing presentation. 

A presentation is much more than just a layout of slides with text and graphics on them. You need to make sure it’s visually appealing too. It is mainly because visuals are much more engaging than written words in your presentation slides. Presentation design is crucial because it allows you to combine your ideas, narrative, graphics, facts, and statistics into one cohesive tale that drives your audience to the decision you desire.

A robust presentation design may unlock doors you never imagined could be opened. An effective design is much simpler to understand and earns a lot of credibility for your brand. You can communicate your message effectively, encourage your audience to take subsequent actions, and get them to engage with what you’re saying with excellent presentation design.

You have the potential to communicate your point of view, create a brand identity, and get your audience to see and hear you loud and clear when you build a presentation with impeccable design. The material of your presentation is crucial to your project’s success, but a poor design may divert the listener’s attention (and not for a good reason). Don’t let a lousy presentation design force you to lose out on a huge business opportunity.

Creating a winning presentation design involves combining design components to produce slides that will neither bore nor exhaust your audience. Instead, it will engage and inspire them effectively. So, instead of creating a lousy presentation using shoddy designs, it is significant to master the fundamentals of creating the best presentation design.

Presentations may be used for several purposes and can come in different forms. A quarterly sales presentation with your team will not be the same as a presentation focused on employee training. 

In the first scenario, you’ll strive to advance your team to achieve targeted sales growth. In the second, you’ll focus on imparting essential knowledge and skills to your employees. Looking at some of the most prevalent presentation types can give you a better idea about presentation design and when to begin constructing your own.

1. Investor pitch presentation

Using facts to convince rather than enlighten is the primary goal of this presentation style, as indicated by the name. If you’re a startup or a small firm looking for investment, you’ll need to use this form of presentation to your advantage. An investor pitch presentation will be required when you’re explaining your company’s user acquisition growth rate to prospective investors. Such presentations are created using the classic pitch deck concept to make the perfect, thoroughly professional pitch.

2. Educational presentations

Educational presentations are sometimes misunderstood as informative presentations since they are designed to teach viewers new skills and educate them on a new subject. You may need to produce a presentation for a school for various reasons, such as presenting an idea or providing an academic report.

Academic and corporate training programs often employ this presentation format. A video tutorial with comments and suitable themes may be added to the slides to improve them. Educators are always looking for new and unique methods to provide engaging and enthralling presentations for their students. Using an educational presentation template may guarantee that your presentation is visually appealing as well as easily comprehensible.

3. Webinar presentations

Webinar presentations are the newest craze, and they’re a win-win for presenters and the audience alike. A webinar refers to an online presentation, but unlike a video posted elsewhere, the webinar takes place in real-time and with the active participation of the audience. There are several themes and settings for which webinar presentations might be utilized. 

Short surveys, quizzes, and Q&A sessions let participants feel more involved in the webinar. Most commonly, a webinar is meant to disseminate information, but it may also act as a marketing tool, a source of leads, or a way to generate new sales and sign-ups.

4. Report presentations

A report presentation is intended to offer the necessary information to those engaged in a process or project. Report presentations are critical in ensuring these stakeholders that the procedures that must be followed for the project’s completion are effectively planned and executed. Sample reports are also accessible to these stakeholders. 

A report presentation may take numerous forms, such as a business report or an infographic. Reports on sales and marketing performance, website statistics, income, or any other data that your team or supervisors wish to know about can be presented during the report presentation.

5. Sales presentations

Sales presentations are often the initial phase in the sales cycle, and are, therefore,  critical. A sales presentation, often known as a sales pitch deck, is a form of presentation you would need to provide a prospective customer or client with when pitching a product or service.

Not every sales presentation is designed to close a deal right away. The goal might be to pique the curiosity of the people concerned. Sales presentations often include your company’s unique selling proposition (USP), product price points, and testimonials. Your sales presentation must be engaging and successful in influencing potential customers, using a well-thought-out approach.

6. Inspirational presentations

An inspiring presentation is a standard tool used by managers, team leaders, motivational speakers, and business owners to stimulate and encourage their audience. Inspirational presentations are essential to influencing others and achieving your individual and business goals. 

To get a desirable result from this kind of presentation, elicit an emotional response from the audience and motivate them to act. Using a presentation template that has been professionally developed provides you with an advantage over others. 

7. Keynote presentations

Keynote presentations are given in front of a larger audience. A good example can be those shown at TED Talks and other conferences. While the presenter gives the entire speech, there are advantages to using slides, such as keeping an audience engaged and on track.

10 Tips to Create a Compelling Presentation Design

If your presentation is lousy, you might come across as unprepared, uninterested, and lacking any credibility. A well-designed presentation makes you appear reliable and competent. Here are some fantastic points to help you develop the best presentation design.

1. Outline your content and fine-tune the message

It’s crucial to prepare your content and fine-tune your main message before you begin developing your presentation. Try to figure out what your target audience wants to know, what they may already know, and what will keep them engaged. Then, when you create your presentation’s content, keep those things in mind and furnish designs accordingly. It is vital to remember the key takeaway of each deck you create.

Too much information shown on a single slide is difficult for most viewers to comprehend. Make sure you don’t overwhelm your viewers; each presentation slide should include no more than one key point. Make your information as brief as possible, yet make it detailed enough and valuable.

2. Use more visuals and less text in your decks

Your audience recalls information considerably better when images complement it because they can better understand visual features than simple text. Presenters that employ images instead of words get more favorable feedback from their audience than those who rely only on text.

Using visual examples in slide decks increases audience engagement, encourages more questions, and registers your message in the minds of your audience. Remove any unnecessary text from your slides and replace it with visuals that will engage your audience.

You may use various methods for adding images, but the most common is using your data’s visual representation. It’s important to note that adding visuals does not mean sprinkling fancy images and symbols across your slides. Relevant images and iconography are a must.

3. Limit the use of fonts and colors

It is vital to pay attention to color schemes and other design components, such as fonts, to ensure your presentation succeeds. Although it may be thrilling to employ as many fonts and colors as possible, the best presentation design practices imply that you should only use two or three colors overall. Also, make sure the content in your slides is of a different font than the headers.

When it comes to color schemes, certain combinations work better than others. When choosing colors, keep in mind that they should not detract from the message you want to convey. Add an accent color to one or two of your primary hues for a cohesive look. It’s critical that the colors you choose complement one another and communicate your purpose effectively. Headers should be in one typeface, while body content should be in another. Add a third font for the accents, if you’d like. 

4. Create a visual hierarchy

Visual hierarchy is an important consideration when including text in a presentation. Visual hierarchy is one of the most significant but underappreciated presentation design principles. Color, size, contrast, alignment, and other aspects of your slide’s elements should all depend on their value.

When creating a visual hierarchy, you must clearly understand the story and its structure. Your audience’s attention should be drawn to the most critical components first, then to the second-most essential aspects, and so on. When creating your presentation, think about the story you want to tell and the visual hierarchy you need to support it. If you do this, the essential ideas you wish to convey will not be lost on your audience. 

5. Incorporate powerful visuals

It is important to use visual aids to make a compelling presentation: think images, icons, graphics, films, graphs, and charts. You should also ensure your slides’ aesthetics accurately portray the text they contain. Alternatively, if you don’t have words on the slide, make sure the visuals mirror the words you’re saying in your speech.

Visual aids should enhance your presentation. In addition, you’ll want to ensure that your slide has some form of visual representation so that you’re not just dumping a bunch of text onto a slide.

6. Avoid using bullet points

These days, any excellent presentation design instruction would encourage you to avoid bullet points as much as possible. They’re dull and old-fashioned, and there are more effective methods to display your material. 

A slide consisting of icons, images, and infographics is more exciting and conversational than one written in list form. Using bullet points for each slide’s primary theme is a standard PowerPoint design recommendation that you should refrain from while designing your presentation.  

7. In group presentations, segregate slides by theme

While making a group presentation, finding an appropriate balance of who should be demonstrating which presentation segment is often challenging. Arranging a group presentation by topic is the most natural technique to ensure that everyone has an opportunity to speak, without the presentation becoming incoherent. Your group presentation should be divided into sections based on the subject.

Prepare your presentation ahead of time so that everyone understands when it’s their turn to talk. It’s up to each person in the group to pick one thing to talk about when they give this presentation to investors or potential customers. For instance, the business model slide may be addressed by one person, while another can discuss the marketing approach.

8. Maintain consistency

Consistency is essential when you work on the design of your presentation. Your presentation is still one presentation, no matter how many slides it has. Design elements, color schemes, and similar illustrations can all be used to achieve design consistency.

Although some of the slides in your presentation may appear to be styled differently than the others, the overall presentation must be held together by a single color scheme. To ensure that your viewers don’t lose track of what you’re saying, make sure each of your slides is visually connected.

9. Emphasize important points

It is pertinent to use shapes, colorful fonts, and figures pointing to your material. They help emphasize vital information to make it stand out. This not only keeps the reader’s attention on the page but also makes your design more streamlined. Emphasizing the point you’re trying to put across with visual elements makes it easier for your audience to grasp what you’re saying.

10. Integrate data visualization

Consider utilizing a chart or data visualization to drive your argument home, especially if you have vital figures or trends you want your audience to remember. This might be a bar graph or a pie chart that displays various data points, a percentage indication, or an essential value pictogram. 

Confident public speaking mixed with good visuals may greatly influence your audience, inspiring them to take action. The use of design features makes it simpler for your audience to grasp and recall both complex and fundamental data and statistics, and the presentation becomes much more enjoyable too. 

Even though trends come and go, effective presentation design paired with some inspiration to get you started will always be in style. Think about what’s current in the world of graphic design before you create a staggering presentation deck for a creative proposal or a business report. To help you better, we’ve come up with a list of the most popular presentation design concepts. 

1. Dark backdrops with neon colors

While white backgrounds have long dominated web design, the advent of “dark mode” is gradually altering that. Designers may use dark mode to play with contrast and make creative things stand out.

This is a great way to get your audience’s attention and keep them interested in what you have to say. The key is to pick one or two bright colors and utilize them as highlights against a dark backdrop, rather than using an abundance of them.                                                                                            

2. Monochromatic color schemes

In recent years, color schemes originating from one base hue, such as monochromatic color schemes, have been given a subdued pastel makeover. The usage of monochromatic color schemes in presentation design is always seen as clean and professional. It’s ideal for pitch decks and presentations since monochrome is generally utilized to assist people in concentrating on the text and message, rather than the colors inside a design.

3. Easy-to-understand data analysis

The fundamentals of data visualization should be restored. In other words, even the most complicated measurements may be made easy to grasp via effective design. Designers, marketers, and presenters are generating snackable stats in the same way infographics have found a place on visual-first social networks.

Create a dynamic proposal or presentation with the help of an infographic template that is easy to use. You can create distinctive slides with animations and transitions to explain your point more effectively. With the help of templates, you can convert your data into bar graphs, bar charts, and bubbles that represent your idea simply, guaranteeing that every data point is simple to comprehend.

4. Straightforward minimalism

Minimalism is a design trend that will probably never go out of style. It has always been a show-stopper. Each slide should offer just enough information to let the reader comprehend what’s going on. You should use a color palette that isn’t distracting. Your simple presentation will enthrall your audience if you boldly highlight your most significant points and use trendy fonts.

5. Geometric structures

There’s a good reason why designers are so fond of geometric patterns, 3D objects, and asymmetrical layouts. They’re basic yet stunning, making them perfect for times you want to make a lasting impression with the information you’re sharing. 

More cutting-edge components, such as 3D shapes and floating objects, are used in presentation graphics these days. Go for a presentation template that contains editable slides that enable you to easily add your visuals and material to brighten your presentation. 

15 Best Presentation Design Templates to Consider

In the case of presentation designs, you should never sacrifice quality. Ideally, you should have a design that improves your brand’s image, amplifies your message, and enables you to deliver various content forms efficiently. 

The problem is, it’s pretty challenging to locate premade themes and templates of this merit. We’ve made it easy for you by putting together a list of the best 15 presentation design templates out there. These presentation design suggestions are a great place to start.  

1. Business plan presentation template

This is a crucial business presentation template with a significant emphasis on visualizations and graphics. To create a business strategy, you need this presentation template. It consists of several crucial elements, such as a mind map, infographics, and bar graphics. Replace the placeholder text with your own to complete the presentation.

2. Pitch deck template

Startups seeking financing require a clean and eye-catching pitch deck design to impress investors. You may use it to present significant aspects and achievements of your company to investors. You can include slides for mockups, testimonials, business data like statistics, and case studies.

The pitch deck presentation template is excellent for your next client pitch, as it allows you to pick from a range of different startup tales to showcase the most crucial features of your firm.

3. Brand guidelines presentation template

Creating a bespoke presentation talking about the company dos and don’ts may be a terrific approach to discuss your brand rules with your team and stakeholders. You can easily show off your brand’s typeface and color schemes using this presentation template.

4. Marketing plan presentation template

Marketing is a vast concept, and the slides included in this design stock set reflect that broadness. A well-executed marketing strategy is essential to the success of any team. A marketing plan presentation template should ideally include slides for charts, timelines, and competition research. You can create executive summaries or mission statements with the below-mentioned presentation’s elegant and minimalistic slides.

5. Keynote presentation template

This keynote template has a lovely color scheme that is equal parts captivating and professional. You can employ a keynote presentation template if you’re going to be a keynote speaker at an upcoming event and want to ensure that your design stands out.

In addition to several slides, the template comes with various predefined color schemes. This template is perfect for any business presentation requiring a well-designed layout.

6. Training manual presentation template

A training manual presentation template may be used to convey new hire training to your workforce. It is essential for the design to be as clean and straightforward as possible.

These training material decks created with a predesigned template make it easy for new employees to learn the ins and outs of their jobs. 

7. Case study presentation template

A case study is an excellent way to illustrate a point in your presentation. The best way to attract new consumers using a case study presentation is to show them how your existing customers are using your product or service. Make sure to highlight how your product solved their pain points.

8. Interactive brief presentation template

It’s common to provide a creative brief when working with a contractor, freelancer, or designer to ensure everyone involved understands what the final product should look like.

An interactive presentation template like a creative brief is a terrific concept for absorbing and memorizing that information.

9. Workforce handbook presentation template

When hiring a new employee, your company needs to create an employee handbook to ensure they know the company’s objective and general working norms. You may connect this presentation to your intranet or website, or just distribute the digital version through a password-protected or private link.

10. Ignite presentation template

Using this template as a starting point for an Ignite presentation would be ideal. An Ignite presentation is a five-minute presentation consisting of 20 slides, compelling the speaker to speak fast and concisely. As a result, an Ignite presentation template prevents you from using too much text on any slide. 

11. Informative presentation template

The need to create an educational presentation may arise due to several reasons, such as onboarding new hires, explaining a concept to students, and more. An informative presentation template is a suitable solution in all cases.

Regardless of who they are meant for, presentations are the optimal format for sharing information with any audience. Create an educational presentation that you can embed in a blog post or publish on several platforms online. Make presentations to provide knowledge at conferences and other meetings.

12. SWOT analysis presentation template

A strength, weakness, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) analysis is a valuable tool for gauging where your business stands, and how your strategic planning measures are paying off. This presentation template is an excellent tool for SWOT analysis or refining your marketing strategy.

It comes in several formats; circular design and hexagonal shapes being two of them. You may modify the colors as desired.

13. Competitor analysis presentation template

Knowing your competition and what they offer is essential for a successful business. Competitor analysis means researching your competitors’ key strengths and weaknesses, which can, eventually, help you define your goals and USPs more clearly. 

There are built-in interactive elements in this competitor analysis presentation template, which can help hook your audience. 

14. Bold presentation template

Ideal for non-corporate sales presentations, a bold and daring presentation template includes slides with a vibrant, attention-grabbing theme that is neither overbearing nor distracting. The color combination is striking without being oppressive.

15. Company overview template

Creative presentation templates are all the rage today. Using a lot of negative space will allow your audience to take a breath and direct their attention to the most crucial parts of your presentation. It is suitable for corporate presentations, since it doesn’t stick out more than is necessary.

Key Takeaways

• Audiences tend to forget a large percentage of what was addressed before the presentation is through. This is why it is important to create a presentation design that is memorable.
• A presentation is much more than just a layout of slides with text and graphics on them. You need to make sure it’s visually appealing too. 
• Use a wide range of best presentation design tools, components, and styles until you discover the one that resonates with your target audience. 
• Consider the most recent trends and best practices, and dedicate time to thoroughly crafting every presentation.
• Fine-tuning your message, avoiding the use of bullet points, incorporating visual hierarchy, and incorporating data visualization are a few design tips to create a winning presentation. 

Both your presentation style and design are crucial. You can deliver more dynamic, memorable presentations by creating visually pleasing decks. It’s advisable to create a resourceful presentation design if you want to elevate your personal as well as professional credibility.

Take cues from some popular presentation templates, and enhance one little aspect at a time. Now is the time to practice everything you’ve learned in this presentation design guide. As with any other visual communication, creating the best presentation design requires time, effort, and patience. Never be afraid to try something new; you’ll quickly see the benefits a strong presentation can have on your project.

A presentation design puts ideas, tales, words, and pictures into a series of slides that convey a narrative and engage your audience.

A presentation design template is used to achieve a uniform look for your slides. Templates are pre-made presentations into which you may insert your data.

People remember images and words better than just words. The design of your slides should be simple and consistent. This way, your audience will focus on the most important points.

Use high-quality images to back your message, but don’t use too many special effects. Make sure you don’t read from your slides.

A well-presented, memorable introduction and conclusion are two essential parts of a presentation. Don’t forget them when you write your outline.

Presentation design is essential, because it helps you weave your ideas, narrative, images, facts, and statistics into a unified story that leads your audience to the choice you want them to make.

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Presentation design guide: tips, examples, and templates

Get your team on prezi – watch this on demand video.

Anete Ezera January 09, 2023

Presentation design defines how your content will be received and remembered. It’s responsible for that crucial first impression and sets the tone for your presentation before you’ve even introduced the topic. It’s also what holds your presentation together and guides the viewer through it. That’s why visually appealing, easily understandable, and memorable presentation design is what you should be striving for. But how can you create a visually striking presentation without an eye for design? Creating a visually appealing presentation can be challenging without prior knowledge of design or helpful tools. 

