features of presentation drawing

Presentation Drawing

The importance of presentation drawing.

Presentation drawing, also known as a rendering, is a crucial aspect of the design process. It's a means of visually communicating ideas to clients, colleagues, and contractors. Presentation drawings can take many forms, from quick sketches to highly detailed, realistic illustrations. Regardless of the format, the goal of presentation drawing is to convey the essence of a design in a visually compelling way.

The Types of Presentation Drawing

There are several types of presentation drawing, each with its own unique strengths and weaknesses. Here are four of the most common types of presentation drawing:

Sketches are quick, informal drawings that are used to explore ideas and communicate concepts. They are typically done by hand using pencil or pen and paper. Sketches are valuable because they allow designers to express their ideas quickly and without the need for expensive tools or software. That said, sketches are generally less polished than other forms of presentation drawing, so they may not be suitable for more formal presentations.

Concept Drawings

Concept drawings are more detailed than sketches and are intended to convey a more developed idea. They are still relatively informal, but they often incorporate color and shading to give the drawing depth and texture. Concept drawings can be done by hand or using digital tools like Photoshop or SketchUp.

Renderings are highly detailed, realistic illustrations of a design. They are typically created using 3D modeling software and are intended to give clients and colleagues a sense of what a finished project will look like. Renderings are often used in marketing materials and presentations because they are visually impressive and highly detailed.

Construction Documents

Construction documents are highly technical drawings that are used to communicate specific details about a project to contractors and builders. They include things like floor plans, elevations, and sections, and they are typically created using a combination of hand drawing and computer software.

Tips for Effective Presentation Drawing

Regardless of the type of presentation drawing you are creating, there are a few tips that can help ensure that your drawing is effective and communicates your ideas clearly.

Focus on Legibility

One of the most important aspects of presentation drawing is legibility. Your drawing should be easy to read and understand, even when viewed from a distance. Make sure that you use a font size and style that is easy to read, and avoid cluttering your drawing with unnecessary details that can distract from the main ideas you are trying to convey.

Choose the Right Format

Different types of presentation drawing are better suited to different formats. Sketches, for example, are best presented on paper or on a whiteboard. Renderings, on the other hand, are best viewed on a large screen or printed out at a high resolution. Make sure that you choose the right format for your drawing to ensure that it is presented in the most effective way possible.

Use Color Wisely

Color can be a powerful tool in presentation drawing, but it must be used wisely. Too much color can be distracting, while too little color can make your drawing look flat and lifeless. Use color to highlight important details and to create depth and texture in your drawing, but be sure to use it sparingly.

Be Consistent

Consistency is key in presentation drawing. Make sure that your drawing is consistent in terms of scale, proportion, and style. This will ensure that it is easy to read and that your ideas are communicated clearly.

Practice, Practice, Practice

Finally, the best way to improve your presentation drawing skills is to practice. Take the time to practice drawing different types of illustrations, and experiment with different tools and techniques to find what works best for you. The more you practice, the better you will become at conveying your ideas visually.

The Bottom Line

Presentation drawing is an essential aspect of the design process. It allows designers to communicate their ideas in a clear and compelling way and is crucial for getting buy-in from clients, colleagues, and contractors. Whether you're creating quick sketches or detailed renderings, there are a few key principles to keep in mind that can help ensure that your presentation drawing is effective and communicates your ideas clearly.

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10 Benefits Of Live Drawing For Presentations- No Artistic Skills Required

Hrideep barot.

• Presentation

Drawing for presentations is more than just doodles on a page—it’s the art of transforming ideas into visuals that captivate and communicate. As Picasso once said, “Every child is an artist; the problem is staying an artist when you grow up.” So, let’s unleash our inner Picasso and master the art of presentation drawing!

What Is Live Drawing for Presentations?

Live drawing in presentations, also known as real-time or interactive drawing, is a dynamic and engaging technique where an artist or presenter creates visuals on a digital or physical canvas during a live event. 

This approach adds an element of excitement and interactivity to presentations, making them more memorable and impactful. It can involve sketching, diagramming, or illustrating ideas on the spot, helping to clarify complex concepts and capture the audience’s attention in real-time.

 Live drawing can be a powerful tool for educators, speakers, and businesses looking to enhance their communication and storytelling abilities.

What Is The Art Of Presentation Skills? 

The art of presentation skills is a multifaceted craft that involves the ability to communicate, captivate, and persuade an audience effectively. It’s not just about conveying information; it’s about creating an experience that leaves a lasting impact. Effective presenters master the art of connecting with their audience, conveying their message clearly, and engaging their listeners on both intellectual and emotional levels.