With this presentation design guide accompanied by Prezi presentation examples and templates, you’ll have no problem creating stunning and impactful presentations that will wow your audience.

In this guide, we’ll start by looking at the basics of presentation design. We’ll provide a simple guide on creating a presentation from scratch, as well as offer helpful tips for different presentation types. In addition, you’ll discover how to organize information into a logical order and present it in a way that resonates with listeners. Finally, we’ll share tips and tricks to create an eye-catching presentation, and showcase some great presentation examples and templates you can get inspired by!

With our comprehensive introduction to designing presentations, you will be able to develop an engaging and professional presentation that gets results!

What is presentation design?

Presentation design encompasses a variety of elements that make up the overall feel and look of the presentation. It’s a combination of certain elements, like text, font, color, background, imagery, and animations. 

Presentation design focuses on finding ways to make the presentation more visually appealing and easy to process, as it is often an important tool for communicating a message. It involves using design principles like color, hierarchy, white space, contrast, and visual flow to create an effective communication piece.

Creating an effective presentation design is important for delivering your message efficiently and leaving a memorable impact on your audience. Most of all, you want your presentation design to support your topic and make it easier to understand and digest. A great presentation design guides the viewer through your presentation and highlights the most essential aspects of it. 

If you’re interested in learning more about presentation design and its best practices , watch the following video and get practical insights on designing your next presentation:

Types of presentations

When creating a presentation design, you have to keep in mind several types of presentations that shape the initial design you want to have. Depending on the type of presentation you have, you’ll want to match it with a fitting presentation design.

1. Informative

An informative presentation provides the audience with facts and data in order to educate them on a certain subject matter. This could be done through visual aids such as graphs, diagrams, and charts. In an informative presentation, you want to highlight data visualizations and make them more engaging with interactive features or animations. On Prezi Design, you can create different engaging data visualizations from line charts to interactive maps to showcase your data.

2. Instructive

Instructive presentations teach the audience something new. Whether it’s about science, business strategies, or culture, this type of presentation is meant to help people gain knowledge and understand a topic better. 

With a focus on transmitting knowledge, your presentation design should incorporate a variety of visuals and easy-to-understand data visualizations. Most people are visual learners, so you’ll benefit from swapping text-based slides for more visually rich content.

3. Motivational

Motivational presentations try to inspire the audience by giving examples of successful projects, stories, or experiences. This type of presentation is often used in marketing or promotional events because it seeks to get the audience inspired and engaged with a product or service. That’s why the presentation design needs to capture and hold the attention of your audience using a variety of animations and visuals. Go beyond plain images – include videos for a more immersive experience.

4. Persuasive

Persuasive presentations are designed to sway an audience with arguments that lead to an actionable decision (i.e., buy the product). Audiences learn facts and figures relevant to the point being made and explore possible solutions based on evidence provided during the speech or presentation.

In a persuasive presentation design, you need to capture your audience’s attention right away with compelling statistics wrapped up in interactive and engaging data visualizations. Also, the design needs to look and feel dynamic with smooth transitions and fitting visuals, like images, stickers, and GIFs.

How to design a presentation

When you first open a blank presentation page, you might need some inspiration to start creating your design. For this reason, we created a simple guide that’ll help you make your own presentation from scratch without headaches.

1. Opt for a motion-based presentation

You can make an outstanding presentation using Prezi Present, a software program that lets you create interactive presentations that capture your viewer’s attention. Prezi’s zooming feature allows you to add movement to your presentation and create smooth transitions. Prezi’s non-linear format allows you to jump between topics instead of flipping through slides, so your presentation feels more like a conversation than a speech. A motion-based presentation will elevate your content and ideas, and make it a much more engaging viewing experience for your audience.

Watch this video to learn how to make a Prezi presentation:

2. Create a structure & start writing content

Confidence is key in presenting. You can feel more confident going into your presentation if you structure your thoughts and plan what you will say. To do that, first, choose the purpose of your presentation before you structure it. There are four main types of presentations: informative, instructive, motivational, and persuasive. Think about the end goal of your presentation – what do you want your audience to do when you finish your presentation – and structure it accordingly.

Next, start writing the content of your presentation (script). We recommend using a storytelling framework, which will enable you to present a conflict and show what could be possible. In addition to creating compelling narratives for persuasive presentations, this framework is also effective for other types of presentations.

Tip: Keep your audience in mind. If you’re presenting a data-driven report to someone new to the field or from a different department, don’t use a lot of technical jargon if you don’t know their knowledge base and/or point of view.

3. Research & analyze 

Knowing your topic inside and out will make you feel more confident going into your presentation. That’s why it’s important to take the time to understand your topic fully. In return, you’ll be able to answer questions on the fly and get yourself back on track even if you forget what you were going to say when presenting. In case you have extra time at the end of your presentation, you can also provide more information for your audience and really showcase your expertise. For comprehensive research, turn to the internet, and library, and reach out to experts if possible.

4. Get to design

Keeping your audience engaged and interested in your topic depends on the design of your presentation.

Now that you’ve done your research and have a proper presentation structure in place, it’s time to visualize it.

4.1. Presentation design layout

What you want to do is use your presentation structure as a presentation design layout. Apply the structure to how you want to tell your story, and think about how each point will lead to the next one. Now you can either choose to use one of Prezi’s pre-designed templates that resemble your presentation structure the most or start to add topics on your canvas as you go. 

Tip: When adding content, visualize the relation between topics by using visual hierarchy – hide smaller topics within larger themes or use the zooming feature to zoom in and out of supplementary topics or details that connect to the larger story you’re telling.

4.2. Color scheme

Now it’s time to choose your color scheme to give a certain look and feel to your presentation. Make sure to use contrasting colors to clearly separate text from the background, and use a maximum of 2 to 3 dominating colors to avoid an overwhelming design.

4.2. Content (visuals + text)

Add content that you want to highlight in your presentation. Select from a wide range of images, stickers, GIFs, videos, data visualizations, and more from the content library, or upload your own. To provide more context, add short-format text, like bullet points or headlines that spotlight the major themes, topics, and ideas in your presentation. 

Also, here you’ll want to have a final decision on your font choice. Select a font that’s easy to read and goes well with your brand and topic.

Tip: Be careful not to turn your presentation into a script. Only display text that holds significant value – expand on the ideas when presenting. 

4.3. Transitions

Last but not least, bring your presentation design to life by adding smooth, attractive, and engaging transitions that take the viewer from one topic to another without disrupting the narrative. 

On Prezi, you can choose from a range of transitions that take you into the story world and provide an immersive presentation experience for your audience. 

For more practical tips read our article on how to make a presentation . 

Presentation design tips

When it comes to presentations, design is key. A well-designed presentation can communicate your ideas clearly and engage your audience, while a poorly designed one can do the opposite.

To ensure your presentation is designed for success, note the following presentation design tips that’ll help you design better presentations that wow your audience.

1. Keep it simple

Too many elements on a slide can be overwhelming and distract from your message. While you want your content to be visually compelling, don’t let the design of the presentation get in the way of communicating your ideas. Design elements need to elevate your message instead of overshadowing it. 

2. Use contrasting text colors

Draw attention to important points with contrasted text colors. Instead of using bold or italics, use a contrasting color in your chosen palette to emphasize the text.

3. Be clear and concise. 

Avoid writing long paragraphs that are difficult to read. Limit paragraphs and sections of text for optimum readability.

4. Make sure your slide deck is visually appealing

Use high-quality images and graphics, and limit the use of text to only the most important information. For engaging and diverse visuals, go to Prezi’s content library and discover a wide range of stock images, GIFs, stickers, and more.

5. Pay attention to detail

Small details like font choice and alignments can make a big difference in how professional and polished your presentation looks. Make sure to pay attention to image and text size, image alignment with text, font choice, background color, and more details that create the overall look of your presentation.

6. Use templates sparingly

While templates can be helpful in creating a consistent look for your slides, overusing them can make your presentation look generic and boring. Use them for inspiration but don’t be afraid to mix things up with some custom designs as well. 

7. Design for clarity

Create a presentation layout that is easy to use and navigate, with clear labels and instructions. This is important for ensuring people can find the information they need quickly and easily if you end up sharing your presentation with others.

8. Opt for a conversational presentation design

Conversational presenting allows you to adjust your presentation on the fly to make it more relevant and engaging. Create a map-like arrangement that’ll encourage you to move through your presentation at your own pace. With a map-like design, each presentation will be customized to match different audiences’ needs. This can be helpful for people who have different levels of expertise or knowledge about the subject matter.

9. Be consistent 

Design consistency holds your presentation together and makes it easy to read and navigate. Create consistency by repeating colors, fonts, and design elements that clearly distinguish your presentation from others.

10. Have context in mind

A great presentation design is always dependent on the context. Your audience and objective influence everything from color scheme to fonts and use of imagery. Make sure to always have your audience in mind when designing your presentations.

For more presentation tips, read the Q&A with presentation design experts and get valuable insights on visual storytelling.

Presentation templates

Creating a presentation from scratch isn’t easy. Sometimes, it’s better to start with a template and dedicate your time to the presentation’s content. To make your life easier, here are 10 useful and stunning presentation templates that score in design and engagement. If you want to start creating with any of the following templates, simply go to our Prezi presentation template gallery , select your template, and start creating! Also, you can get inspired by the top Prezi presentations , curated by our editors. There you can discover presentation examples for a wide range of topics, and get motivated to create your own. 

Business meeting presentation

The work desk presentation templates have a simple and clean design, perfectly made for a team or business meeting. With all the topics visible from start, everyone will be on the same page about what you’re going to cover in the presentation. If you want, you can add or remove topics as well as edit the visuals and color scheme to match your needs.

Small business presentation

This template is great for an introductory meeting or pitch, where you have to summarize what you or your business does in a few, highly engaging slides. The interactive layout allows you to choose what topic bubble you’re going to select next, so instead of a one-way interaction, you can have a conversation and ask your audience what exactly they’re interested in knowing about your company.

Mindfulness at work presentation

How can you capture employees’ attention to explain important company values or practices? This engaging presentation template will help you do just that. With a wide range of impactful visuals, this presentation design helps you communicate your ideas more effectively. 

Business review template

Make your next quarterly business review memorable with this vibrant business presentation template. With eye-capturing visuals and an engaging layout, you’ll communicate important stats and hold everyone’s attention until the end.

History timeline template

With black-and-white sketches of the Colosseum in the background, this timeline template makes history come alive. The displayed time periods provide an overview that’ll help your audience to grasp the bigger picture. After, you can go into detail about each time frame and event.

Storytelling presentation template

Share stories about your business that make a lasting impact with this stunning, customizable presentation template. To showcase each story, use the zooming feature and choose to tell your stories in whatever order you want.

Design concept exploration template

Not all meetings happen in person nowadays. To keep that face-to-face interaction even when presenting online, choose from a variety of Prezi Video templates or simply import your already-existing Prezi template into Prezi Video for remote meetings. This professional-looking Prezi Video template helps you set the tone for your meeting, making your designs stand out. 

Employee perks and benefits video template

You can use the employee benefits video template to pitch potential job candidates the perks of working in your company. The Prezi Video template allows you to keep a face-to-face connection with potential job candidates while interviewing them remotely.

Sales plan presentation template

Using a clear metaphor that everyone can relate to, this football-inspired sales plan presentation template communicates a sense of team unity and strategy. You can customize this Prezi business presentation template with your brand colors and content.

Flashcard template

How can you engage students in an online classroom? This and many other Prezi Video templates will help you create interactive and highly engaging lessons. Using the flashcard template, you can quiz your students, review vocabulary, and gamify learning.

Great presentation design examples

If you’re still looking for more inspiration, check out the following Prezi presentations made by our creative users.

Social media presentation

This presentation is a great example of visual storytelling. The use of visual hierarchy and spatial relationships creates a unique viewing experience and makes it easier to understand how one topic or point is related to another. Also, images provide an engaging and visually appealing experience.

Leadership books presentation

Do you want to share your learnings? This interactive presentation offers great insights in an entertaining and visually compelling way. Instead of compiling leadership books in a slide-based presentation, the creator has illustrated each book and added a zooming feature that allows you to peek inside of each book’s content.

Remote workforce presentation

This is a visually rich and engaging presentation example that offers an interactive experience for the viewer. A noteworthy aspect of this presentation design is its color consistency and matching visual elements.

A presentation about the teenage brain 

Another great presentation design example that stands out with an engaging viewing experience. The zooming feature allows the user to dive into each topic and choose what subject to view first. It’s a great example of an educational presentation that holds the students’ attention with impactful visuals and compelling transitions.

Remote work policy presentation

This presentation design stands out with its visually rich content. It depicts exactly what the presentation is about and uses the illustrated window frames in the background image as topic placements. This type of presentation design simplifies complex concepts and makes it easier for the viewer to understand and digest the information.

Everyone can create visually-appealing presentations with the right tools and knowledge. With the presentation design tips, templates, and examples, you’re equipped to make your next presentation a success. If you’re new to Prezi, we encourage you to discover everything it has to offer. With this presentation design guide and Prezi, we hope you’ll get inspired to create meaningful, engaging, and memorable content for your audience!  

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• Fundamentals of Slide Design

Learn about slide design, its importance, and principles and strategies for designing strong slides.

What is Slide Design?

Through the use of different elements, including visuals, colors, typography, style, layout, and transitions, slide design provides a visual representation of the important points of your presentation. It not only complements your research, but can also enhance your presentation. Slide design can impact how much an audience understands and retains the content that you present.

Slide design strategies that thoughtfully consider and prioritize the experience of the audience can result in stronger presentations. Melissa Marshall —an expert in understanding how technical presentations can be transformed—advocates for an innovative approach to slide design. Her well-researched methods have been successful in the scientific community and we recommend her strategy.  In an article on how to transform your technical talks , Marshall discusses the science behind the impact of slide design and how the overuse of text on slides while engaging in verbal communication during presentations increases the chances of cognitive overload for audience members. Marshall advocates for an “audience-centered speaker” approach, a technique in which you shift your focus from the speaker to that of the audience.

-Melissa Marshall

Audience engagement is an important indicator about the level of success of a presentation. Marshall argues that “a critical insight is to realize that your success as a speaker depends entirely upon your ability to make your audience successful.” In order to prioritize the experience of your audience and how they receive your presentation, Marshall advocates for a design strategy called assertion-evidence design which uses a succinct headline in the slide with the key assertion in the form of a sentence that is accompanied by visual evidence, such as charts, graphs, and flowcharts. This method prioritizes the utilization of strong visuals and minimizes the amount of text on slides. As needed, presenters can provide the audience with a handout of their slides that contain more detailed notes from their presentation as a reference. If you have not used assertion-evidence slides before, it is a good technique to further explore and consider as its approach can enhance a presentation when carried out effectively. Examples of strong assertion-evidence slides and a self-assessment checklist for this design strategy can be found on Create and Assess Your Slides , and a template can be accessed below.

(Click to Enlarge)

An assertion-evidence slide template that includes tips and layout suggestions by melissa marshall. .

To learn more about creating strong visual representations of your data and the importance of forming a mutual exchange between you and your audience, visit our pages on Data Visualization , along with Consider Your Audience which is part of the section on how to Deliver Authentically . 

Watch these short videos by Marshall to further explore the impact of slide design, strategies for fostering audience engagement, and helpful ways to approach the scope and focus of your presentation.

Learn more about the impact of slide design.

Further explore how to analyze your audience.

Consider scope and focus of your slides and talks.

For additional resources to help you think about the organization and framing of your talk visit Deliver Authentically and Prepare for Any Talk .

What Does it Look Like to Design Effective Slides?

There are techniques and tools that can be utilized to strengthen the design of your slides in order to enhance the quality of your presentation. The following section presents one approach. Review this list and explore how each strategy can improve your slide design.

A more comprehensive slide design checklist and other resources can be found on Create and Assess Your Slides .  

Inclusive Slide Design

Creating slides that are inclusive and accessible for different learners is a critical part of the design process. Consider the implications of your design on the viewer’s interpretation, including visual representation, language and color choice. As you engage in this process, explore the role of slide design in creating an inclusive environment that considers multiple perspectives, values, beliefs, identities, disciplines, abilities, experiences, and backgrounds. To learn more about what it means and looks like to design visuals that are inclusive, visit Visual Storytelling as part of the section on Data Visualization and Preferred Terms for Select Population Groups & Communities from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, U.S. Department of Health & Human Services.

Are You Ready to Create Your Own Slides?

To begin the process of designing your slides or to improve an existing deck, visit Create and Assess Your Slides . Use the provided resources to learn more about helpful design strategies, how to create effective slides and ways to assess them.

• Data Visualization
• Create and Assess Your Slides
• Visual Design Tools

Presentation Design and the Art of Visual Storytelling

Discover a practical approach to designing results-oriented presentations and learn the importance of crafting a compelling narrative.

By Micah Bowers

Micah helps businesses craft meaningful engagement through branding, illustration, and design.

Presentations Must Tell a Story

We’ve all been there, dutifully enduring a dull presentation at work or an event. The slides are packed with text, and the presenter feels obligated to read every single word. There are enough charts, graphs, and equations to fill a trigonometry book, and each screen is awash in the brightest colors imaginable.

As the presentation drags on, the lists get longer. “We do this, this, this, this, this, and oh yeah, this!” Unfortunately, everyone in the audience just wants it to be over.

This is a major opportunity missed for a business, and we designers may be part of the problem. No, it’s not our fault if a presenter is unprepared or uninspiring, but if we approach our clients’ presentations as nothing more than fancy lists, we’ve failed.

See, presentations are stories , not lists, and stories have a structure. They build towards an impact moment and unleash a wave of momentum that changes people’s perceptions and preconceived notions. Good stories aren’t boring and neither are good presentations.

But before we go any further, it’s important to ask why presentations exist in the first place. What’s their purpose? Why are they useful?

Presentations exist to…

Presentations impart new and sometimes life-changing knowledge to an audience.

Most presentations provide a practical method for using the knowledge that is shared.

If executed correctly, presentations are able to captivate an audience’s imagination and lead them to consider the worth of what they’re learning.

Well-crafted presentations have the power to arouse feelings that can influence an audience’s behavior.

Presentations ready people to move, to act on their feelings and internal analysis.