Presentations, whether they’re in a business, educational, or public speaking context, require a delicate balance of several key elements. These elements include content organization, body language, vocal tone, and the use of visual aids. Presentation skills encompass the art of storytelling, the power of persuasion, and the ability to adapt to the needs and preferences of your audience.

Now, let’s introduce Drawing as one of the essential skills within the Art of Presentation:

Drawing, as an integral part of presentation skills , brings a unique dimension to the craft. It allows presenters to visually illustrate their ideas, clarify complex concepts, and create a stronger connection with the audience. Whether it’s through live drawing during the presentation or integrating pre-made visuals, drawing adds a creative and engaging element that can leave a lasting impression.

Drawing can be used to create diagrams, charts, and illustrations that simplify complex data, making it more accessible and relatable to the audience. Visual metaphors, sketches, and illustrations can be powerful tools to reinforce your message, evoke emotions, and enhance the overall storytelling experience.

Moreover, drawing doesn’t require advanced artistic skills. Even simple sketches can effectively convey ideas and make your presentation more engaging. Whether you’re presenting in a boardroom, classroom, or on a stage, the ability to incorporate drawing into your presentation skills toolkit can set you apart as a more dynamic and compelling communicator.

In the art of presentation skills, drawing is a creative tool that transforms presentations into Visual stories , making them more memorable and impactful. It’s a skill that, when mastered, can take your presentations to a whole new level, making your messages not only heard but also seen and felt by your audience.

10 Benefits Of Live Drawing For Presentations

Live drawing in presentations is not just about putting pen to paper; it’s a dynamic and captivating technique that can transform your communication. Let us explore ten compelling benefits of incorporating live drawing into your presentations: 

1. Drawing Improves Memory and Recall

 Drawing engages both the visual and motor cortex of the brain, which enhances memory retention. When you draw during a presentation, you create a visual memory for yourself and your audience, making the information more memorable.

 A study published in the “Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology” found that drawing information led to significantly better recall compared to writing or visualizing alone.

2. Greater Understanding and Clarity:

 Live drawing helps in breaking down complex concepts into simple, visually digestible elements. Visual representations can make abstract or intricate ideas more accessible, reducing cognitive load for the audience and increasing comprehension and clarity. This simplification aids in greater understanding and clarity, making it easier for the audience to grasp the content.

  “When information is presented pictorially, it is often easier to understand and recall than when it is presented verbally.” – Barbara Tversky, Professor of Psychology at Stanford University.

3. Picturization of Content:

By translating information into visual form, live drawing allows you to represent data and ideas as images, making them more relatable. It allows you to transform abstract ideas and data into tangible images. This approach aligns with the brain’s preference for processing information visually, with up to 90% of the information transmitted to the brain being visual. This makes the content more relatable and accessible for the audience, as they can connect with the visuals on a deeper level.

The brain processes visual information 60,000 times faster than text, and 90 percent of information transmitted to the brain is visual.

4. Enhanced Engagement and Interactivity:

Live drawing is inherently engaging as the audience witnesses the creation of visuals in real-time. It adds an element of interactivity, as viewers can ask questions or provide input, fostering a more dynamic and participative environment.

 A study in “The Journal of Educational Psychology” showed that interactive learning methods, like live drawing, can lead to significantly improved learning outcomes and engagement.

5. Storytelling Amplification:

Visuals created through live drawing enhance storytelling by adding depth and emotional resonance to the narrative. Visual metaphors and illustrations can convey complex emotions and ideas more effectively. This is supported by research indicating that stories are far more memorable than facts alone, and visuals enhance the emotional impact of a narrative.

 “Stories are remembered up to 22 times more than facts alone.” – Jennifer Aaker, Professor of Marketing at Stanford Graduate School of Business.

6. Customization for Specific Audiences:

Live drawing enables presenters to adapt their visuals in real-time, catering to the specific needs and preferences of the audience. This customization fosters a more personalized and impactful presentation.

“Audience engagement increases by 18% when content is personalized.” – Demand Metric Research Corporation.

7. Improved Information Processing:

The combination of spoken words and live visuals creates dual coding, reinforcing the message in the audience’s memory. This leads to higher information processing rates.

The Cognitive Load Theory suggests that the use of visual aids, such as live drawing, can significantly reduce cognitive load, making it easier for the brain to process and retain information.

8. Overcoming Language Barriers:

Live drawing transcends language barriers, making it an effective tool for international or diverse audiences. Visuals can convey universal concepts, ensuring a broader reach and understanding.