Ultimately, presentations make an appeal to an audience’s logic, emotions, or both in an attempt to convince the audience to act on the opportunity shared by the presenter.

With this kind of power, designers can’t afford to view presentations as “just another deck.” We shouldn’t use the same formulaic templates or fail to educate our clients about the importance of high-quality image assets.

Instead, we need to see presentation design as an opportunity to craft a compelling narrative that earns big wins for our clients.

Need more convincing? Let’s take a quick look at how a few big brands merge storytelling with world-class presentation design.

Salesforce – Write the Narrative First

The overarching emphasis of any presentation is its narrative. Before any flashy visuals are added, the presentation designer works hand-in-hand with the client to establish the narrative and asks big questions like:

• Who are we presenting to?
• Why are we presenting to them?
• How do we want them to respond?

The marketing team at Salesforce, the world’s leading customer relationship management platform, answers these questions by first writing presentations as rough essays with a beginning, middle, and end. As the essay is fleshed out, themes emerge and section titles are added.

From here, the presentation is broken into slides that present the most impactful topics and information the audience needs to know. Only a few select words and phrases will make it onto the screen, but the essay draft will be rich with insights for the presenter to further refine and share in their oral narrative.

Writing the narrative first prevents the chaos of slide shuffling that occurs when a presentation’s stories aren’t clearly mapped out. With no clear narrative in place, slides don’t transition smoothly, and the presentation’s momentum dissipates.

Deloitte – Establish Credibility

Within the first few moments of meeting someone new, we quickly assess whether or not we feel they’re trustworthy.

Presenters are typically afforded an initial level of trust by virtue of being deemed capable of talking in front of a large group of people. But if that trust isn’t solidified within the first minute of a presentation, it can vanish in an instant.

Deloitte is a global financial consultant for 80 percent of all Fortune 500 companies. Naturally, they understand the need to quickly establish credibility. The slide used in the example above is number five in a thirty-slide deck. Right from the outset, Deloitte establishes their authority on the topic, in essence saying, “We’ve been at this awhile.”

Including a slide like this in a client’s deck can be a real confidence booster because it allows them to quickly secure expert status. Establishing credibility also helps an audience relax and engage with what they’re learning.

iControl – Define the Problem Visually

It’s not always possible to express a complex problem or solution with a single visual, but when it happens, it can be a powerful experience for an audience.

iControl is a Swedish startup that built an iPad app designed to replace paper and create better documentation at construction sites. They aren’t a big brand, but their investor pitch deck powerfully identifies a huge audience problem with a single slide—too much paper wasted, too many documents to track. An image like this so clearly identifies the problem that it simultaneously intensifies the need for a solution.

Defining the problem visually is an awesome strategy, but use it with care because an image that’s confusing or overly specific to an industry can leave audience members feeling like outsiders.

Arrange a Compelling Narrative

“Storytelling” is everywhere these days. Social media platforms have cleverly packaged the promise that our every post, image, and interaction is part of an ongoing story, but most of what we call “stories” are loosely related moments strung together by the happenstance of time and technology.

So what’s the distinction between narrative and story? How do they relate, and how do they differ? And most importantly, how do they tie into a compelling presentation?

A story is bound by time. It has a beginning, a middle, and an end. It details events and orders them in a way that creates meaning. In a presentation, stories speak to specific accomplishments and inspire action—“We did this, and it was amazing!”

A narrative is not bound by time. It relates separate moments and events to a central theme but doesn’t seek resolution. In a presentation, the narrative encompasses the past, present, and future—“Where we’ve come from. Where we are. Where we’re headed.”

How does this information impact the presentation designer? Here’s a simple and practical example.

You have a client who makes amazing paper clips that always bend back to their intended shape no matter how much they’re twisted. They ask you to design a presentation that highlights the paper clips and their company vision to “forever change the world of office products.” How do you begin?

Start with the Narrative

The narrative is the overarching emphasis of a presentation.

In this example, you would shape the presentation around your client’s company vision of forever changing the world of office products.

Advance the Narrative with Stories

Use succinct stories that highlight challenges, improvements, big wins, and daily life.

Perhaps the paper clip company’s research and development team faced several setbacks before a eureka moment made mass production cheaper than traditional paper clips.

Use stories like this as brush strokes on a canvas, each one contributing towards a more complete picture of the narrative.

Support Stories with Visuals

This is where the simple, yet stunning slides you design come into play.

In this case, you could show a simple graph that compares the production cost of traditional paper clips to your client’s innovative paper clips. And, to make sure you’re reinforcing the narrative, you could add a short title to the slide: “Game. Changed.”

Conflict Is the Engine of Memorable Presentations

In his bestselling book Story , Hollywood screenwriting guru Robert McKee writes, “Nothing moves forward in a story except through conflict.” This advice is extremely valuable for the presentation designer.

An overly optimistic presentation packed with positive information simply crashes over an audience and sweeps away their enthusiasm. Each rosy insight is less impactful than the one prior. Before long, all the audience hears is, “Good, better, best. We’re just like all the rest.”

An effective presentation designer looks for ways to create internal conflict within an audience. This means they feel the weightiness of a problem and actively hope for the relief of a solution. The yin and yang of problem and solution is the presentation designer’s true north, the guiding principle of every piece of information included in a deck.

One tried and true way to ensure a healthy positive/negative balance, without overly dramatizing a presentation is withholding information.

For instance, in our example of the paperclip company, this could mean devoting an extra slide or two to the research and development process. These slides would hint at the soon-to-be-revealed production costs and build anticipation without providing actual numbers.

Then, when the cost comparison chart is finally shared, the audience is genuinely eager for the information it holds, and the payoff is far more rewarding and memorable.

Unlock the Power of Clear, Consistent, and Compelling Content

Content doesn’t exist apart from the narrative; it enhances it. Once the narrative is in tip-top shape, it’s time to make the content shine, but before we dive into slide design, let’s take a quick detour.

Imagine we’re reviewing an investor pitch deck and we take an elevator into the sky to observe the presentation from an aerial view. From this lofty position, the deck’s content should have a cohesive appearance that ties in with the brand, organization, or topic being presented.

If you’ve ever been hired to work on a company’s pitch deck design , you understand how challenging this can be.

Many times, clients already have some sort of skeleton deck in place before they hire a presentation designer. Sometimes, these decks are packed with a dizzying assortment of charts, graphs, fonts, and colors. Here, you have two unique responsibilities.

First, you must help your client understand how the disunity of their content detracts from the narrative. Then, you must provide a way forward and present them with a practical vision for remaking things in a cohesive style.

Be warned that you may have to sell this idea, especially if your client thinks that their visual content is presentation ready and only in need of some “design magic” to make it look good.

If this happens, remember to be gracious, and acknowledge the role that their expertise played in generating such valuable information. Then, bring the conversation back to results. “This is a compelling topic. I want your audience to be in awe as you present, but for that to happen, I need to recreate the visuals.”

This is a tough chore, but as designers, we’re hired to improve the way our clients communicate—not fill their heads with false affirmations of poor content.

Essential Slide Design Principles

Slide design is an important part of presentation design, and effective slides are rooted in visual simplicity. But the strange thing about simplicity is that it stems from a thorough grasp of complexity. If we know something well, we can explain it to someone who does not in just a few words or images.

In this section, we’ll look at hierarchy, typography, image selection, and color schemes, but know that these design elements are rooted in a proper understanding of a presentation’s narrative and content. If we start the design process with slides, we seriously risk equipping our clients with presentations that are unfocused and unimpactful.

Create Emphasis with Slide Hierarchy

Design hierarchy relates to the placement of visual elements in a way that creates emphasis. For the presentation designer, this means asking, “What two or three things do I want the audience to see on this slide?

Do’s and Don’ts

• Do create visual contrast through scale, color, and alignment.
• Don’t try to visually highlight more than three ideas per slide.

Whenever a really important idea comes up, be brave and only use a few words in bold type to communicate it. This kind of simplicity signals to an audience that it’s time to intensify their focus and really listen to what the presenter has to say.

Overcome Ambiguity with Thoughtful Typography

Most presentations are built on words, so it’s important to know which words to include and how to style them. This starts by choosing the right font, then knowing how big to make the words and where to include them.

• Do ask if your client has any designated fonts listed in their brand style guide.
• Don’t use more than two fonts in your presentation, and avoid text blocks and lengthy paragraphs like the plague.

Try not to use anything smaller in size than a 36 point font. Some designers believe it’s ok to use sizes as small as 24 point, but this often leads to packing slides with more text. Remember, slides are a speaking prompt, not promotional literature.

Communicate Authority Through Graphic Simplicity

Every chart, graph, icon, illustration, or photograph used in a presentation should be easy to see and understand. Images that are difficult to interpret or poor in quality can erode the trust of an audience.

• Do look for ways to use symbols, icons, or illustrations as they have a way of communicating ideas more quickly than photography.
• Don’t use more than one photograph per slide, and don’t use stock photography that conflicts with your client’s brand (e.g., too funny, serious, or ethereal).

During the consultation phase of a presentation design project, ask your potential client to see existing charts or graphs they’re hoping to include. If anything is confusing, pixelated, or inconsistent, tell them you’ll need to remake their graphics. Be prepared to show high-quality examples from well-known companies to sell your point.

Add Energy and Meaning with Bold Color Schemes

Color plays an important role in nearly every design discipline, and presentation design is no different. The colors used for a presentation affect the tone of the topic being shared and influence the mood of the audience.

• Do keep color schemes simple. Two or three colors should make up the majority of slides.
• Don’t use complementary colors for text and background (e.g., blue background with orange text). This has a way of making words vibrate with nauseating intensity.

Identify a few high-contrast accent colors to make strategic cameos for added impact.

The Mission of Every Presentation Designer

It can’t be overstated; presentations are huge opportunities for designers to positively impact their clients’ businesses. Innovation and advancements in culture and technology are occurring so rapidly that it’s become absolutely vital to be able to tell a good story. No one has time for poorly communicated ideas.

Here’s the simple truth: A bad presentation designer dresses up junk content with no thought for narrative and dumps a pile of slides into their client’s lap. Maybe the presentation looks pretty, but it doesn’t inspire, doesn’t activate, and certainly doesn’t sell.

To be effective, results-driven presentation designers means that we must empower our clients with an efficient tool. We carefully consider each slide, word, and visual for maximum impact, and we remember that presentations are intended for a human audience. Whether it’s a room of investors or a conference hall packed with consumers, it’s our job to provide our clients with opportunities to change minds and win business.

Understanding the basics

What is presentation design.

Presentation designers craft an array of ideas, stories, words, and images into a set of slides that are arranged to tell a story and persuade an audience.

Why is storytelling so important?

Where numbers, lists, and facts merely inform, storytelling has the power to make an audience care about and act on information that is being presented.

What are the basic elements of a slide?

The basic elements of a slide are its dimensions, text, images, layout, and color.

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Micah Bowers

Vancouver, WA, United States

Member since January 3, 2016

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Presentation Design: Your Complete Guide to Better Presentations

We don’t like boring presentations either. here’s how to dial your next presentation design to eleven..

Presentation design is that “I told you so” friend. You can have the best stage presence around, the most pertinent information for your audience, a simply stellar narrative . . . and none of it matters if your design doesn’t work.

That’s when presentation design swoops in and gives ya the big ole, “I told you so.”

Look—presenting information to other human beings without slowly (or quickly) starting to look like you dove headfirst into the deep end of your community pool is hard enough. We’ve all been there. We get it.

That’s why this guide exists. Treat it as a cheat code to better presentations. We’ll cover all things slide design—tips, examples, and tools you can use to make your next presentation look good (no complicated game controller combos required).

Table of Contents

The Pillars of Any Great Presentation

10 presentation design tips that work, presentation design ideas, how to design a presentation.

There are a million different things you can do when designing a presentation. That’s the challenge. You’re in the center of a maze, and if you spin around you’ll see twenty pathways. Each one of these takes you to twenty more, and on and on and on.

Let’s start with some basic pillars of great presentation design: purpose, narrative, content, cohesion, and delivery. Everything that comes after rests on top of these building blocks.

Even though we’re talking about five pillars, purpose might be the most important one. Or, at least the deepest dug, supporting everything else.

Without a purpose for your presentation, there is no hope. That sounds grim—because it is. 

Go to the grocery store with no list, and what happens? A $100 overdraft charge and seven pounds of crab cakes with a “Sell by” date of tomorrow. Dive into a presentation with no purpose, and you have a similar theme: sadness.

Start simple—what type of presentation are you making? Is it a quarterly review? Sales report? Pitch? Perhaps you’re the keynote speaker at a once-every-three-years global conference? (Okay, hotshot.)

Figure out what kind of presentation you need. That informs its purpose. Then, factor in your audience. Who are you speaking to, and what do you want them to gain from this soon-to-be beautifully visualized information sharing session?

That brings us to . . .

Say you’re crafting a pitch presentation. Your purpose is to inform and persuade investors to finance your product. This gives you what you need to develop your theme: “XYZ product isn’t just showy, it makes users’ lives easier.”

Great. Now, like any good writer or painter or filmmaker , your job is to develop this theme over the course of your narrative, A.K.A. the overarching journey of your presentation.

You’ll pepper this narrative journey with elements of storytelling . For example: Where you were when you had your big idea is a story that supports your larger narrative—how it all started, why it matters, and where it’s going.

Make sure there’s conflict. Take it from famed screenwriter Syd Field : “All drama is conflict. Without conflict, you have no action; without action, you have no character; without character, you have no story; and without story, you have no screenplay.”

A presentation that’s all sunshine and rainbows is a presentation that lacks realism. And, just like moviegoers don’t want to spend $20 to see a movie where everything is wonderful and nothing could be better, your audience wants engaging information that’s rooted in conflict. 

Because, that means it’s real.

Your product will change the world because it’s solving a real-world problem , and guess what? You’ve faced problems of your own in getting said product off the ground. They were A, B, and C, and you solved them by . . .

Here’s where we get designer-y (author’s choice—that’s a word today). You know your purpose, you understand how that purpose creates a theme, and you see how to develop this theme through narrative.

Now, you need awe-inspiring content. This is where design choices start to have an effect. Your job is to make the complexity of presentation design look simple. No sweat, right?

Opt for high-quality stock photos , readable fonts , and a balanced color scheme . In a way, it’s like tightrope walking across the Grand Canyon.

Also—don’t ever actually tightrope walk across the Grand Canyon.

Your visual content should complement your message and help an audience understand exactly what you want them to take away from your presentation.

Ever seen a Baz Luhrmann film? He’s a man with a distinctive style. If you need proof, go watch Moulin Rouge! , or his adaptation of The Great Gatsby .

We’ll wait.

See? Distinctive style. You look at a Baz film, in all of its creative chaos, and just know—that was made by him. Good or bad doesn’t matter. Baz Luhrmann stays on-brand . Even if on-brand is nine million things happening at once in a single frame.

Cohesion is of the utmost importance when crafting a presentation. The easiest way to achieve visual cohesion is to keep your design on-brand. Be it personal or business, use images, colors , and fonts that represent you.

And if you don’t have those? Decide upon them. Then use them.

If purpose is the deepest pillar, this is the . . . not so deepest . . . if only because it’s the last pillar to consider. We’re not talking about you talking —that is important, but in terms of presentation design, delivery is about slide layout.

How you’re using content, how you’re creating cohesion, and how you’re layering slides and building narrative—that’s your delivery. 

It’s a tall task, for sure. Each pillar seemingly heavier than the last. 

Ready for some tips? Let’s talk through ten quick and actionable tips that you can use when creating your next presentation.

You’ll find nifty previews of Shutterstock Create’s multi-page presentation templates included with these tips.

Note: There’s no shame in starting with a template , nor do you need to spend hours finagling with PowerPoint or Google Slides. Just grab one that’s right for your presentation type, then customize it to match your brand and flaunt your info. 

1. Use Presentation Slides as a Complement to an Outline

 A 2018 study found that only 20% of people finish reading an article online. What’s worse, the average visitor in the study would only read 25% of an article. 

If you’re still with us—thanks. We’re well past the 25% point.

We bring this up because presentation slides aren’t meant to be inundated with information, at least not via words (more on this soon). 

That’s what your outline is for. It’s the notes you put together in tandem with your presentation. No one will see it but you, so, unlike your presentation layout, it can look like a house of horrors as long as the only one experiencing the terror is you ( and you can still decipher it).

Think of an outline as your pseudo-script. Maybe not word for word what you’ll say, but the map for your entire presentation (like speaker notes), with each gorgeous presentation slide backing up your words.

2. Create Narrative Progression from Beginning to End

Narrative progression means using storytelling to develop your theme and strengthen the overall journey of your presentation. 

• This is who we were, who we are, and who we will be .
• This is where we were, where we are, and where we will be.
• This is what you want, how to get it, and where “getting it” will take you.

In the example above, the first slide introduces “brand guidelines” the second slide expands the topic with a strategy, and the third slide dives into more specific advice. There’s a steady and progressive unpacking of information. 

3. Corral Your Colors and Fonts

Reel in those colorful and scripty design elements .

Two complementary colors are more than enough, and if you opt for extra, make sure there’s a reason behind it (intentional flashiness, a third color used for emphasis, etc.)

In the above example, you see black and grey are the dominant backgrounds, with a nice rainbow gradient header and footer here and there. Regardless, the use of rainbow is intentional and scarce, serving as a nice accent.

Same goes for fonts—keep ‘em under control. Using too many fonts creates reader confusion. Sans serif and simple serif fonts are easy to read. 

Also, “easy to read” doesn’t translate to “boring.” If you crave extra fonty flavor, learn how to pair your fonts . Not only does it look good, but it’s a simple way to create visual interest.

If you do this, use one font in your slide headings, and the other in the body copy. Keep it consistent throughout your presentation slide design.

  4. Cut Text Like It’s the Last Piece of Pie

It’s the day after Christmas . There’s one piece of pie left and, in a moment of charity (or foolishness), you decide to share it with the entire family. Good for you. 

That single piece of pie is sliced into tiny slivers, each one put on its own plate.

Cut to now. You’re making a presentation. You notice a heavy paragraph full of ideas, and it’s hanging out on a single slide . . .

. . . share it with the rest of your presentation. Give each slide its own [singular] idea. This makes your information digestible. Maybe a few slides merit more than one sentence. Fine. So long as they support one idea, concept, point, etc.