“Visual language is a global medium for communication.” – Keith Williams, Professor of Visual Communication at Yale University.

9. Demonstration of Creative Thinking:

Live drawing showcases creativity and problem-solving skills, which can enhance the presenter’s credibility and engage the audience on a deeper level.

Studies have shown that creative demonstrations can lead to increased trust and positive perception of the presenter.

10. Enhanced Emotional Connection:

Visuals created through live drawing have the power to evoke emotions and create a stronger connection between the audience and the content, leaving a lasting impact.

“The more emotional the content, the more likely it is to be shared and remembered.” – Jonah Berger, Professor at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

Incorporating live drawing into presentations can yield numerous cognitive, emotional, and practical benefits, enhancing the overall impact and effectiveness of your communication.

How Drawing Helps You To Think Better?

Drawing is a powerful tool that can enhance your thinking processes, fostering creativity, problem-solving, and communication. This TEDxTalk offers valuable insights into how drawing can contribute to improved thinking. Let’s explore each of the five points that are mentioned:

1. Intuition

 Drawing can help tap into your intuition by allowing you to express ideas, feelings, and concepts that might be difficult to articulate with words alone. Through the act of drawing, you can access your inner thoughts and emotions, enabling a more intuitive understanding of complex issues.

In the video, the speaker discusses how drawing can help individuals connect with their inner selves and harness their intuition as a valuable source of insight.

Drawing, whether it’s creating art or diagrams, can elevate the aesthetics of your thoughts and ideas. Visualizing concepts in a visually appealing way can make them more attractive and engaging, enhancing the overall quality of your thinking.

The video emphasizes the importance of incorporating aesthetics into your work and how visual beauty can be a driving force in creative thinking.

3. Reflection:

Drawing provides an opportunity for reflection. When you put your thoughts on paper or canvas, it becomes easier to evaluate, analyze, and refine your ideas. You can step back and critically assess your work, facilitating deeper thinking and self-reflection.

The video highlights the role of drawing as a tool for self-reflection, helping individuals gain clarity and insight into their thoughts and emotions.

4. Imagination:

Drawing is a medium that encourages imagination and creativity. It allows you to explore possibilities, experiment with ideas, and push the boundaries of your thinking. By sketching and visualizing your imagination, you can discover new perspectives and solutions.

The video underscores the role of drawing in unlocking one’s imagination, enabling a free flow of creative ideas and solutions to problems.

5. Communication:

Drawing is a universal language that transcends barriers. It enables effective communication by simplifying complex concepts and making them accessible to a wide audience. Whether you’re explaining a complex scientific theory or a new product design, visuals created through drawing can convey your message with clarity.

The video emphasizes the role of drawing as a means of communication, highlighting its power in connecting with and compellingly engaging others.

In summary, drawing can be a transformative tool for thinking. It engages intuition, enhances beauty, promotes reflection, fuels imagination, and facilitates effective communication. The video offers further insights and inspiration on how drawing can be harnessed to improve your thinking processes.

What Are The Requirements Of Presentation Drawing?

Creating effective presentation drawings requires a combination of skills, tools, and considerations to ensure that your visuals are engaging and communicate your message effectively. Here are the 7 key requirements for presentation drawing:

1. Clear Message and Objective:

The foundation of a successful presentation drawing is a well-defined message and objective. Your drawing should align with the core message you want to convey. Before you begin drawing, clarify what you want your audience to take away from your visual.

2. Understanding Your Audience:

Understanding your audience is crucial to creating effective presentation drawings. Consider their knowledge level, interests, and preferences. Tailor your visuals to resonate with your specific audience, making the content more relatable and engaging for them.

3. Storyboard or Plan:

Planning your drawing in advance is essential. Create a rough outline or storyboard to map out the structure and sequence of your drawing. This helps ensure a logical flow and consistency in your visuals, allowing for a smooth and coherent narrative.

4. Basic Drawing Skills:

While you don’t need to be an expert artist, having basic drawing skills is important. This includes the ability to create simple shapes, lines, and symbols that effectively convey your ideas. Practice and hone your skills to become more confident in your drawing abilities.

5. Visual Hierarchy and Consistency:

Establish a visual hierarchy to emphasize key points in your drawing. This can be achieved through the size, color, or positioning of elements. Consistency in style and formatting across all your drawings within a presentation is crucial for creating a cohesive look and maintaining audience engagement.

6. Simplicity and Relevance:

Keep your drawings simple and relevant. Avoid clutter and unnecessary details that could distract from your message. Each element in your drawing should directly relate to the content you’re presenting. Simplicity enhances clarity and helps the audience focus on what’s important.

7. Choice of Medium:

Your choice of drawing medium, whether traditional or digital, depends on your comfort and available resources. Traditional tools, like markers and paper, offer a tactile experience, while digital tools provide flexibility and ease of editing. Choose the medium that suits your style and resources. 

A. Drawing In PowerPoint Presentation

PowerPoint allows for in-slide drawing, which is particularly useful for digital presentations. It offers basic drawing tools, shapes, and the ability to annotate slides directly. It’s an excellent option for enhancing visuals during virtual or in-person presentations.

Drawing in PowerPoint is effective for real-time, digital presentations. You can highlight key points, underline text, add arrows, or create simple illustrations on your slides. It’s a versatile tool that integrates seamlessly with your presentation, making it interactive and engaging.

Basic Guide:

     – Open your PowerPoint presentation.

     – Select the slide where you want to add a drawing.

     – Go to the “Insert” tab and choose “Shapes” or “Scribble” from the “Illustrations” group.

     – Use the drawing tools to create your visual elements.

     – Customize colors, line thickness, and style.

     – Annotate your slides as needed.

B. Drawing In Canva

Canva is a graphic design tool known for its user-friendly interface and extensive library of templates and elements. It offers a wide range of drawing and illustration options, making it ideal for creating visually stunning graphics, infographics, and presentations.

Canva’s design features are highly effective for creating professional and aesthetically pleasing visuals. You can choose from a wide variety of templates, graphics, and drawing tools to make your presentations visually compelling. Canva’s collaborative features also make it a great choice for team projects.

   Basic Guide:

     – Sign in to your Canva account or create one.

     – Start a new presentation project or select an existing one.

     – Use the “Elements” tab to access various drawing tools and shapes.

     – Drag and drop elements onto your canvas.

     – Customize colors, size, and position.

     – Save your work and download it for use in your presentation.

C. Live Drawing On Board

Live drawing on a board, whether physical or digital, provides a dynamic and engaging experience during presentations. It allows presenters to illustrate concepts in real time, fostering a direct connection with the audience.

 Live drawing on a board is highly effective for face-to-face presentations or virtual events with a shared whiteboard. It enables real-time interaction, allowing presenters to respond to audience questions and ideas immediately. This technique adds a personal touch and can make complex concepts more accessible.

D. White Chart Paper

Using white chart paper is a traditional, low-tech method for drawing and presenting. It’s often used in classrooms and brainstorming sessions. It’s unique for its simplicity and accessibility.

 White chart paper is effective for interactive group discussions and brainstorming sessions. It allows participants to collaborate and visualize their ideas collectively. It’s particularly useful in settings where technology is limited or when a tactile, hands-on approach is desired.

In summary, the choice of drawing tools and methods depends on the context and your specific presentation needs. PowerPoint and Canva offer digital options with various features and templates, while live drawing on a board and using white chart paper provide a more hands-on, interactive approach. Choose the method that best suits your presentation style and objectives.

Do I Need To Be Good At Drawing To Add It To My Presentations?

No, you don’t need to be exceptionally skilled at drawing to incorporate it into your presentations effectively. While having advanced drawing skills can be an asset, there are various ways to add drawing elements to your presentations, even if you consider yourself a novice artist. 

Let me give you an example, I very well remember some memories of my dad drawing funny figures on paper as he narrated captivating tales. It was all about the sheer joy of the moment, not the perfection of the artwork. I mean, the dog hardly ever resembled a real dog, and the human figure was nothing more than a basic stick figure, but those drawings added a touch of whimsy that made the stories unforgettable and incredibly engaging.

Drawing in presentations can be a lot like that. You don’t need to be a professional artist. Here’s why:

1. Expression over Perfection:

Presentations are about conveying ideas and engaging your audience, not showcasing your artistic skills. Simple drawings or sketches can effectively express your message, and sometimes, the authenticity of a less-than-perfect drawing can be endearing and relatable.

2. Digital Tools:

With modern presentation software and graphic design tools, you can leverage pre-made shapes, icons, and templates. These tools make it easy to create professional-looking visuals without needing advanced drawing skills.

3. Concept Clarity:

The primary goal of adding drawings to your presentation is to enhance conceptual clarity. Even basic illustrations can serve this purpose by simplifying complex ideas, making them more understandable to your audience.

4. Audience Engagement: 

Drawing can enhance audience engagement. It adds a personal touch to your presentation and can spark curiosity. When your audience sees that you’ve put effort into creating visuals, it can leave a positive impression.