5. You’re Not Presenting a Resume

Lose the bullet points. They’re an eyesore and a recipe for subconsciously adding way too much information to a single slide. 

“But, but . . . I use bullet points to break everything up!” Nice. So, why are there seventeen of them?

If you want to “bullet” out sentences, use graphics or icons as separators. They’re more interesting.

6. If There Is an Opportunity for Dynamic Visuals, Take It

To a degree. Viewers retain 95% of a message from video compared to 10% from reading. Strike a conversation with any content marketer and they’ll pile on the merits of creating video content .

There’s a reason YouTube has over two billion monthly active users .

If you have a thematically relevant and omnipotent piece of video content, then consider using it. Same goes for animation . A bit of dynamism isn’t a bad thing.

Unless you overuse it. Don’t stuff your presentation full of videos, don’t overload it with animation, and certainly don’t mix and match. This isn’t 8th grade U.S. History, where fading in Thomas Jefferson’s greatest accomplishments might take you from a B+ to an A-. 

7. Make Your Presentation Design Reflect Your Brand

We’ve harped on this already, and it’s worth repeating—the easiest way to keep your presentation consistent is to maintain its brand focus. Dig into that wondrous brand kit of yours (or make one), where all your glorious design elements exist.

There are plenty of times to experiment with new looks and tonal pivots. But, the quarterly sales meeting with the executive leadership team is probably not one of them.

8. Help Your Audience by Creating Visual Hierarchy

Visual hierarchy is about arranging your design elements in a way that shows their order of importance. Sure, you should be using as little text as possible on your slides, but that short chunk of text is there to be read, yeah? 

Text size, colors , spacing, texture, style, and contrast all play a role in crafting airtight visual hierarchy. First off—limit yourself to a single image, illustration , or chart. Use multiple and you’re leaving your audience to guess what’s most important.

Heading text should be bigger than body text. This creates contrast. Same deal with colors—does a vibrant red against a soft white direct your viewers’ eyes? 

Tell your viewers where to look . . . without telling them anything at all.

9. Use Design Elements as Points of Emphasis

Let’s stay on that vibrant red / soft white thought—you can use colors , graphics, and icons as points of emphasis in your presentation. A huge contrast in color or text size draws the eye where you want it to look.

It creates emphasis, and this is really how you design a good presentation. Use design elements to help build your narrative and speak to your audience. 

This way, as you deliver your two cents, they’re already looking at and interpreting exactly what you want them to. 

10. Develop Trust Through Consistency

Beyond visual bliss, a consistent design builds trust with your audience. These slide design tips by themselves can pump up your next big Prezi, but together they’ll help you create a consistent and powerful visual message that supports your equally potent dialogue.

Captivate your audience and gain their trust. When everything’s said and done, and you’ve won over your crowd, that’s your queue to ask something of them. Call ‘em to action .

Whether that’s something as simple as “Questions, anyone?” for a company presentation or something more business-driven (download this, sign up for our newsletter, connect with us on social media, etc.), the key to people actually doing it is them trusting you first.

We’ve talked about the pillars of great presentation design , built upon those pillars with ten actionable tips, and now—before we get down to the business of actually making a presentation—it’s time for some inspiration.

If you know how but not what , here are a few slide design ideas. 

Use Powerful Background Imagery

Images can elevate or completely derail your presentation. The latter happens when you stuff your slides full of low-quality photos, or content that’s cliché or too on-the-nose.

Luckily, you’ll never run out of top-notch stock photography with Shutterstock’s library . Start stockpiling your stock now. Remember, you don’t have to use a picture of a lightbulb to resemble that one idea you had that started everything.

Look for powerful images that tell a story of their own. They can be related to your topic without overshadowing it in “Look at me, I’m exactly what the words say!”-ness.     

Boost Your Presentation Design with a Quote

We like quotes. The millions of quotes + images = my next Instagram post have taught us that. And hey, if you find an interesting quote—particularly by someone well-known —that relates to your message, then go for it. 

Quotes can be engaging transitions into new presentation material.

Distinguish Offerings via Color

Here’s a cool idea—if your presentation is about certain offerings or services, consider pairing these offerings with their own unique colors . 

Then, you can color code them throughout the presentation. Subtle enough to create better understanding without your audience even realizing it.

Embrace Trendy Looks

There are new design trends every year, and then some that seem to never go away. Take gradient colors for example. For a “That person really knows how to stay relevant!” look, pick a design trend that speaks to you and work it into your slides.  

Channel Your Modern Elegance

We’ve talked ad nauseum about black and white designs before because they’re amazing and timeless and 900 other adjectives. Here’s the formula for the example above:

Stunning photography + black and white color scheme + a dab of another color (thanks logo) = modern elegance.

Take the photos yourself , call in a few favors from us , or turn those amazing color photos of yours into elegant black and white art .

Now that you’re loaded with presentation advice, let’s make one using Shutterstock Create .

1. Open a Presentation Template

Inside Create , click File > Create new > Templates . Search by category, or type “Presentation” into the text box.

Once you have your template selected, click Add all ___ pages to add the entire template to your design canvas. Click a single slide to edit it individually. 

2. Customize the Design

Use the left tabs to customize your design however you want. 

Swap images and text with your own from their respective tabs, change colors, emphasize points with graphics, and give your slides unique looks with textures and effects.

3. Use the Layers Panel to Navigate Between Slides and/or Add Pages

The Layers panel is your best friend when working on a multi-page design. Switch between the Layers tab and Pages tab to navigate your design. 

The Layers tab lets you select individual design elements to customize on a single slide. Click the Pages tab to navigate between slides, or use the blue page icon and arrows on the bottom toolbar.

Click the paper/plus sign icon to add a page to your design. The double paper icon lets you duplicate the page you’re working on, and the garbage can icon will delete the selected page. 

4. Download Your Finished Presentation

Download your finished presentation as a PNG/JPG/PDF (images only), GIF (animated image), or MP4 (video) file.

If you download as a PNG or JPG, your file will export as a .ZIP file. Simply unzip and save the images to your desktop. You can download your entire project, individual pages, or select a page range. 

If downloading as an MP4, you have the choice to export as a single video file or individual files.

Alright, newly-minted presentation savant—get to it.

Cover image via Stilesta .

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Remember the time you had to sit through an endless presentation full of charts and text and weird transition animations? Chances are you do. But do you remember anything about what was on it? Now that's a different story. The way we present information greatly influences how much of it we absorb, which is why presentation design is an art in and of itself.

Katya Kovalenko is a Barcelona-based data designer who helps businesses communicate visually, clearly, and more effectively. In this course, she'll share all the potential that she's found in presentation design, showing you the process that she uses with her clients, the methods of organizing information, as well as give you pro tips from a designer’s point of view.

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Katya Kovalenko worked in advertising for nearly a decade before she embarked on what she calls “a quiet revolution.” After reading “Quiet” by Susan Cain, her notion of communication completely shifted. It led her to create Quiet Studio, which focuses on communicating in a more subtle and personal way.

As presentation and data designer at Quiet Studio, she creates presentations, infographics, and brand identities for businesses. She has worked with numerous brands and organizations like Meom, Article Group, Interesting Development, and Chelsea & Co.

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Presentation Design: Ultimate Guide for Beginners

Great presentation design is as important as presenting. Are you creating your own slide decks? Here are some must-follow rules for awesome presentations!

Table of Contents

One-stop for all your designs. Flat monthly price, unlimited requests and revisions.

Whether you are pitching a business idea, telling about your new research, or sharing important data with your audience, presentations are a visual aid essential for your success. You could have awesome presenter skills, and a fantastic idea for the content. But without stunning presentation design, the whole thing will fall flat. Learn how to make a good PowerPoint presentation design with these 10 tips.

Presentations: you’ve seen many of them, and you've probably made several yourself. An ultimate visual communication tool to get your point across, presentations are deeply integrated into the academic and business world.

However, many individuals and businesses still make the mistake of thinking that PowerPoint presentation design always comes down to dark text on a white background, with a few images and charts sprinkled in. Nothing could be further from the truth!

Presentation design shouldn’t be walls of text or extensive bullet point lists, but rather a way to tell a story and inspire the audience with a beautiful and balanced design. And it’s not just about communicating with your audience. Visme found that 91% of presenters feel more confident when using a professionally designed slide deck .

Want to learn how to make a good PowerPoint presentation design? We can help. In this article, we’ll cover the basics, such as:

What is presentation design?

• What types of presentations are there?
• 7 Tips to design presentation slides yourself.

Presentation design focuses on the visual look of your presentation as a tool to engage your audience. It is the way you present your information on the slide: the color scheme, combination of fonts, the way design elements are used as part of your slide. All of this comes together to present your message in a certain way.

Presentation design is about finding the perfect combination of design elements to create slides that will not bore or tire your audience, but rather engage them and glue them to the slides while attentively listening. Whether you are looking to inform your audience, entertain them, establish credibility, or something else, well-thought-out and executed presentation slides can help you achieve this.

Types of presentations

What is the first step in designing an effective presentation? Knowing what the presentation is for, of course.

Presentations have different purposes. A quarterly presentation you are making for the investors of your dropshipping business will not be the same as an employee training slide. In the first case, your aim will be to inform and report, in the second case, the goal of the presentation is to educate. Depending on what you are trying to achieve, there are 5 types of presentations. Let’s take a look at each.

• Informative - One of the most common presentation types, informative presentations aim to communicate important information with the audience and show new findings. Think of presenting company updates or planning a new project: informative presentations should be clear and straight to the point.
• Persuasive - As the name suggests, the aim of this presentation type is to use important data to not simply inform the viewers, but to persuade them to take a specific action. Persuasive presentations are what you should show to potential investors when telling them about the user acquisition growth speed of your company.
• Educational - Often confused with informative presentations, educational presentations are different because they aim to not simply inform, but to teach the viewers new skills and educate them about a new topic. Staff training slides or academic presentations are a great example of this slide type. You can go as far as making a tutorial video and including it in the slides, adding notes and key points next to it.
• Inspirational - Often used by managers and team leaders, inspirational presentations aim to cause a spark and motivate employees to work harder. Presentations of this type usually have a highly emotional message the aim of which is to inspire viewers to take a particular action.
• Problem-solving - This presentation type does a particularly good job at hooking the audience, as the key part of this presentation is the problem they are facing. Then, during the presentation, you are showing them how you are going to solve that problem. An example of this would be discussing how hard it is for large companies to hire qualified people by sharing statistics, then presenting your new HR automation tool and showing its benefits.

7 presentation design tips for beginners

Are you ready to jump into it? Here are 7 golden tips that will help you design presentation slides you can be proud of.

1. Outline your content and refine the key message

What is the first step in designing an effective presentation? You need to prepare your content and refine the key message. Try to understand what your audience wants to know, what they may already know, and what is more likely to keep them engaged. Then, keep this information in mind as you prepare your content for your presentation. What is the main takeaway from each slide?

Choose a working title and have a clear point for each of the slides. Understand what you want your slide to tell people. For example, instead of “Using hashtags for Instagram ” go with “Using hashtags for Instagram increases engagement by 12.5%.”

Keep your content specific and informative, but as concise as possible. Simplify your sentences, keep only the main point without writing an excessive amount of information on the slide. Below are two examples of a slide with the same information. Which one do you think is more readable?

2. Pick a framework

Now it’s time to pick the framework you are going to use to make your professional presentation design. Do you want to create a presentation from scratch, or go with something pre-built?

There are many terrific presentation design templates available online, on platforms like Canva, Visme, and Venngage. Still, you should never use a presentation template without editing it .

Changing the color scheme or fonts to match your brand may seem like a small detail, but it will greatly improve the overall impression of your presentation. It also helps to strengthen your brand identity (whether for a personal or business brand marketing ), and demonstrates professionalism and care.

Another important thing is not to limit your creativity to pre-built presentations. That’s why it’s also advisable to explore presentation designs on platforms, such as Behance, Dribble, and 99Designs.

Sure, most of these will have been done by professional designers, and may be a little challenging for beginners to recreate. However, understanding just how creative PowerPoint presentation design can be will help you shed your preconceptions and explore new creative routes.

3. Choose a color scheme and fonts

The best presentation design will be limited to a handful of options as too many colors will create chaos on your slide and make it harder for the readers to understand.

If you have a brand guide in place, it’s best to stick to colors and fonts used in your branding. However, remember that a PowerPoint presentation design is supposed to keep viewers engaged. So, even if your brand colors are soothing muted tones, a bright element here and there can work well to draw attention to the key messages.

4. Make it visual

Sharing your information only as texts and bullet points is a lazy way out. When you design presentation slides, consider how you can present information visually. This will help your audience understand and take in key messages faster.

A simple example of this is adding relevant icons instead of simple bullet points. Colored or outlined texts next to realistic and relevant photos make the presentation a lot more enjoyable and keep the viewers entertained.

Graphs and charts are a business presentation design staple. However, you can also think about different design elements that can be both surprising and effective. For example, a simple illustration instead of a dull stock photo will delight your audience and keep them engaged.

5. Pay attention to the layout

Your slide layout is the area where all of your presentation elements (photos, texts, icons, logo) are contained. Most presentation tools come with pre-built layouts you can use.

You can also create your own layout from scratch. In both cases, the main aim is to design a beautiful slide that doesn’t overwhelm the viewer. Include plenty of white space in your layout, don’t crowd it with too many text boxes and elements. If the elements are different, as they often will be, keep similar one close to each other. Keep your layout as clean and simple as you can.

6. Align and position

Nothing screams amateur more than jumping texts and layouts from slide to slide. Mismatching logos and design elements jumping here and there showcase a lack of professionalism and give an impression that you’ve put your presentation in a hurry. Not to mention that they are sometimes extremely annoying and distractive!

So, whenever you are working on your slides, always align and position them properly. No matter the presentation tool used, chances are, it will have an alignment tool.

Presentation software such as Keynote and Figma even offer an option to create background grids to help with the alignment. Below is an example of a slide, before and after aligning the texts and icons. Notice the difference?

7. Stay consistent

As you progress through the design of your presentation, it is essential that you stay consistent. No matter how many slides your presentation has, they are still part of one presentation. And you don’t always have to keep the same background color, or slide themes for this. Consistency in design can be achieved through design elements, color schemes, and similar illustrations.

Take a moment to look at these three slides. Although some of the slides seem to be styled differently from the rest, the color scheme of design elements holds the presentation together. It’s crucial to make sure that each one of your slides is visually connected to the previous one, to make sure your viewers don’t lose track of what you were saying.

Key takeaways

Now that you know the basics of professional presentation design, it's time to try them in practice! As with every other design type, there is no end to presentation design. Try to experiment with different tools, elements, and styles to find the one that works best for your audience. Research trends and best practices, and dedicate time to plan each slide thoughtfully. Don't be afraid to try new things, and you'll see the benefits a good presentation can have for your project in no time.

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Presentation design principles for better PowerPoint design

• Written by: Richard Goring
• Categories: PowerPoint design , PowerPoint productivity
• Comments: 17

I’m often asked how to make presentations more effervescent. How they can have more fizz. Or, worst of all, “Can you make my presentation pop?” Well, the answer is yes. By applying some key principles of presentation design , you can make your PowerPoint design really standout and deliver both a more ‘popping’ – but also more effective – presentation.

I’ve split this out into a couple of topics, across two broad categories. One is presentation design, which is really the core graphic design principles that work across any form of visual communication. The other I’ve classed as PowerPoint design, which is a little more specific to using PowerPoint as a tool to create or deliver content. All the ideas have practical applications in PowerPoint, but I thought this breakdown was potentially useful.

Presentation design with images

What if I told you that your presentations could look like these examples?

They’re all using images to enhance your PowerPoint design, both by looking good, but also contributing to the story and helping your audience understand your messages. We’ll get more into the visual storytelling aspect of this later, so for now, just think about the quality of your images. All of these come from one of my favourite free stock photo sites, Unsplash , which gives you royalty free images for commercial use, and they’re all beautiful.

So, it’s not just a case of dropping nice images on the slide. You need to understand how to lay them out well, and use the crop, colour, and artistic effects tools in PowerPoint to treat the images appropriately, and give your presentation a professional look.

To see how we’ve created these kinds of slides, check out the image crop , and crop to zoom and full bleed step-by-step guides. Simple, but considered use of the crop tool can work wonders with your PowerPoint presentation design.

Presentation design incorporating white space

Big, bold, flood fill images are great, and an easy way to make your slides stand out. But it’s not all about pictures and Presentation Zen;  inevitably you’ll need to place other content onto your slides, whether that’s facts, figures, charts, or even dare I say it… bullet points. This is where the use of white space in presentation design becomes crucial.

White space is not about purely adding ‘white space’ onto your slide. This one has plenty of it, but it still looks terrible:

It’s about creating areas of contrast, with clear focal points to draw your attention to the important parts, and even create a flow and hierarchy across your slide.

This example gives you that luxurious feel of the full bleed image, but crops it so that the focal point – the watch – is off to one side, leaving plenty of white, or ‘negative’ space around the arm for your content. The two sections work nicely together, and we’ve anchored the text in a content placeholder and given it some structure too, by actually reducing the size of the text to give it more room. Again, we’ve got a full tutorial on how to incorporate white space like this here .

Presentation design using grids

Grids are pretty much design 101, and to be honest, I’m surprised that we’ve got this far into presentation design without me having brought them up. You’ll likely be familiar with grids from magazines and newspapers – these mainly use column grids. The page is divided into columns and then content is designed to sit across these columns in any combination, which balances the content.

Well, the same thing applies to PowerPoint presentation design: a grid system helps to lay out your content in clear, easy to follow areas.

You can use a grid to create distinct sections, such as telling the start, middle, and end of a story. It’s much easier for your audience to follow, as everything is better organized.

And, it helps bring text into line – if you have any – which is important as it minimizes distractions for your audience when trying to read.

Using a grid also helps you decide where to position content, as there are only so many places that you can put things. Here, for example, one third of the slide has been taken up with the supporting image, so we’ve created a grid within a grid to lay out the three pie charts, which helps to create a feeling of harmony and sophistication:

And don’t think that your divisions have to be straight along the gridlines. Here’s an example that doesn’t apply the rule exactly, but still works really well.

Also, by using a grid, you achieve a consistent feel across all your slides for overall presentation design cohesion.

What does all of that mean? Well, you can transform a slide like this:

It’s really quick and easy to do in PowerPoint too, and you can see our tutorial on using grids and the guide tools in PowerPoint to bring your presentation design up a level.

Presentation design with colour themes

Another key presentation design principle is colour. Setting the right colour palette is essential, as it gives everything a consistent feel, allows you to adhere to your brand, and can give you the ability to assign meaning to specific colours to help your audience understand things. The best way to handle colours in PowerPoint is to set your template correctly and use a colour theme. You can find out how to  change your PowerPoint colour theme here . It’s really quick and easy to do. Once you’ve done it, the theme will save with the file (or template), so you don’t need to worry about it again.

Once set, you can use colour in interesting ways to convey meaning.

For example, a heat map is a great way to show data ranges, like metrics, using a scale, rather than just plain numbers. That’s more helpful to your audience, as it allows them to immediately see both the absolute and relative values, rather than having to spend time deciphering it.

You can also use colour to focus attention.

In complex data sets, using contrast colours can help to highlight primary datasets. Here, for instance, you can clearly see the main data series, compared to the ‘everything else’ data series.

Again, once you’ve set your colour theme, using these techniques as part of your presentation design is pretty easy, and you can find more specific guidance on how to manipulate colours in PowerPoint here .

PowerPoint design with text formatting

With your grids, colours, and white space considered from a high-level presentation design perspective, you now get into the specifics of creating slides in PowerPoint. As much as you, I, and your audiences, love presentations that make use of effective visuals, we know there are always going to be slides that are stuffed to the gills with boring text and even boring-er bullet points.

But, by applying the presentation design techniques already mentioned, you can fairly easily transform your text-heavy slide into something that’s far easier on the eye:

By using grids, appropriate colour, and white space, your PowerPoint slide design could look like this. Breaking out the text with decent paragraph spacing helps your audience parse the content more efficiently. Everything is easier to follow with consistent fonts and the use of colour highlighting. And the white space around the content actually gives the slide greater impact – particularly the use of the large margins around the text, created by the contrasting placeholder. There are a great many more options, and for ten in-depth typography techniques, check out this post . But if you’re just looking for nice fonts to use, this rundown of ten of our favourite fonts for presentations is a must-read.

As you’ve probably come to expect by now, this is something you can do using only PowerPoint, and you can see how in this tutorial on text formatting .

PowerPoint design to manipulate images

While it’s not Photoshop, PowerPoint has some neat tools to manipulate images.

What if I were to tell you the picture you see here had been constructed out of this…

PowerPoint design tools for images are all found on the Format tab on the ribbon. There are plenty of options to choose from, but only some actually enhance your design. For PowerPoint design tools, you should really focus on the left-hand side of the ribbon. The good features include the Remove Background tool, which does what its name suggests. The Color section allows you to put a colour wash over everything, but also, at the bottom of the menu, you can choose Set Transparent Color, which will remove a single colour from any image, which is how I’ve cut out the phone image in this example. Artistic Effects are generally terrible, except blur (which is great for changing focus on an image) and the Transparency tool – newly available in Office 365 – which makes pictures transparent. For a full tutorial on making the above example image, watch this short video .

PowerPoint design with visual storytelling

And finally, my favourite thing is to use these design techniques as part of visual storytelling, which helps dramatically improve your presentation.

Think about how you can use an image to convey meaning, as well as provide aesthetic appeal. For instance, you could use a skyscraper being constructed to show elements that are taking you higher, with labels up the building showing the key metrics:

Or use a common sight from underground stations – the advertising boards on escalators – to show a data series increasing. The image also gives the figures room to breathe:

It doesn’t need to be complicated, and this example has been constructed from an image, some text, and an arrow, to show the 20% of business highlighted on the office photograph:

And of course, we have a short video tutorial to show you exactly how to do it. Sometimes, just finding the right image can be a real help coming up with the right PowerPoint design ideas, but you may also want to look to other design resources for inspiration .

The main thing to remember about effective presentation design is that you probably don’t have the time to create a totally new concept each time, or a mood board for your work. These ideas, especially the PowerPoint design ideas, are all about helping you create beautiful and effective presentations quickly, with minimal effort. A solid basis in design principles – coupled with a few PowerPoint tricks -will set you on your way. So, hopefully next time someone asks you to make a presentation ‘pop’ you can uncork the champagne and tell them you already have.

Richard Goring

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• Comments: 4

Most presentations are a cascade of text-heavy Death-by-PowerPoint slides. Online learners suffer the torture of brochures converted to click-through-eLearning. Most people now recognize that using visuals is the way to go. But how do you make visual presentations and eLearning that work? We think there are six steps you need to follow.

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LOVE LOVE this . .. so helpful and fun to work with. .

Your design concepts and tips were highly recommended by BiancaWoods.weebly.com and after downloading a template and reading your articles – now I see why.

Impressive resources!

Brilliant, thanks so much! Bianca is pretty awesome too. Glad that we’re all able to share with the community.

Nice way of explaining the information

Richard I have been following you since I met you at an ATD regional conference. You have always responded generously with the best in class PowerPoint tutorials and aids. Thank you for your excellence.

You’re most welcome, thanks so much!

Really useful and inspiring presentation.

It’s helped me see how to go beyond the mechanics of what PowerPoint can do towards creating a compelling and coherent design and story

This was really engaging, beautiful and extremely useful. Looking forward to using ideas into my slides.

The way you showed the Before and After is fantastic.

Very useful read .short video of 7 minutes on presentation is great to improve our presentation skills

Very creative and inspiring! You continue to amaze me with the quality of your desin6!

Really nice ideas – solid information. Thanks.

Amazing tutorials. Thank you for so generously sharing your skills, tips, and creativity!!

very interesting topic and very well presentation,thanks for this blog

very interesting topic

Excellent session as usual.

Thank you Richard for your amazing presentation! Very helpful.

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What is presentation design?

Presentation design is the art and science of creating visually appealing and engaging slides to deliver your message effectively. It involves combining text, images, and graphics to convey your ideas, data, and information in a clear and compelling way. Whether you are delivering a sales pitch, giving a lecture, or presenting a report, effective design can make a significant impact on your success.

Presentation design refers to the process of creating slides that convey a message or information. It is a multidisciplinary field that involves graphic design, user experience, psychology, and communication skills. Presentation designers use various tools such as PowerPoint, Keynote, or Google Slides to create visually compelling slides that support the speaker’s message. The goal is to engage the audience, communicate ideas effectively, and make a lasting impression.

Why is presentation design essential?

The effectiveness of a presentation depends not only on the content but also on the design. A well-designed presentation can grab the audience’s attention, convey complex ideas, and persuade them to take action. Here are some reasons why design is essential when it comes to presentations:

I t grabs attention. 

People are visual creatures, and they are more likely to engage with a presentation that is visually appealing and stimulating. Above all, your presentation design should capture attention.

I t helps communicate ideas effectively.

A well-designed presentation can convey ideas, data, and information in a clear and concise way, making it easier for the audience to understand.

I t creates a lasting impression.

A visually compelling presentation can make a lasting impression on the audience, increasing the chances of them remembering the content and taking action.

How to Create Powerful Presentations

Creating a powerful presentation requires a combination of design skills, storytelling, and effective communication. Here are some tips to help you create powerful presentations that get results:

Define Your Message

Before you start your presentation design, define your message and objectives. What do you want your audience to take away from your presentation?

Choose the Right Visuals

Choose visuals that support your message and are visually appealing. Use high-quality images, charts, and graphics that are easy to understand.

Keep It Simple

Avoid cluttering presentation slides with too much information. Keep it simple and use a consistent design that reflects your brand guidelines .

Use Fonts Wisely

Choose fonts that are easy to read and complement your design. Avoid using too many fonts, and use them consistently throughout your presentation.

Trust the presentation design pros

Are you doubting your design skills or tight on bandwidth? It might be time to find a professional presentation designer , like SketchDeck. Even if your design team is at capacity, SketchDeck can turnaround show-stopping presentations as quickly as you need them.

Practice your presentation

Practice your presentation multiple times, and don’t be afraid to get feedback from others. Above all, this will help you refine your message, delivery, and design.

Why invest in presentation design?

Presentation design is a critical component of creating a successful communication strategy. Investing in it helps you grab attention, communicate ideas effectively, and create lasting impressions. By following the tips mentioned above, you can create powerful presentations that get results. Remember to define your message, choose the right visuals, keep it simple, use fonts wisely, and practice your delivery. With the right design and delivery, your presentation will captivate and persuade your audience and achieve your biggest objectives.

Ivy Croteau

• Originally published on April 24, 2023

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What is presentation design?

Presentation design is actually a combination of certain elements, which are text optimization, font selection, color and background selection, icon selection, and figures. If you want to have a perfect, totally polished presentation, you should pay close attention to each element. Here are five steps that will help you move rationally. 

1. Optimize text

When crafting a presentation, try to present the summarized information, without complicated wording and formulas. If you speak in public, reduce the text in your presentation to the minimum (remember that you can tell your audience all the necessary information). These simple rules will improve the perception of your PowerPoint slides design .

Hierarchy of text

Create a hierarchy in the text using font size, color, or boldness. Decorative fonts work well for headings, but you’d better not to use them for body text. Also, you can prioritize using information layers (no more than 2-3).

In terms of meaning, try to build your presentation on the following hierarchy: the main idea, the main content of the slide, details, explanations, clarifications, readability, and font size. Try not to center large paragraphs of text; use left justification. 

Tips: I recommend using from 24 to 28 points in presentations for public speaking, and from 12 to 14 points in presentations for sending and reading.  

Spell Checking

Check the text, so that it does not turn out nonsense. Some mistakes can be fateful, as they are offensive to your audience. People notice these flaws, and they can even point it out loudly, shouting from the crowd. 

Tips: I often found myself in a situation when I made a presentation with an error on the slide. It’s not the end of the world anyway, so don’t get too upset if it happened to you.  

2. Select font

The basic rule for fonts in a presentation is the following: 

Make it large and readable.

A font is actually a tone of voice that you are talking to your audience. It can scream, speak calmly, be playful, or strict. You can use the decorative font for the heading, but the rest of your text must be clear. There should be a visible difference between the header and the main font, although comments and notes can be simply in smaller type.

Tips: I recommend using no more than 2 or 3 fonts in one presentation.

3. Select color palette 

Color is an essential visual component of the presentation. Color can change the attitude of the audience — from aggression and focus to relaxation and friendliness. When choosing a color, you need to build on the corporate style or theme of your presentation. 

First, decide on the primary color, then select the color palette (or simply apply one). If you are performing in a dark room, try to use dark backgrounds, if in a light room, then light backgrounds are preferable. Focus color should not be used everywhere — it should stand out.

Tips: Integrate PowerPoint colors using the Eyedropper tool. The way the tool works is very simple — it copies the color and applies it to the selected object or figure. 

4. Select icons

In three days, people remember only 10% of the information they heard. But if you illustrate the data with a picture or an icon, then the percentage will increase to 65%. Do not forget about this effect while crafting your slides.

Tips: There are many sites with icons, so you don’t need to be a designer to get them. The main thing is that you must use icons of the same style, in one color palette, complementing the text within the meaning.

5. Use figures

The first question that you may have is where to get these figures. Well, PowerPoint has plenty of them, and they are easy to find. Let’s see how they can complement and shape the presentation design. Some figures can help you assemble objects on a slide into semantic blocks. For example, you may use the line to separate the subtitled heading from the main text part. Focus can be created not only with color or size but also with graphic elements. Those elements can control the attention on your slide. 

Tips: The lines do not have to be solid; you can set the stroke length, put arrows at the ends, choose other settings.

There are three main criteria for a successful presentation: what you tell, how you do it, and what you show . Poor design will not make your presentation a failure if you are a skillful storyteller. But a beautiful and functional presentation design will definitely enhance understanding of the material.

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• Presenting techniques
• 50 tips on how to improve PowerPoint presentations in 2022-2023 [Updated]
• Keynote VS PowerPoint
• Types of presentations
• Present financial information visually in PowerPoint to drive results

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How to make a presentation interactive

Inspiration for PPT: how to find design ideas

The Golden Rules of Presentation Design

You don’t have to be a professional graphic designer to master the ins and outs of what makes a visually enticing presentation. While building a super-polished template from scratch might seem daunting, all you really need to know are a few basic principles of presentation design to take your slides from messy and unprofessional to clean, informative, and on-brand.

These days, presentation slide templates and tools abound – from the default options in Powerpoint and Google Slides , to services like SlidesCarnival , Canva , Envato and more that specialize in compiling eclectic template options. While these resources can take the guesswork out of creating sleek and professional deck designs, it’s still up to you to optimize each slide to communicate your ideas as clearly as possible. Furthermore, just because a presentation template looks nice, doesn’t necessarily mean it fits your brand aesthetic and message – and seeing the same common templates reused repeatedly can make yours more forgettable. 

No matter what program you use to build your presentations, there are a few principles of presentation design you should always bear in mind.

The Most Important Rule: Less is More

We’ve all heard this one before, yet it’s still tempting to try and cram as much information as you can onto a slide. Remember that the focus should always remain on the presenter and the story they’re telling – your presentation is an accompaniment to help you illustrate the ideas you’re communicating, not a textbook to be studied. 

Let’s break down a few of the easiest ways to declutter your slides:

• Use key words, not full sentences What’s the main idea for each slide? Try to distill it into a single word or short phrase, rather than spelling out the complete thought as a sentence. When in doubt, use the 6×6 rule: no more than 6 bullet points per slide, with less than 6 words per line.
• Utilize white space – balance is your friend! Afraid that you’re wasting real estate by not filling every corner of your slide? The eye naturally needs a place of rest, so don’t be afraid of white space. This also helps funnel and direct the viewer’s attention where you want it to go. Avoid the temptation to blow your content up to fill all the available space on your slide. Even if it’s still just a couple sentences of information, this can make it look overwhelming. 

• Break up your ideas if needed Don’t be shy about spreading out information between multiple slides, and pace yourself! A “title slide” to introduce a new topic can provide a nice (and necessary) breather that balances out the pace of your presentation, preventing audience exhaustion.
• Use fewer fonts (aim for 2 or maybe 3 max) Mixing and matching typefaces takes a fairly well-trained eye, but there are a couple of handy resources on the web to help: FontJoy and Typ.io will both auto-generate a pairing of fonts that go well together visually. Other rules of thumb: keep body copy typefaces simple and sans-serif (using too much of a display typeface hurts legibility), use caps lock only for emphasis and visual contrast, and understand how typefaces can help convey brand sentiments.
• Choose colors and fonts wisely You may be designing a presentation for work, in which case you likely have a couple established brand colors to use throughout your presentation. If you’re making up a color scheme from scratch, bear in mind: (A) Don’t use too many colors. Using too many different colors will make the presentation look messy, busy, or incoherent – so focus on one or two key, recurring colors that’ll lend a sense of cohesion throughout all your slides. (B) Try to get one or two vibrant, saturated colors to energize your presentation with a more youthful energy – muted and neutral tones run the risk of boring your audience or looking overly corporate.

Use Visual Hierarchy

Create a clear delineation between the most and the least important information. This can be done in a few ways:

• Contrast Don’t let your text or other elements disappear in a monochromatic fog; up the contrast to make things pop off the page.
• Background vs. Foreground images If you want to overlay text on top of an image, make sure to use photos with copy space and more subtle, uncluttered background elements. Can’t find enough white space in the pic to give your text breathing room? Consider adding a photo filter, color block, or even a gentle and more subtle gradient block to put beneath your text.
• Size Use 30+ pt. text sizes to keep your copy legible even from a distance – and keep it bolder for titles, headings, and key words. Be sure that the size you use for headings is at least 50% larger than the size you’re using for body text to better call out your main ideas.
• Alignment One of the single biggest threats to legibility – and your professional credibility – is a “scattershot” slide with text and images thrown together with no rhyme or reason. Instead of combining alignments (center-aligned with left-aligned headers or body copy, for example), stick with left-alignment for quick scanning. Your best bet? Use a grid system instead of plopping elements on the page and hoping for the best. Align similar elements along vertical and horizontal lines to give each slide a sense of rhythm and repetition. Tidy groupings of similar items (e.g. having all your headings, descriptions, pictures and icons along the same lines) bolsters scannability.

Use Icons to Get Your Message Across Faster (and More Beautifully)

Icons are a critical component of presentation design, as they help your audience digest the ideas you’re covering quicker than words alone. In fact, studies have shown that audiences will remember an image paired with a verbal cue 55% better than a verbal cue alone – a phenomenon known as the Picture Superiority Effect (and a critical component of Dual Coding Theory ).

Some may even argue that icons can (and should!) take the place of bullet points.

It’s especially critical to bring in visual aids like icons when you’re covering topics that are more abstract or technologically complex – consider how much words on a page can fall flat and fail to “click” in your audience’s minds, vs. bringing in a quick and concise visual that will help people place the key ideas in a clear, real-world context.

Visual cues like this “deliver the punchline” for your viewers before you even need to – so your ideas can not only jump off the page, but stay in your audience’s memories for longer.

Nonetheless, you’ll need to make sure you’re using your icons as effectively as possible. 

Using Noun Project Icons in Your Presentations

• Search Icons Get all the icons you could ever need from Noun Project . Our collection is literally millions of icons deep – and each one can be customized, colored, and downloaded as a PNG or SVG.
• Use Apps & Plugins Instantly insert icons without leaving your workflow – Noun Project has apps and plugins for Google Slides , Powerpoint , Adobe Products and more. (Plus, Noun Project apps now support SVG icons – so you can use and customize vectors directly inside apps like Powerpoint).
• Go Pro for Royalty-Free Downloads Customize and insert unlimited icons royalty-free with a Noun Pro account. When you go Pro, you can instantly recolor and click-and-drag icons straight from the Noun Project window without needing to worry about attributions.

Tip: Icons are essential to help an important point “click” in people’s brains more quickly. The Noun Project Add-On for Powerpoint lets you instantly search, recolor, click and drag icons instantly all without having to leave your window (and a Noun Pro account lets you insert unlimited icons).