5. Practice and Improvement: 

If you’re interested in enhancing your drawing skills, presentations are a perfect platform to practice. As you use drawing more frequently, you’ll likely see improvement over time.

6. Uniqueness: 

Hand-drawn visuals can set your presentations apart. They give your content a distinct, human touch that can make it more memorable and relatable.

In a nutshell, the key is not your artistic prowess but the effectiveness of your visuals in conveying your message. Simple drawings and graphics can work wonders in making your presentations engaging and memorable. So, go ahead and have some fun with your drawings in your presentations. Who knows, just like those funny stories stuck in my head that my dad used to tell, your presentation drawings might become unforgettable for your audience!

In conclusion, drawing for presentations is a versatile and powerful tool that doesn’t require advanced artistic skills. Whether you’re using basic shapes, templates, or digital tools, the goal is to enhance the clarity and impact of your message. The authenticity and simplicity of drawings often resonate with audiences, making your content more engaging and memorable. 

With a bit of practice and the right tools, you can unleash the creative potential of drawing and take your presentations to a whole new level. So, don’t hesitate to add a personal touch to your presentations through the art of drawing!

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Draw on slides during a presentation

When you're showing a presentation, you can draw onscreen with a digital pen to emphasize a point or show connections.

(For details about drawing with ink when creating a presentation, switch to the article Draw and write with ink .) 

Turn on the pen and draw in Slide Show

On the Slide Show tab, ensure that Use Presenter View is turned on.

On the Slide Show tab, click either From Beginning or From Current Slide to start your slide show.

Click that Pen button, and then choose Pen from the pop-up menu:

Click and drag the mouse to draw on the slide.

(Optional) To turn off the pen, right-click the slide, point to Pointer Options , and then click Arrow Options and choose the option you prefer.

Change the color of the pen

By default, the color of the pen is red, but several colors available. To change the color of the pen:

In Presenter View, click the Pen icon at the lower left portion of the slide:

On the pop-up menu, point to Ink Color , and then select the color you want.

Keep or discard ink annotations

At the end of your slide show, when you're about to return to Normal (editing) view, PowerPoint gives you the opportunity to save your ink annotations. Choose Discard to get rid of the annotations. Choose Keep to save the ink-pen annotations on the slides.

Erase ink that you've draw on slides

To remove some or all of what you’ve written or drawn, right-click the slide, point to Pointer Options , and then do one of the following:

Click Eraser , and then hold down the left mouse button and drag the eraser over what you want to erase.

Click Erase All Ink on Slide to erase everything you’ve written or drawn on the slide.

On the Slide Show tab, click either Play from Start or Play from Current Slide to start your slide show.

In Slide Show view, four helper buttons appear at the lower left corner of your slide. The second one determines how the mouse pointer appears to viewers:

In PowerPoint for Microsoft 365 for Mac , your pointer continues to be a pen until you turn the feature off, even as you move from one slide to the next. (This feature requires version 16.27.19071500.)

In earlier versions of PowerPoint for macOS , your pointer ceases to be a pen when you navigate to a different slide. You must repeat step 2 above to turn the pen on again.

In Slide Show mode, click the Pen icon at the lower left portion of the slide:

On the pop-up menu, point to Pen Color , and then select the color you want.

(If you've turned off the Simplified Ribbon, you don't have a Slide Show tab; instead use the View tab to start the slide show.)

When you reach the slide where you want to draw something, simply put your digital pen to the screen, and then draw. If you don't have a digital pen you can use your mouse by moving your cursor to the lower left corner of the window, selecting the ink button, and choosing the pen or highlighter.

PowerPoint for the web doesn't have the ability to save the onscreen annotations you draw.

Change the pen, or erase your ink

To change the color of your ink, or switch from pen to highlighter or eraser, move your cursor to the lower left corner of the window to expose the presentation toolbar. Then click the Ink button to pop up the ink menu.

This feature is supported on the latest version of these web browsers:

Microsoft Edge

This feature isn't supported on Internet Explorer.

Tip:  If you prefer to use keyboard shortcuts rather than your mouse when delivering your presentation, see Use keyboard shortcuts to deliver your presentation .

Highlight text while creating slides

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Four Choices in Architectural Presentation Drawings

Winning a project bid requires architectural presentation drawings that demonstrate to the potential client the merits of the structure’s design concept and is a direct indication of an architectural firm’s skill in creativity and technical ability. Poorly drafted presentation drawings can result in losing great projects to other firms. We offer four different avenues to presenting your architectural concept which are highly illustrative and demonstrate professionalism to your clients:

2D Elevations and Sections Simple projects such as warehouses and small office complexes may only require 2D elevations of the building facade and cross-sections that illustrate interior area functions. Overall dimensions and floor heights of the building are detailed along with the proper tones and hatching applied to the exterior surfaces to emphasize different materials can supply ample information and clearly illustrate simpler structures. These drawings are best printed in high resolution color on heavy board surfaces to enhance the presentation.

Isometric and Perspectives Drawings A better visual solution for non-technical clients is given with an isometric or perspective view of the structure which emulates a three-dimensional view and shows the relationship between multiple sides of the building. Color and texture rendering of these drawings along with landscaping features will offer clients a greater representation of the proposed structure. The ability to alter view orientation in real-time can help create an exciting presentation as the building is tilted and rotated to different angles.

3D Wire Frame Models As the pre-cursor to rendered models, wire frame 3D models are often employed to allow simultaneous viewing of underlying facets of the structure, such as beams, floors and walls. When the structural solution to a project outweighs the building appearance, wire frame models are the perfect solution. With the application of automatic hidden line removal, the model easily converts to a vector line exterior view of the structure.

3D Rendered Models Fully rendered 3D models of the proposed structure is an optimum solution and well worth the investment for projects that are high-end or have great public interest. Surface textures can nearly replicate real world materials and give your clients a glimpse of what the new building will look like in the real world. The ability to simulate an actual building walk-through is an added benefit to solids models.

Contact us to learn more details on the process and pricing of each of these architectural presentation drawing options.

Related links: Creative 3D Interior Modeling Design, Plan and Construct Using Building Information Modeling Give Clients a Virtual Tour Using Architectural Walkthroughs Curtain Wall Shop Drawings – Add Creativity, Beauty, and Function to Any Building Design Improve Your Presentations with Photorealistic Architectural Rendering BIM Advantages for HVAC Drafting Businesses Advanced Technology for 3D Architectural Design Three Business Development Strategies with Architectural CAD Drafting Services Choosing the Right Architectural Rendering Firm Can Make All the Difference BIM for mechanical, electrical, and plumbing services

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How-To Geek

7 powerpoint features you should use during presentations.

Are you using the right features to engage your audience?

Quick Links

Presenter coach for practicing, cameo for a live camera feed, subtitles for showing spoken words, presenter view for tools during the show, pen, highlighter, and laser pointer for visual emphasis, zoom for a closer view, speaker notes for talking points.

As you may already know, Microsoft PowerPoint offers a robust feature set for creating presentations. But what kind of tools are useful for actually presenting a slideshow? We'll walk you through several features that can help you engage your audience.

Before it's time for your presentation, you can practice with help from PowerPoint itself. Using Presenter Coach , you can receive feedback as you walk through your slideshow.

Related: How to Practice Your Presentations with PowerPoint's Presenter Coach

To use Presenter Coach, head to the Slide Show tab and select "Rehearse with Coach." When your slideshow opens in full screen mode, click "Start Rehearsing" to begin.

You'll see feedback in real-time as you speak and move through your presentation. You can also view a rehearsal report after you finish that summarizes your time spent practicing, filler words you use, your pace, and more.

Plan ahead for your presentation by practicing with this handy built-in tool.

For a personal touch or a way to communicate visually, consider using a live camera feed. With the Cameo feature, you can put your face and voice front and center during your slideshow.

To add the Cameo object, go to the slide, open the Insert tab, and select "Cameo" in the Camera section.

You can then move or resize the object, see a preview using the camera icon, and customize the object using the Camera Format tab that appears when you select it.

If you add the Cameo element to additional slides, your camera feed continues seamlessly through your presentation.

For complete details on this feature, take a look at our how-to for using a live camera feed in PowerPoint .

Related: The Best Webcams of 2023

You may have audience members viewing your PowerPoint presentation who have a hearing impairment or speak a different dialect. With subtitles, you can display every word you say during a presentation in the language of your choice.

Related: How to Set Up and Use Subtitles in Microsoft PowerPoint

To set up the subtitles , go to the Slide Show tab and select the Subtitle Settings drop-down menu. You can then adjust the spoken and subtitle languages, the microphone you want to use, and the placement of the captions.

You can check the box above the menu to Always Use Subtitles or use the Toggle Subtitles icon (Windows) or Closed Caption button (Mac) to turn them on and off during your presentation.

For an excellent way to accommodate your audience during your slideshow, give the subtitles feature a try.

When you present your slideshow, you probably want every tool available to you, and PowerPoint has many. To access those tools like a laser pointer or your presenter notes, check out Presenter View .