Use Icons to Make Your (Bullet) Point

• Condense & Summarize Your Big Ideas with Icons Use icons as a direct translation of your information – or an obvious metaphor that won’t leave people guessing. Noun Project offers a dazzling range of icons, from the extremely literal (bar graphs, money, medical icons and more) to more broad and abstract concepts (gerrymandering, sanctuary city defunding, you name it)…. But with any icon you need, choose one that doesn’t need too much deciphering, or provide an explanatory caption where necessary. As with all things design, go by the famous maxim “ Don’t Make Me Think .”

• Aim for Visual Consistency Icons come in numerous styles: thin line icons, thick “glyph”-style icons, sharp, rounded, pixel-perfect or hand-drawn. Pick a style that suits your brand and message, then stick with it. Selecting icons from the same collection, or the same creator, will help maintain visual consistency – whereas a mixing and matching of styles will appear messier and less professional.

Tip: Try to select icons from the same collection so that they have a consistent visual style. ( Basic Interface icon collection by Caesar Rizky Kurniawan ).

• Use Icons to Accentuate Your Theme Icons don’t need to be used merely to reinforce your statistics – they can usher people through your narrative and play off your visual theme as well. Think about the stylistic possibilities of your overall presentation – e.g., bringing in a nostalgic ‘80s theme with 8-bit pixel icons or discussing holistic health with naturalistic, ecological icon collections. 

Tip: Browse the latest topical icon collections on Noun Project .

Use Photos to Suit the Mood

Icons aren’t the only must-have in packing a visual punch. While we’ve already written dedicated articles about the best ways to use stock photos in Powerpoint or even in social media campaigns , here are a few quick rules of thumb:

• Use photos that are natural, authentic, diverse, and inclusive Ditch the overly-posed and unnatural corporate stock photoshoots of bygone eras. It’s important to make sure your photos feature a variety of ages, ethnicities, body types, sexualities and more so that no matter who your audience, they’ll feel included (Hint: check out photo collections like Diversity in Tech and Empowered Women on Noun Project).

Tip: Search for diverse stock photos that don’t feel too “stock-y.” Relaxed poses and natural lighting and textures will look more suitable than the overly staged corporate photo shoots of yore. Explore the Diversity in Tech or Empowered Women collections on Noun Project for inspiration.

• Focus on single background images – not a whole album. Usually one supporting image is enough – there’s no need to include multiple images on a single slide as this muddles your message. If, perhaps, you want to show multiple photos to recap an event or show steps in a process, be sure to align your photos, use a grid system, or give each one even dimensions through thoughtful cropping.
• Visually unify your photos using color overlays Apps like Powerpoint will typically let you adjust brightness and hue or overlay a color so that multiple disparate photos can appear unified – and reinforce your brand.

Tip: While a full-color photo may be eye-catching, consider using a color overlay (at right) with your brand or theme colors to give a stronger air of sophistication and cohesion to disparate photos. (In Powerpoint, with an image selected, go to Picture Format > Color > More Variations to set your own color).

Get Started on Your Next Presentation Design With Noun Project.

Explore icon and photo collections, and unlock unlimited royalty-free icon downloads with Noun Pro .

Ready to try out different types of presentation design apps? If you’re looking for friendly, web-based alternatives to the classic Powerpoint, try out free options like Google Slides or even Canva .

Hungry for more design tips? View more on our blog at blog.thenounproject.com .

Marketing Communications Manager at Noun Project, Designer and Illustrator.

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• University Libraries
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Presentation Design

• General Principles
• Design: Slides
• Design: Posters
• Design: Data
• More Information

Workshop Materials

• Presentation Workshop Slides: Visual Design for Oral & Poster Presentations For more in-depth presentation tips and examples, download the slides from the Library's presentation design workshop
• Presentation Design Worksheet Worksheet designed to help you develop a thoughtful, targeted presentation

Sharing your work

• SlideShare Upload slides, posters, and other documents for a public or private audience. Formats accepted include PowerPoint, PDF, and OpenDocument.
• Figshare A free online digital repository where users can share, preserve, and access research products such as figures, data visualizations, media, datasets, and more.
• Google Drive Google Drive, a free cloud storage service connected to Google accounts, is a great way to host and share research presentation materials with a limited audience.

Spring 2024 Presentation Prep Workshop Series

The UNM Libraries are teaming up with Graduate Support and the Engineering Student Success Center to offer a four-part presentation prep workshop series this semester. Join us to learn how to be a more prepared, confident, and effective presenter! Workshops take place on Tuesdays from 12:30 pm - 1:30 pm in a hybrid format (Zoom & in person in Centennial Science & Engineering Library). Registration is strongly recommended, & workshops are open to anyone in the UNM community! Pizza will be provided to in-person attendees.

• What is a Conference : Tuesday, February 27, 12:30-1:30pm (Zoom & CSEL DEN 2)
• Designing & Developing Presentations : Tuesday, March 5, 12:30-1:30pm (Zoom & CSEL DEN 2)
• Data Visualization : Tuesday, March 19, 12:30-1:30pm (Zoom & CSEL DEN 2)
• Delivering Presentations : Tuesday, March 26, 12:30-1:30pm (Zoom & CSEL DEN 2)

General Presentation Principles

• Think and communicate visually : Humans remember images and words better than words alone.
• Be consistent : Keep your slides or poster design simple and use a consistent style (fonts, colors)
• Focus : Keep your audience focused on your most important points
• Hook and Preview
• Methods, Data and/or Details (Don't dwell overlong here)
• Conclusion and Takeaways

Other Considerations

• Use stories to help people remember your points
• Use metaphorical thinking to choose impactful and meaningful images
• Avoid "slide-uments" (slides that contain a high level of text detail). To communicate detail, make a  slideshow as well as a handout /document

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• Last Updated: Mar 19, 2024 10:56 AM
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What is a Presentation Designer? Everything You Need to Know

Do you need to give a presentation but don't know where to start? Do you want your presentations to look more professional? Maybe you're looking for a new job and want to learn about the role of presentation designer. If any of these describe you, then read on! 

By understanding what a presentation designer does and how they can help your business succeed, you'll be able to better communicate your needs and make the most out of any presentation.

What is a Presentation Designer?

A presentation designer creates the visual layout and graphic design of a presentation. They have an understanding of many different types of media, such as PowerPoint, Google Slides, and Keynote.  The presentation designer selects fonts, colors, and other elements to create a visually appealing look for a company's presentations and reports. In short, they know how to effectively communicate complicated information in an easy-to-digest manner.

What Do Their Services Include?

Presentation designers come in many forms and have varying degrees of experience and capabilities – nonetheless, they all share a common trait: their goal is to make sure your audience is engaged and informed during your next corporate event. You may find that most presentation designers offer instructions and guidance on how to more effectively communicate through visually engaging mediums, like the aforementioned PowerPoint.

Other services offered might include:

• Sales Presentations
• Pitch Decks
• Capabilities Decks
• Findings & Recommendations
• Marketing & Strategy
• Animated Presentations
• RFP Responses
• Training Presentations
• Internal Meetings

Why Are They Beneficial to Your Business?

While it is not often talked about, one of the more vital aspects of a business is its presentations! How do you come across to your clients? How do your customers see you? Your employees? Answering these questions takes time and a lot of effort. It can be extremely stressful too! 

Presentation designers are beneficial because they improve the visual appeal of your presentations and provide it with design continuity. Another benefit is that presentation designers will save you time and energy by allowing you to concentrate on what is important: the content of your message. 

Why is it Important For Your Presentations to Look Professional?

Presentations are a common form of communicating information. It is important that they look professional to capture the audience's attention and effectively transfer knowledge. A study published by "InfoDesign" revealed that employers gauge job applicants' professionalism before hiring them, and one-third said that they judged applicants on how their resumes looked.

Similarly, if your presentation looks unprofessional or difficult to read then it might not be well received by your audience. This may lead to a judgment on the organization of the content, rather than the ideas themselves. It's important that the material and design look professional and polished. 

A presentation is a great way to show your audience what you have learned, who you are and what your business can offer them. However, if the presentation looks unprofessional then it will be difficult for people to take you or your business seriously.

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Blog Data Visualization 120+ Presentation Ideas, Topics & Example

120+ Presentation Ideas, Topics & Example

Written by: Ryan McCready May 08, 2023

Did you know that 46% of people can’t sit through a presentation without losing focus? 

That’s why I wanted to learn how to make a presentation that will captivate an audience. After looking at hundreds of different authors, topics and designs, I’ve assembled over 100 presentation ideas and tips on how to design a compelling presentation for:

• Social media
• Online courses
• Pitch decks
• Lead generation

In this blog, you’ll find 120+ presentation ideas, design tips and examples to help you create an awesome slide deck for your next presentation.

To start off, here’s a video on the 10 essential presentation design tips to make sure that your presentations don’t fall under the YAWN category.

1. Use a minimalist presentation theme

CREATE THIS PRESENTATION TEMPLATE

The best designs can also be some of the simplest you see. In the Airbnb pitch deck below, they use a minimalist color scheme and font selection.

A minimalist design is sleek, organized and places the most important thing in focus: your information. There are no distracting stock images, icons, or content. Everything on this unique presentation feels like it belongs and works together perfectly. 

Learn how to customize this template:

2. Use a consistent design motif throughout your presentation

Here’s a go-to tip to for a cohesive presentation design: use a design motif. The motif could be a recurring shape (like circles, lines or arrows) or symbol (like a leaf for “growth” or a mountain for “goals”). For more ideas, check out our guide to common symbols and meanings used in design .

For example, this  presentation template uses circles as a design motif. The same circle icon is used in three different colors to add a bubbly touch to the design. The team photos are also incorporated using circle frames:

3. Use an eye-catching presentation background image

Like with any type of design work, you should want to catch the eye of your audience. In a presentation, this should be done from the beginning with a  compelling background image or a color gradient.

In this presentation template, the creators were able to do just that with a landscape photo. When a presentation like this is seen on social media, during a webinar or in person, your audience will definitely listen up.

4. Visualize your points with icons

Icons are the perfect visuals to include in presentations. They’re compact and can convey a concept to your audience at a glance. You can even combine multiple icons to create custom illustrations for your slides. 

Use the Icon Search in Venngage to find illustrated and flat icons:

5. Use a black & white color scheme for a corporate presentation design

In the presentation below there are only two colors used: black and white. Now, you might be worried that only using two colors is boring, but it all comes down to balance.

Playing off the ideas of classic minimalism, the designer made this presentation look sleek and professional. And now your content can be the main attraction of your presentation as well!

6. Repurpose your slide deck into an infographic 

Different types of presentations serve different purposes and sometimes it helps to work smarter, not harder when you are creating a unique presentation. In fact, the spacing, layout, and style used in this presentation makes it easy to repurpose the same images into an infographic.

This allows you to create two unique pieces of content from one idea!  Which is exactly what  Officevibe did .

Join Venngage’s CEO, Eugene Woo, to learn how you can design impactful infographics that will help maintain trust, increase productivity and inspire action in your team.

SIGN UP NOW

7. Break your genre mold for a fun presentation idea

When I first clicked on this creative presentation from SEMrush, I was not expecting to be transported into a comic book. I’m glad I clicked because it may be the most unique slide deck I have ever seen. Going this extreme with your presentation ideas may seem a bit risky, but to be able to break the mold in this age of cookie-cutter presentations is worth it.

To leave a lasting impression on your audience, consider transforming your slides into an interactive presentation. Here are 15  interactive presentation ideas  to enhance interactivity and engagement.

8. Make your presentation cover slide count

As I was scrolling through all of the presentations, this one made me stop in my tracks. It could be that I have a life-long love of Star Wars, or it could be that their presentation cover slide was designed to do just that: grab your attention. That’s why you should not stick with a boring, text-only title slide. Don’t be afraid to use icons and illustrations to make a statement.

9.  Alternate slide layouts to keep your presentation engaging

Keeping your audience engaged throughout an entire presentation is hard, even if you have been working on your presentation skills . No one wants to look at slides that look exactly the same for an hour. But on the other hand, you can’t create a unique masterpiece for each slide.

That’s why I’m very impressed with what the designers did in the presentation example above. They use a consistent visual theme on each slide, but alternate between vertical and horizontal orientations.

The swapping of orientations will show people that the presentation is progressing nicely. It can help you make a strong, almost physical, distinction between ideas, sections or topics.  

10. Make your audience laugh, or at least chuckle

Sometimes you need to not take your business presentations too seriously. Not sure what I mean? Go check out slide number 10 on this slide deck below.

If you did not actually laugh out loud, then I don’t know what to tell you. Small illustrated embellishments can be very powerful because they evoke an emotional response and to gain your audience’s trust.

Did you know 70% of employees think that giving a good presentation is an essential workplace skill? Check out the top qualities of awesome presentations and learn all about how to make a good presentation to help you nail that captivating delivery.

11. Supplement your presentation with printed materials

Printed takeaways (such as brochures and business cards ) give audience members a chance to take home the most important elements of your presentation in a format they can easily access without using a computer. Make sure you brand these materials in a way that’s visually consistent with your slide deck, with the same color scheme, icons, and other iconic features; otherwise, your recipients will just end up scratching their heads.

If you’re giving people multiple materials, try packaging them all into one convenient presentation folder. There are over 100 styles with a wide range of custom options, so feel free to get creative and make your folder stand out. Sometimes a unique die cut or an unusual stock is all you need to make something truly memorable. Here are some brochure templates to get you started.

12. Only use one chart or graphic per slide 

Having too much information on a slide is the easiest way to lose the focus of your audience. This is especially common when people are using graphs, charts or tables .

In this creative slide deck, the author made sure to only include one focal point per slide, and I applaud them for it. I know this may sound like a simple presentation tip, but I have seen many people lose their audience because the slides are too complex.

13. Keep your employee engagement presentations light   

Sometimes you need to get away from stuffy, professional presentation ideas to capture your audience’s attention. In this case, Officevibe used some very colorful and playful illustrations to stand out from the crowd.

I mean, who could not love the plant with a face on slide number 9? And if you want to see some more icons and illustrations like this, be sure to check out our article on how to tell a story with icons.

14.  Feature a map when talking about locations

Including a map in your creative presentations is a fantastic idea! Not only do they make an interesting focal point for your slide layout, they also make location-based information easier to understand.

This cool presentation example by our pro designers at Venngage uses maps to visualize information. This map both dominates the screen, and also displays all the locations being covered.

15. Use a font that is large and in charge 

If you are presenting to a small group or a packed stadium, make sure your audience can see your text! Use a large and in charge font that can be read from even the nosebleed seats. 

Honestly, you really never know where your unique presentation will be seen. It could be seen in a conference room or conference hall, and everything in between. Be ready to present almost anywhere with a bold and easy to read font.

16. Use pop culture references to build a fun presentation 

Using a meme or pop culture reference is another way that you can jive with your audience. It can be used to quickly get a point across without saying a word or create a moment that you can connect with the room. For example in this presentation, they used Napoleon Dynamite to give the audience feelings of nostalgia.

17. Use more than one font weight on your presentation cover slide

Just like you would never use one font on an infographic, you should never use just one font on your presentation (for more tips, read our guide on how to choose fonts ). In this presentation example from HubSpot, they use a bunch of different font weights to add emphasis to key words and ideas.

As you can see, they use a bold font on the presentation cover to bring attention to Steve Jobs name. This makes it easy for the audience to know what your presentation is going to be about from the beginning as well. 

18. Use a color theme for each idea 

Color is another extremely powerful nonverbal tool that you can use to guide your audience. By using a different color for each section of your creative presentation, Dell is able to clearly indicate when they are switching points or ideas.  Going from green to orange, and even red almost effortlessly.

This is a great way to design a list, guide, or a  how-to presentation as well. And each color can be assigned to a different step or number with ease. 

Need help picking the perfect color palette? Start here !

19. Use illustrations instead of pictures 

An easy way to keep your design consistent throughout your unique presentation is to use illustrations like in this slide deck by Domo.

They used illustrations instead of pictures to show off their subject on slide numbers 4-10 and it looks fantastic. This will ensure that the audience focuses on the content, instead of just the photo they could have used.

It also helps that illustrations are a top design trend for 2020 .

20. Use contrasting colors to compare two perspectives or sides of an argument 

Contrasting colors can be used to quickly show each side of topic or an argument. For example in this presentation, they use this trick to show the difference between their company and the competition.

They use color very effectively in this example to show their company is better, in a nonverbal way. With a lighter color and illustrated icons, the company is able to position them as the better choice. All without saying a word.  

Now if they would have used similar colors, or a single color the effect wouldn’t have been as strong or noticeable.

21. Include your own personal interests

This example is one of the most interesting and cool presentations I have seen in awhile, so I suggest checking out the entire thing. The creator inserts a bunch of his personal interests into the slide to make his presentation about education fun and relatable. And they even use a Super Mario Bros inspired presentation cover, so you know it has to be fantastic! 

22. Try to stick to groups of three 

How many major ideas should be present on your presentation aid? Never break your  presentation layout down into anything more than thirds. This means there should be at most three columns, three icons, three ideas and so on.  A great example of this idea starts on slide number 9 in this slide deck and continues throughout the rest of the presentation.

 Here is a great three columned slide template to get started with.

23. Add a timeline to help visualize ideas 

One of the best ways to visualize a complex process or historical event is to use a timeline presentation. A list of all the steps or events is just not going to cut it in a professional setting. You need to find an engaging way to visualize the information.

Take the presentation example above, where they outline the rise and fall of Athens in a visually stimulating way.

24. Label your graphs & charts 

If the people at Pollen VC had not added those annotations to the graphs on slide number 5, I would have definitely not known what to make of that graph.

But when you combine the visuals on a graph with descriptive text, the graph is able to paint a picture for your audience. So make your graphs easy to understand by annotating them (this is a chart design best practice ).

Create a free graph right here, right now!

25. White font over pictures just works 

There is a reason that you see so many quotes or sayings in a white font that are then overlaid on an image. That it is because it just works in so many situations and the text is very easy to read on any image.

If you do not believe me, look at the slide deck example above where they use a white font with a few different fonts and about 100 images. Plus the presentation template is chocked full of other tips on how to create a winning slideshow.

26. Color code your points across the whole presentation 

Here is another example of a presentation that uses color to keep their points organized. In this case, they use 10 different pastel colors to match the 10 different tips for employee engagement.

Check out our guide for how to pick the best colors for your visuals .