To use the feature on Windows, go to the Slide Show tab and check the box for Use Presenter View in the Monitors section of the ribbon. Then, start your presentation as normal. On Mac, simply click "Presenter View" on the Slide Show tab.

To start Presenter View during the slideshow, click the three dots on the bottom left and pick "Show Presenter View."

Next, you'll see a dashboard-like screen with everything you need. On the top left is the current slide, to the right is the next slide, and below that you have your notes.

On the left, you can open additional tools, turn subtitles on or off, black or unblack the show, toggle the camera, and end the show.

Presenter View puts everything you need at your fingertips during your presentation.

These may seem like super basic tools, but they can be quite handy while presenting a slideshow. You can use a pen to circle an image or draw an arrow, a highlighter to call out certain text, or a laser pointer to emphasize parts of a slide.

Related: Turn Your Mouse into a Laser Pointer in PowerPoint

To access the tools in Presenter View, select the Pen and Laser Pointer Tools icon (pen) below the current slide.

To access the tools without Presenter View, select the Pen and Laser Pointer Tools icon on the bottom left of the slide.

Choose a tool and then use your cursor to control it. For the pen and highlighter, you can also pick a color in the pop-up window.

To "put away" the tool you're using, access it using the steps above and deselect it.

Along with using the tools above for making parts of your presentation stand out, you can take advantage of the Zoom feature. With it, you can zoom in on part of a slide , move around if you like, and then zoom back out.

As of November 2022, this feature is not available in PowerPoint on Mac.

In regular slide show view or Presenter View, select the zoom icon (magnifying glass) on the bottom left.

You'll then see a rectangle on your screen indicating the zoom area. Move that rectangle to the spot you want to enlarge and click.

You can then drag to move around the slide while it's zoomed in. Right-click or use your Escape key to zoom back out to the original view.

Just like giving a speech with index cards for your talking points, notes in PowerPoint are just as beneficial. You can include information you want to highlight or further details for text or images you use.

Related: How to Insert a Check Mark or Checkbox in PowerPoint

To add presenter notes to your slideshow, open the notes panel. Either select "Notes" in the status bar or drag up from the bottom of the slide in the PowerPoint window.

Then when it's time to present, use Presenter View to display your notes during the show.

With an update to PowerPoint in 2022, you can also edit your notes while you present. This is a good way to capture additional points you think of while presenting or if an audience question pops up.

Place your cursor in the notes area on the right side and add or remove text. You can also use the buttons at the bottom to increase or decrease the font size.

Having your speaker notes with you during a slideshow is a key element in a successful presentation.

When you finish creating your PowerPoint slideshow , prepare to present it by trying out these features ahead of time. Then, incorporate them into your slideshow where it makes sense. Your audience will be glad you did!

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Presentations

Presentation Design: A Step-by-Step Guide

Nailing your presentation structure can have a big impact on your target audiences, whether they are investors, coworkers, partners, or potential customers. It helps get your ideas across and persuade others. 

For a presentation to work, its contents must be paired with great design. In fact, 91% of presenters feel more confident with a well-designed slide deck.

Now, design may not be something that interests you or something you’re good at. But like it or not, the moment you fire up Powerpoint, or Keynote you are a designer. And there is no escape. 

So instead of designing a poor presentation with lousy templates, why not learn the essentials of designing a beautiful presentation?

In this guide, we’ll discuss how to design a captivating presentation, and break down the whole process into small chunks so you can tackle each step easily. 

If you’re eager to put these principles into practice, create a Piktochart account and start creating beautiful presentations in minutes.

What makes a presentation well designed?

A bad presentation can give the impression that you lack preparation, care, and credibility. A well-designed presentation, on the other hand, makes you look professional and trustworthy. Here’s what it means: 

Less text and more visuals

Humans are visual beings. Our comprehension of visual elements is way more than just plain text. And we retain any information much better when it’s paired with imagery. 

If you want your message to connect with your audience, remove the extra text in your slides and replace it with visual content .

There are many ways to add photos , one of which is visualizing your data into timelines , flowcharts, graphs , and other frameworks. For example, this presentation by Trinh Tu uses data visualization really well to convey key stats and details.

However, adding visuals doesn’t mean just throwing some fancy pictures and icons onto your slides. Your icons and photos need to be relevant.

Before you add a visual element, always check if it contributes to the message you are trying to communicate. 

Well-placed pictures can go a long way in helping the audience connect with your presentation. So use them cautiously and strategically. 