27.  Use a simple flow chart to break down a process

If you’re a fan of the movie Step Brothers , you may have heard of Prestige Worldwide before. In this fun presentation example they are back to sell you on their business model and growth plans.

This time, the presentation will be effective because it actually talks about what the business does.

Instead of making a music video, they use a helpful flowchart template to explain their business model. I would recommend following their lead and creating a dynamic flow chart to visually break down any process.  Try making your own flowchart  with Venngage.

28. Make your slide deck mobile friendly 

As more people move to mobile as their main device each year, making your presentations mobile-friendly is becoming increasingly important. This means that the text is large and there aren’t too many small details, so everything can scale down. Just like in this presentation example from the creators at Globoforce.

29. Don’t be afraid to include too many examples 

If you are presenting a complex idea to a group, especially a large audience, I would recommend having a ton of good examples. Now, I would try not to overdo it, but having too many it is better than having too few.

In this creative presentation, the people at With Company spend about 20 slides just giving great examples of prototyping. It doesn’t feel too repetitive because they all are useful and informative examples.

30.  Use consistent visual styles for an elegant presentation design

I have already written extensively about using icons in all of your design projects . I haven’t talked as much about matching icons to your presentation template.

But that’s just as important, especially if you want to create a professional presentation for your audience.

As you can see in the example above, the designer used minimalist icons that fit the slide designs. All of the other graphics, charts and visual elements fit together nicely as well.

Plus the icons don’t distract from the content, which could ruin a stellar presentation.

31. Use a consistent presentation layout 

In this example from Bannersnack, they use a consistent layout on each of their slides to help with the flow by using the same margins and text layout.

It’s a solid presentation example because they help the user know where to look immediately. It may seem like they are playing it safe, but anything that can speed up the time it takes for a user to read the content of the slides, the better.

32. Use loud colors as much as possible 

This is one of my favorite presentations because of the highlighter yellow they chose to use as their main color. It is actually very similar to one that I saw presented live a few years ago and I have used this same approach in a few presentations ideas of my own.

33. Pull your design motif from your content 

If you are talking about an interesting topic, why not use the topic as the main design motif in your creative slide deck? For example, in this presentation about sketchbooks, the creator uses a sketchy, handwritten motif. It is something simple that helps the audience connect with the topic. Plus, it allows you to include a ton of great examples.

34. Utilize a call & answer cadence

In this SlideShare about how to create a presentation, Peter Zvirinsky uses a two-step process to present a point. First, he presents the header presentation tip in a speech bubble. Then he shows a supporting point in a responding speech bubble. This gives the presentation a conversational flow.

35. Repurpose ebook content into a creative presentation

This slide deck was adapted perfectly from a Seth Godin ebook into the presentation example you see above. In the slide deck, they take a piece of content that would usually take a while to read and cut it down to a few minutes. Just remember to include only the most important ideas, and try to present them in a fresh way.

36. Add a timed outline to your presentation

We have already covered how important it is to have a table of contents in your slides but this takes it a bit further. On the second slide of the presentation below, the creator added how long each of the slides should take.

This is great because it helps your audience know the pace the presentation will take and will help keep them engaged. It also will help them identify the most important and in-depth parts of the presentation from the beginning.

37. Use a “next steps” slide to direct your audience

One of the worst things you can do as a presenter is to leave your audience without any idea of what to do next. A presentation should never just end because you ran out of slides.

Instead, use a conclusion or “next steps” slide like in the example above to finish your presentation. Sum up some of your main points, tell your audience where they can get more information, and push them to take action.

38. Go a bit crazy with the design 

Sometimes you need to throw convention to the wind to create something unforgettable. This presentation from Velocity Partners does just that, and I think it is one of my favorite ones from this entire roundup.

They use unconventional typography, quirky icons, and unusual presentation layout to make each slide surprising.

39. Make your slide deck easy to share 

If you are looking to get a lot of eyes on your presentation I would make sure people will want to share it on social media. How do you do that? By presenting new and interesting value. This means your content needs to answer a common question and your design needs to be clutter-free. For example, look at this very social media-friendly. The slides are simple and answer questions directly.

40.  Use shapes to integrate your photos into the slides

Want to include a bunch of images in your presentation? I say do it!

Now most of the time you would add a raw image directly to your slide. However, if you want to present images in a professional way I would recommend using an image frame .

Like in the example above, you can use these frame to create a collage of images almost instantly. Or provide a similar visual theme to all of your slides.  

Overall, I believe it’s a great way to add a new visual component to your presentation.

41. Hijack someone’s influence in your marketing slides

If you are stuck in the brainstorming phase of your presentation, focusing on a brand or influencer is a great place to start. It could be a case study, a collection of ideas or just some quotes from the influencer. But what makes it effective is that the audience knows the influencer and trusts them. And you are able to hijack their awareness or influence.

42. Put y our logo on every slide 

Whether you have a brand as powerful as Moz, or you are just getting started, you should always have your logo on each slide. You really never know where a presentation is going to end up–or what parts of it will! In this presentation template, Moz does a good job of including their branding and such to get others interested in Moz Local. Don’t have a logo yet? Our logo design tips will help you create a logo that’s iconic and will stand the test of time.

43. Lead your audience to it 

In this example, the creator uses something very similar to the call and answer approach I mentioned above, but with a little twist. Instead of just throwing all the info up at once, they use three slides to build to a particular point and include a subtle call to action in the third slide.

44. Make visuals the focal point of your presentation slides

If you haven’t noticed, illustrated icons are having a revival in 2020 and beyond. This is likely because minimalist icons dominated the design world for the past decade. And now people want something new.

Brands also like using illustrated icons because they are seen as genuine and fun.

And because they are so eye-catching you can use them as focal points in your presentation slides. Just like they did in the creative presentation example above.

Picking the perfect icon is tough, learn how you can use infographic icons like a pro.

45. Use a quirky presentation theme 

In this slide deck, the authors show you how to become an Animation Ninja…and they use ninja graphics and icons extensively. This caught my eye immediately because of the amount of work that I knew was behind this. It takes a lot of time and effort to line all of the content and graphic up to create a cohesive theme, but the payoff can be massively worth it.

46. Use a consistent background image 

I am a big fan of the way that Aleyda Solís uses only a single presentation background image throughout her presentation.

By using this tactic the audience is able to focus on what is happening in the foreground. Plus it gives the whole presentation a different feel than all the other ones I have looked at.

47. Summarize your points at the end

It’s a good idea to summarize your points before you end your presentation , especially if you’ve covered a lot of information. In this presentation example, Deanta summarizes exactly what they do on slide numbers 16-18. They also provide their contact information in case their audience has any more questions. I think that every presentation should use this same approach, especially the ones you are presenting outside of your company.

48. Use a minimalist presentation template

This slide deck from QuickBooks uses a minimalist theme to help the audience focus on what is important, the content.

There were only five colors used in the entire presentation and the graphics were simple line drawings. This made it easy to read and very pleasing to the eyes.

49. Split your slides length-wise 

Here is a simple template you can use to separate your headers, or main points, from your body text in a presentation.

Instead of using a solid presentation background, split the slide in half like Sequoia did in their slide deck. They used their brand color for the title portion and a neutral white for the supporting content.

Use this company report template to create a very similar slide right now!

50.  Embrace a bold color scheme throughout your presentation

My favorite part of the creative presentation example above is the use of complementary colors in each slide. As you can see, not one of the slides use the same color scheme but they all feel related connected.

This approach can be used to make your presentation visually unique, without abandoning a cohesive theme or idea.

51. Put text in the top left corner 

English speakers will instinctively try to read text from a top to bottom, left to right orientation. I would recommend using a left alignment for your text and adding additional things from top to bottom, just like Aaron Irizarry did in this presentation layout.

52. Break up your tables 

A plain table with a white background with black or gray lines are difficult to read on a computer screen, so why would you create one for viewing on a large presentation screen? You shouldn’t!

Instead, follow Intuit’s lead and break up the rows with a bit of color. This applies to data visualization in general , but think it is even more important when it comes to presentations.

53.  Present connected information in a visually similar way

In this startup pitch presentation example, they have a ton of information to get through. But they present their most important slides, the problem and solution, in a visually similar way.

By using a similar layout on each slide, the audience will be able to quickly make a connection. If you want to present two connected pieces of information, use this tactic.

From the font to the layout, it’s all basically the same. The main message they’re trying to impart is a lot more impactful to the reader.

If they would have used two wildly different presentation layouts, the message may have been lost.

54. Roundup expert tips into one presentation 

If you are looking for useful insights into the topic of your presentation, talk to some influencers in your niche. These are called “expert roundups” in the content marketing world and they are incredibly shareable.

Plus, they are pretty easy to create and have a great shelf life. In the example above, we talked to a gaggle of marketing experts about what makes a SlideShare great.

55. Use bold & brash colors throughout 

B old colors usually make your presentation template a lot easier to read and remember. Like at this slide deck made by our talented designers, which doesn’t shy away from bright, bold colors.

Want to pick a perfect color palette for your presentation? Read this blog on the do’s and don’ts of infographic color selection .

56. Make your graphs easy to read & interpret 

It should not require a Master’s degree in statistics to understand the graphs that someone uses in a presentation. Instead, the axis should be easy to read, the colors should enforce the point, and the data should be clearly plotted.

For example, in this presentation on slide numbers 14 and 25, the graphs nail all of those tips perfectly.

57. Condense your presentation into a memorable line 

If you can, try condensing your information into a simple one-liner to help the message stick with your audience. In slide number 36 of this presentation, Mika Aldaba does just that and shows that “Facts + Feelings = Data Storytelling.”

He does this again a few times throughout the presentation with other memorable one-liners.

58.  Bring attention to important figures with colorful icons

If you’re including a figure or number on your slides, I’m guessing you want the audience to actually see it.

That’s why I would recommend using an icon or graphic to highlight that figure. Maybe use a color or icon that isn’t used anywhere else in the presentation to make sure it really jumps off the screen.

In the presentation example above, all that’s used is a simple circle to make each figure a focal point. It’s really that easy, but many people leave it out of their presentations.

59. Anchor Your Text With Icons 

Having your text or content floating out in the white space of your presentation is not a good look.

Instead, you should use anchor icons to give the text something to hold onto and draw the audience’s eye. If you need some examples of good anchor icons, check out slide numbers 4, 7 and 9 in this presentation example.

60. Add semi-opaque lettering as a presentation background 

A neat way to keep your slide deck organized is to number your slides or points using semi-opaque lettering in the background.

Then, place your slide content on top of the opaque lettering. This helps your audience know that you are on the same point or idea, plus it just looks really good when done right.

61. Use simple or minimalist borders

An easy way to class up your slides is to put a border around your text. Take this presentation from Venngage that uses a couple of different types of borders to make their slides look professional.

Plus it helps keep all of your content contained on the slide!

62. Feature one idea per slide

Nothing is worse than a confusing, cluttered slide. Instead of trying to pack a bunch of ideas into one slide, focus on one core idea on each slide. If you need to flesh the idea out, just make another slide. 

Having trouble condensing your slides? Our presentation design guide can help you summarize your presentations and convey a singular idea with a clear focus.

63. Keep your style consistent with your brand 

You might be tempted to switch up the style of your creative presentations each time, but think again. If your brand is known for fun and lighthearted content, like Officevibe, let that be your style throughout all of the presentations you publish under that brand. This will make your slide decks recognizable and will enforce your brand’s message .

64. Use accent fonts to emphasize important numbers

Some people hate pie charts with a passion, but I think they are perfect for presentations. Especially if you want to bring attention to a figure or percentage point .

In this simple example, the pie charts are used to visualize each figure in an interesting way. Plus the pie charts fit the circular and fun theme of the rest of the presentation very well.

65. Use patterned and textured presentation backgrounds

Source  

Adding some subtle textures, icons or shapes to the presentation background can help make your slides more interesting. This is especially effective when you are only showing one point per slide, because it makes the slide design less sparse.

You can even switch up the colors on your shapes or textures to match the theme of the slide like DesignMantic did in this presentation.

66. Illustrate complex or confusing concepts with icons 

Ideally, you don’t want every slide in your deck to just be text. Instead, switch things up every few slides by using just pictures.

This slide deck by Gluwa uses icons to create little diagrams to illustrate their presentation ideas. Their slides still communicate concepts to the audience, but in a new way.

67. Overlay stock photos with color 

One problem many people encounter when creating a presentation or slide decks are finding photos with a consistent style. An easy way to edit photos to make them consistent is to add a transparent color overlay. In this example, Change Sciences uses a blue overlay on all of their photos. Plus, the color you choose can also help convey a particular mood.

68. Use black and white blocks 

An easy way to make your text pop, particularly on a photo background, is to use white font on a black blog background (and vise-versa). Check out this slide deck by Abhishek Shah, which uses this trick in an effective way.  

Now if you want to become a better leader this year, check out some of our favorite leadership infographics .

69. Use photos with similar filters 

Using a bunch of photos with wildly different filters can be jarring in a business presentation. To maintain a consistent flow, use photos with a similar filter and color saturation.

Take a look at this example from HubSpot across slide numbers 1-6 and you can see what I mean.

70. Visualize your points with diagrams 

Sometimes the best way to get your point across is to throw some diagrams into the presentation mix. But be sure to make is something that the audience can pick up on in three to five seconds tops.

For example, Jan Rezab uses a diagram to illustrate what takes up time in our lives on slide numbers 4, 5, 7 and 9!

71. Get experts to share tips

If you want to provide even more value to your audience than you can offer yourself, why not call in some expert reinforcement? See what experts in your field have to say on the topic of your presentation and include their tips and insights. Plus you can hijack their influence and expand your audience fairly quickly. 

72. Mimic a popular presentation style 

Uber’s pitch deck helped them raise millions of dollars in venture capital eventually leading to the glorious moment when they IPOed this year.

Aside from our sleek design upgrade (hey, we love good design!), this pitch deck template is the exact same one that Uber used to go from Idea to IPO.

And who knows? Maybe you might start the next Uber. But to raise money, you will need to create flawless business pitch decks to impress investors and raise those dollars.

73. Plan your presentation idea ahead of time

I know that minimalist designs are all the rage this year, but there is a big difference between a well-thought-out minimalist design and a lazy design without the finish touches. The same goes for a cluttered design with too many things going on at once.

That’s why it’s worth it to take the time to really plan out your presentation ideas and design concepts. Take this slide deck about storytelling by HighSpark. A quick glance will tell you that they put a lot of thought into designing their slides.

74.  Use tables to compare your brand to the competition in sales presentations/pitch decks

There are a lot of ways to visually compare similar things in this day and age. You could use a comparison infographic , or even a venn diagram!

However, when it comes to presentations I think that the simple table is best. Especially if you are comparing more than two things, like in this presentation example.

With a table, you can clearly lay out all the pros and cons of each idea, brand or topic without it being overwhelming to the audience. Plus, virtually everyone knows how to follow a table, so your information will be easy to consume.  

See more examples of the best pitch decks .

75. Blend icons & content effortlessly

Usually, icons are used as eye-catching objects detectors or anchors for text in a slideshow. But they can be used for so much more than that!

Like in this marketing presentation from Constant Contact they are very large but do not distract from the content.

76. Make your audience want more 

This tactic has been used by everyone since the idea of marketing was invented (or close to that). In this presentation example called “100 Growth Hacks, 100 Days” the creator only shows the audience the first 10 days of it and then uses a call to action at the end of the presentation to encourage them to seek out the rest.

The only risk with these kinds of presentation ideas is if your initial content is not great, you can’t expect your audience to seek out more information.

77. Use memes (for real, though) 

Usually, memes do not have a place in a serious business setting, so maybe don’t use them for formal presentations. But if you’re covering a lighter topic, or if you’re going for a fun presentation that will connect with your audience, don’t be afraid to throw a meme or two into the mix.

The audience immediately knows what you are trying to say when you use a popular meme in your presentation. For example, on slide number 7, the creator uses a meme to show that it will be hard to create great content

78.  Include a slide that introduces your team in pitch decks

In this presentation example, the creators decided to include their team on a slide. I think it’s a great gesture.

Showing your team can help the audience put a face to your brand and make the whole company feel more genuine. So if there is a team that has helped you get where you are today, give them some recognition!

79. Feature a complementary color palette

Even though I am not a formally trained designer, I still understand that proper color usage is the base of any good design. Although not all of the tenets of color theory work great for presentations, complementary colors are always a great pick.

Take a look at the color usage in this business presentation from Gary Vaynerchuk below . The purple and Snapchat yellow, which are complementary colors, look fantastic and the content jumps off the screen.

80. Use a heavy or bold font 

The very back of the room should be able to read your content if you are giving a group presentation. To ensure that your entire audience can read the slides I would not only use a large font, but also use a heavy font.  If you are confused by what I mean by a heavy font take a look at this unique presentation example by Slides That Rock.

81. Do the math for your audience

If you are going to use a graph in your presentation to compare data you should do the match for your audience. Do not make them do the calculations in their head because you will quickly lose their attention. For example, on slide number 5 the people at Sickweather lay out exactly what figures they want the audience to take from the slide.  

82. Use unique colors for different sections

The example below has 145 slides but it does not feel overwhelming or confusing.

That’s because each section has a different corresponding color, which makes it easier to flip through the slide deck and find a particular part.

83.  Give your presentation a catchy title that anyone can remember

What I really love about the presentation example above is that it features a catchy tagline on the second slide–“The 3S Framework.” It’s simple but it works!

This motto helps outline the structure of the presentation, and each slide referring back to it. Plus, the tagline will give the audience something to latch onto and remember from the presentation.

84. White backgrounds are not always bad 

A lot of people think that plain white background is a boring presentation faux pas. So the first thing they do is add color or image, which is not a bad thing at all.

But I also think that when used correctly, like in this example, plain white backgrounds can lead to beautiful presentations.

85. Split the header text from the body text

This idea is very similar to the one-two punch tactic that I talked about above, but it spreads the content over two slides as opposed to a single slide.

Use this design choice when you have fairly easy to follow presentations, like the one below from Steve Young. I know that this is effective because it allows the audience to focus on the main point before he drives it home with the supporting details.

86. Feature circle image frames 

I am a big fan of the design choices that Frank Delmelle uses in this slide deck about content strategy. He uses circles as his main design motif and frames his images in circles as well.

87. Talk directly to your audience 

This slideshow tops out at 70 slides but it’s a breeze to flip through. That’s because the creator, Ian Lurie, decided to present it in the form of a conversation instead of a classic slide deck.

While each slide only has one or two sentences, it flows just like a friendly chat. He also includes the necessary pauses, breaks and other conversational tics that helps make it even more convincing.

88. Illustrated icons are key this year 

Icons add a fun and functional element to your designs. In this presentation by Iryna Nezhynska, they use illustrated icons to make a potentially intimidating topic seem manageable.

89. Highlight key numbers and percentages 

Surprising percentages have the ability to excite and shock an audience. To make the percentages on your slides even more impactful, present them in a different color or font than the rest of the text.

In the presentation example above, Contently uses that exact tactic to bring more attention to key numbers.

90. Use a gradient as your presentation background 

Just like bold color schemes, gradients are a current social media graphic design trend . They may feel retro to some, but I believe they will be around well into the future.  

Gradients are perfect for presentation backgrounds because they are so versatile and eye-catching. I mean, you can literally create a gradient with any colors you can think of! And they look a lot more interesting than a simple flat background.

So embrace the future and use a gradient in your next presentation!

91. Track the steps in a process 

In this example, the creators from O.C. Tanner add a very interesting feature to their slides, starting on slide number 6. If you take a look at this business presentation template, you will see that they number the steps in a process and track which step they’re on at the bottom of the slides.

92. Use mind blowing font pairings 

The creator of this slide deck uses at least 10 different types of fonts. And it looks fantastic because they know that one font choice is boring. But this does not mean that you should use a bunch of random fonts–pick font pairs that play well together and keep your font choices for different types of information consistent throughout the presentation.

93. Make your ideas as obvious as possible 

Your audience shouldn’t be guessing at what you mean. That is why I think that this presentation example from In a Rocket is so powerful because they make the information easy to digest.

Learning to code can be challenging, but they break the information down with simple diagrams and clear examples. Heck, I have not touched CSS in a few years and I could still follow what they were instructing.

94. Use images that will actually scale 

A large mistake that you can make in your slide deck is using low-quality images. They may look great on your computer, but as soon as the slides are put up on a screen, the low quality will show. In this example by ThoughtWorks, all of their presentation background images look great and will scale well to a bigger screen. And that is even after the image compression that LinkedIn most likely does!

95. Take risks with your presentation layout

I honestly was blown away the first time I saw this presentation because it capitalized on such a risky design idea. The creators from Weekdone literally turned their presentation into an 8-Bit video game. A nd if you are looking for something that will stick with your audience, I would take a few creative cues from them!

96. Seriously, you better use memes 

In this day and age memes are mainstream, so why wouldn’t you use them in a creative presentation? These do not have to be the coolest meme that all the hip kids are sharing, they can be some of the classics. Like the one that Dana DiTomaso uses on slide 16 to emphasize that it’s a trap!

97. Follow a clear design rhythm

I really like how this presentation introduced each new point in three or four steps, using the same design. It gave the presentation a rhythm that flowed almost like a song!

I would recommend using this approach if you have to introduce multiple points per slide.

98. Use LOTS of icons

If you have made it this far in the list you have already probably seen how effective icons are in presentations. They are the perfect way to support your ideas and make your presentation more pleasing to the eyes.

For example, take a look at all the icons SlideShop uses in this presentation. Almost every slide has at least one icon and a few have more than ten!

99. Give each slide its own spark

I know this goes against earlier points I had about creating a cohesive theme in your presentation layout, but everyone knows that rules are made to be broken (if you can do it better)!

In this slide deck, the team at Officevibe literally created different designs for all 27 of their slides. And to top it off, each of the designs fit the quotes they used extremely well.

100. Use LARGE header cards 

An easy way to stick to that “one piece of content on each slide rule” is to use header cards. They are basically the header that you would normally use in a blog post or article, but it gets is own slide before the content. Here is an example of that idea in the real world in this presentation from Brian Downard.

101. Ask your audience questions 

I think one of the most common elements I saw in all the slide decks was that they asked the audience questions. You can use questions to engage with your audience and get them thinking a bit harder about the topic. The Site By Norex team did an exceptional job of this when they explored what the topic of what makes up a brand.

Need some more info about creating a memorable brand? Check out some of the best branding stats for 2020 and beyond!

102. Introduce yourself and your brand 

I would say that a majority of presentations that I looked at in this list just jumped right into the content without an introduction to the author or brand in the actual slide deck.

This introduction is very important because it establishes your credentials from the beginning, especially if someone is just reading the slide deck. In this example from Losant, they do just that by spending the first few slides telling the audience who they are.

103. Mix up your mediums 

Finally, this slide deck effectively marries two very distinct content forms together: digital images and hand-drawn illustrations. In this example, Freshdesk uses the timeless classic of a comic strip, Calvin & Hobbes, in something so modern to inform the audience in a fun way.

104. Show off your credentials 

Just like with any piece of content, people are more likely to believe what you are saying if they know what your company does. That is why I really like when people insert their qualifications right into the presentation slides. Just like Andreas von der Heydt, from Amazon, did at the beginning of this presentation about thinking big.  

105. Highlight key data points 

If you are presenting a chart or graph on a dry topic, I would recommend using a single color to highlight the most important data point. For example, the investment firm a16z uses orange to highlight the data points they want their audience to focus on in each of their charts.

Check out some examples of how to highlight your key information in bar charts .

106. Show your audience where to find more information 

A lot of people end their presentations by literally just running out of slides, and that is the wrong way to do it. Instead, CBInsights consistently pushes their readers towards another piece of content at the end. This is also where you can insert a call to action!

107. Tell your origin story

  Source

This idea is kinda similar to showing off your company qualifications at the beginning of your presentation. But with this approach, you are trying to make an emotional connection with your audience instead of just showing off accolades.

And Rand from Moz does this extremely well in the presentation example above.

108. Use one focused visual 

This presentation uses a central visual of a structure, with each slide moving down the levels of the structure. This is incredibly powerful because the entire presentation is about sinking your company, and the visual they designed mirrors that idea perfectly. Using one focus visual also makes your slide deck design cohesive.

109. Don’t take presentation design too seriously

Sometimes we get caught up trying to make the perfect presentation and it ends up making us crazy!

But in this presentation example, Jesse Desjardins uses a mix of wit and hilarious retro images to create a memorable and light-hearted presentation.

110. Use size to your advantage 

I am a big fan of using bubble charts and other charts that use size to compare two pieces of data. That is why I like this pitch deck from the ShearShare team that utilizes a size-based chart on slide number 9. The chart is used to illustrate the massive growth potential in their industry.

111. Split section headers from the main content with different background colors 

In this presentation, Seth Familian uses alternating colors in a very interesting way. For each of the title slides, he uses a black color background, but for the content slides he uses a white background.

This helped the readers follow along and comprehend what was on the page even faster. And when you are presenting to hundreds of different types of people, this can make or break your presentation.  

112.  Have a conversation with your audience 

Take a conversational tone in your presentation is a great way to encourage your audience to participate.

In this slide deck example, we presented a simple storyline and use questions to engage with the audience throughout. And it helped create a flow throughout the  presentation template  that is easy to follow.

113.  Include your branding throughout your presentation ideas

Another thing that people seem to forget when they are working on a presentation is to include their business’s branding. You honestly never know where your work is going to be shared, so it is important to make sure people know it’s yours. HubSpot does an outstanding job of this on all their presentations, as you can see in the bottom left corner of each slide.

Plus you have spent a ton of time creating your  brand guidelines , might as well use them.

114.  Include multiple slides to build to your main point

Try using multiple slides to build to your main point. This helps you walk through the components of one overarching point while also building suspense. In this slide deck, the creator uses 6 slides to build up to one main point, adding a new illustration to the diagram on each slide.

115.  Split the difference 

Use either the left or right side of the slide to hold your text and the opposite to display an image. If you are using a photo or graphic as the main background in your slides, this is a great way to keep things organized. 

116. There are millions of fonts out there…use them

Hey, I love simple fonts just as much as the next guy, but sometimes you need to step up your font game to stand out. For example, WebVisions uses a very gritty, probably custom font in their unique presentation that fits the topic extremely well. Take a look!

117.  Build your presentation content around icons 

Try using icons as the focal points of your presentation layout. This example from Omer Hameed  uses icons to draw the audience’s eyes  right to the middle of the presentation, where the main points and headers are located.  

118.  Mix up font style to emphasize important points

If you would like to draw some extra attention to a certain word or idea,  switch up the font  to one that is bolder. For example, in this oldie but goodie presentation from HubSpot they use a heavy sans-serif font to highlight ideas, as opposed to the serif font for the other text.

119.  Add personal touches to your presentation

If you want to create a truly unique presentation, add personal touches. In the slide numbers 6-13 from this presentation, the creator adds something to their design that no one else could ever have: they use original drawings they did themselves.

120.  Harness the power of your own brand colors

Sometimes people forget that they already have a battle-tested color palette that they can use in their  brand colors . I try to incorporate one of our brand colors in most of my designs and it makes so much easier to choose colors.

In this simple presentation example, Spitfire Creative used a palette that had both of their brand colors throughout the slideshow.

121.  Used dark-colored blocks to highlight words

I have seen this trick used in a lot of presentations and it works well. Highlight certain words or phrases by laying them overtop a colored rectangle. Take slide number 7 in this presentation example as a great guide. Use it to bring attention to a saying or idea you really want your audience to remember.

122.  Show the audience your mug 

This presentation example comes from the same presentation as a previous one, but it was too good not to share. Throughout the slides, you will see Rand from Moz pop up to add a human element to the design. Using an image of your team or yourself can put the audience at ease and make it easier to connect with the presenter.

123.  Include a helpful table of contents 

I only saw this presentation idea used a few times throughout my research, but I believe it should be used a lot more. A table of contents will help the audience know what to expect and keep their focus throughout. Especially if you are creating a presentation that is a bit longer than normal.

124.  Do not post just screenshots, do more

Screenshots of a program or app are very common in any blog post, but I think you can do a little better when it comes to presentations.

So instead of just posting a boring screenshot, add a little more to the slide by using illustrations and product shots. If you are not sure what I am talking about, just check out how great the screenshots look at slide numbers 7 and 8 in this presentation.

125. Highlight keywords using BOLD color 

Here’s another slide deck that uses different colors and blocks to highlight keywords. If you are going to use text-heavy slides, then make sure the key points are easy to pick out. Take this slide deck: starting in slide number 4, they highlight exactly what they want you to take away from the text on each slide!

Enough presentation ideas for you?

You made it! I applaud you for making it through all those presentations. Hopefully, now you have a few nifty presentation ideas ready for when you need them.

The next step is to create a presentation that will captivate a meeting room, an amphitheater, and even the world (hey, it doesn’t hurt to dream big).

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‘Presentation is Everything’: Inside the World of Art Fair Booth Design

For gallery directors, including those at TEFAF New York, no detail is too trivial, and every millimeter matters.

By Liz Robbins

Before 89 international art dealers showcase their exquisite wares inside a building that was once the playground for New York’s rich and famous, they get the chance to be children again.

Their grown-up game? Designing strikingly unique booths out of tight uniform spaces for TEFAF New York, the European Fine Art Foundation fair at the Park Avenue Armory .

Some dealers still play with foam core models that resemble dollhouses. Others — those blessed with warehouse space — can create life-size replicas before shipping the pieces. Most in this digital age, however, tinker collaboratively inside 3-D digital structures as if they are playing video games.

Welcome to the passionately precise world of art fair design, where for gallery directors, no detail is too trivial, and every millimeter matters.

“Designing booths is one of my favorite things to do,” Evan Snyderman, a co-founder of R & Company gallery in New York, said gleefully. “It’s always been something I’ve done and to the point of almost driving my wife crazy because I’m constantly rearranging the house, moving things like one inch to the left.”

The son of Philadelphia gallery owners, Snyderman said he was already arranging his Matchbox cars in diagonal rows at 8 years old. He also placed his hand puppets on wall-mounted boxes and ordered his collection of daggers and pocketknives just so.

Now, he and his partners do it for a living.

“Like we learn in art school, presentation is everything,” said R & Company’s co-founder Zesty Meyers.

If nothing else, dealers take on TEFAF New York booths as a personal challenge.

“Honestly,” said the eponymous owner of Sean Kelly Gallery , “we all do more than enough art fairs and so one of the things that we’re always looking for is a way to kind of amuse ourselves and keep it fresh.”

About three months before the May fair, TEFAF officials email dealers booth and room assignments, and a menu of design options. Galleries choose the fabric color to cover the walls of the booths that sit under the cavernous ceiling. They also choose types of flooring, paint, electrical outlets, track lighting and temporary office furniture like storage cabinets.

The booths in the armory’s drill hall range in size from 20 square meters to 49 square meters (about 215 square feet to 527 square feet; TEFAF only provides metric measurements to its dealers). The period rooms, including three downstairs and 12 upstairs, range from about 355 to 656 square feet.

Galleries are strictly forbidden to do anything to alter these rooms that were once clubhouses for the companies belonging to the Seventh Regiment of the Armory on Park Avenue.

R & Company, which showcases historical and contemporary design, had always been tucked into the same back left corner of the drill hall until this year, when it moved upstairs. At first, Snyderman wanted to lighten the dark mahogany room equipped with 19th-century swords, shields and iron chandeliers.

Plans to hang a Katie Stout chandelier were rejected because it weighed more than 100 pounds. Although Snyderman decided to keep the interior of the room visible, he built a free-standing trellis for track lighting.

Snyderman worked twice a week together with his architect in computer sessions, starting with an anchor piece at the back of the room: a rare nearly seven-foot-tall Wendell Castle stack-laminated oak cabinet.

To draw viewers’ eyes to it, the pair created a 12-foot wall that partly blocked the windows behind it and would serve as a stage. They chose to paint it “quetzal,” a rich aqua color that serves as a uniting element for the room’s other pedestals. In their model, they incorporated Castle’s models for the sculpture, which will also be on display.

“That’s a big part of the design for us, the storytelling,” Snyderman said. He and his team went through at least six iterations of design layouts to place the other pieces in visual harmony, including a tomato red Lina Bo Bardi “Bowl Chair,” vessels by Roberto Lugo , and an Isamu Noguchi table, stool and lamp.

Kasmin Gallery , also in an upstairs period room, chose for its anchor piece Alma Allen ’s 190-pound bronze moth. That needed to be reinforced onto one of the temporary walls — painted dark gray — that the dealers built inside the existing walls.

During a visit in April to the gallery in Chelsea, a smaller version of the moth was already affixed diagonally to the foam core walls of the scale model, 31 inches by 16.5 inches by 14 inches. Edith Dicconson, a co-executive director of the gallery, delighted in trying different arrangements for a Robert Motherwell painting (reduced in scale to the size of a postage stamp) and a 3-D Max Ernst sculpture.

“We come in here and all of our heads can look in like this and collaborate,” she said, adding with a kidlike cackle, “Isn’t it fun?”

Kasmin’s goal is to create an elegant but accessible space, where the works of artists who were friends and collectors of each other’s work — like William N. Copley and Les Lalanne — can be in dialogue.

What might they be whispering?

“I think they would have conversations about the style in which they would work,” said Mariska Nietzman, a Kasmin co-executive director. “But I think they also would perhaps just have cups of coffee and glasses of wine.”

Boris Vervoordt of Axel Vervoordt gallery was much more serious in discussing his digitally rendered booth, which allowed his staff across multiple time zones to try different combinations during video calls.

His gallery has occupied the same upstairs period room at the fair for about four years, in part because TEFAF respects his zero-waste policy. Recycling the same structure makes it easier to substitute new works of art, like a rarely shown 1993 painting by Kazuo Shiraga in this year’s booth.

Instead of the same space, Andrew Duncanson of Modernity gallery in Stockholm, which specializes in 20th-century Nordic furniture, lighting and jewelry, chose to move from last year’s upstairs quiet period room to the crowded drill hall.

This year, he built a mock-up of the booth in his warehouse, featuring a Carl Malmsten daybed and a showstopper of a chandelier, “ Snowflake ” by Paavo Tynell.

“We want to create an ambience in the room where it feels like you can move right in,” he said.

Duncanson created that atmosphere so well last year that TEFAF New York’s director, Leanne Jagtiani, said she warned him, “ Don’t be surprised if you come in one morning and I’m here because I stayed overnight.”

Duncanson said that last year, TEFAF committee members told him his room design earned him an A+, even though Jagtiani said the design commendations were given in verbal rather than report card form.

For dealers, the sales ledgers are what ultimately matter.

This year, Sean Kelly will also set up in the drill hall, moving into a larger, back corner spot. It came, however, with a caveat: an immovable diagonal support wall. So Kelly and his crew made it into a room divider for three distinct views and a funnel for foot traffic.

At one entrance, a cast iron statue by Antony Gormley welcomes visitors. The anchor pieces will be any one of three large-scale works by the German photographer Candida Höfer and two paintings by the British artist Idris Khan .

A month before TEFAF, Terrill Warrenburg, art fair and special project manager at Sean Kelly Gallery, was still swapping options on the computer to see how their shapes, colors and themes interacted with one another. They also had to account for the possibility that a work could sell right before TEFAF opens, taking it off the roster.

“It is a bit like four-dimensional chess because you have all these options and you build around them and they have to play nicely together — and you keep going until you feel like you got something that clicks,” Kelly said.

He laughed, adding, “And then, inevitably, you get there and then you change it all around.”

Art and Museums in New York City

A guide to the shows, exhibitions and artists shaping the city’s cultural landscape..

At the Shed, this year’s edition of Frieze New York welcomes an international survey of painting, textiles and collage to its galleries. Here are our critic’s 23 favorite booths .

The Kosovar artist Petrit Halilaj  began drawing as a child in the Balkans during a violent decade. His world of childhood innocence and adult experience comes to the r oof of the Metropolitan Museum of Art .

As his bullet-riddled panels go up at Gagosian, Maurizio Cattelan, in a rare in-person interview, tells why he turned his sardonic gaze on a violence-filled world .

In his biggest exhibit since a 2013 retrospective at the Guggenheim, Christopher Wool has created his own show in an uninhabited office in Manhattan’s Financial District .

Looking for more art in the city? Here are the gallery shows not to miss in May .