Summarize points instead of writing them all out

According to a survey by David Paradi , the three things that annoy audiences most about presentations are:  

• Speakers reading their slides 
• Slides that include full sentences of text 
• Text that is too small to read 

Notice what’s common to all these annoyances? The text. People have extremely short attention spans, especially when it comes to reading heaps of text. 

So the text in your presentation slides should be just enough to complement the speaker, no more. It should not compete with what’s being said. 

For example, this simple presentation does a great job of summarizing the message of each slide in just a few words and breaking up the text nicely into multiple slides. 

Crowding your slides with all the information you have makes you unnecessary. You don’t want people to be distracted by reading when they’re trying to listen to you. 

Instead, the slides should only be considered as a visual aid. So keep them simple. Focus on the message, not the slides themselves. 

One takeaway per slide

As we discussed, people find it hard to absorb too much information from a single slide. So don’t overwhelm your audience, and remember that less is more. Make sure not to have more than one key point in each presentation slide.  

For example, this presentation about startup weekend has minimalistic slides walking viewers through one message at a time. It also shows that you don’t need a ton of fancy elements to make your presentation visually appealing.

Limit each of your slides to a simple statement, and you’ll easily be able to direct your audience’s focus to the main topic and subtopics. 

Arranging your text this way is one of the best ways to make a powerful impact on your presentation design.  

Clear hierarchy in design

Visual hierarchy is easily one of the most important yet most overlooked design principles. Simply put, it means the color, size, contrast, alignment, and other factors related to each element of your slide should be based on its importance. 

The most important elements should capture the attention of your audience first, followed by the second most important elements, and so on. 

Needless to say, you must know the whole narrative and outline before you start planning the visual hierarchy. It’s all about the message you want each slide and your whole presentation to get across. 

For example, in this presentation about building a good team, see how the header text, the description text, and the button text are different from each other. The header font is the largest and placed at the top, catching immediate attention. 

Then your eyes go to the button text because it captures attention with a red background. And finally, you see the description, the illustration, and other elements. 

So as you design your presentation, consider the narrative and plan the visual hierarchy needed to justify the story. This will ensure that your audience will not miss out on the key points you want to emphasize. 

Design consistency across slides

People are quick to identify inconsistencies in a presentation design, and these inconsistencies prevent them from having a fully engaging experience. So keep your presentation design consistent with a single theme.

Consistency creates a better flow and shows that each slide in your presentation belongs to the same story. To understand this better, see the below slide from this presentation . 

Notice how the slide primarily uses only two colors (white and red) for all the elements. And the image dimensions, fonts, and styling for each team member are exactly the same. 

You’ll notice the same thing in other slides of this presentation too. The same colors, the same font family , and similar backgrounds have been used in the overall design . This is what we mean by consistency. 

If the presentation you’re making is part of a company, the company may already have a style guide that dictates how to keep your presentation consistent with the company’s branding. If not, it’s never too late to create one . 

Call to action

A presentation is not complete without a call to action (CTA). If there is no CTA, your audience will think, “Is that it?” and you’ll leave them wondering what they’re supposed to do next with the information you provided.

The best CTAs are simple and easy. For example, you can ask the audience to contact you, connect on social media, sign up for a product or webinar. 

Also, make sure to highlight the incentive. Your audience should be clear on the main benefits they will get by following through with your call to action. 

The bottom line is: Make it a no-brainer and make it easy for people to take action right away. 

Designing a great presentation

Now that you know the ingredients of appealing presentation design, let’s see how to design a presentation that wows your audience, and also drives your key points home at the same time. Follow the below presentation, ideas, steps, and best practices to create a stunning presentation.

Prepare slide backgrounds and images

Backgrounds and pictures go a long way in setting the right mood and feel for your presentation. And there is no one right way to do this. Your options are limited only by your creativity.

For example, this presentation from Zuora makes masterful use of background images. Almost every slide has a beautiful background photo, along with a color overlay above the background to make the text easy to read. 

Pay attention to the following best practices as you work on your backgrounds and photos:

• Make sure your images have enough contrast with your words. 
• Use simple images that are closely relevant to your messages. You can use multiple free and paid stock photo sites to find photos that resonate with what you want to convey. These include Picography , Unsplash , Freepik , and Gratisography .
• Don’t pick common, generic stock images that people have already seen hundreds of times elsewhere. Also, avoid clipart for the same reasons. 
• Don’t crowd too many pictures into a single slide.
• Ensure that your images are of high quality, with a resolution that allows a comfortable viewing experience. They should come off as clear and crisp on both small and large screens. 

Zero in on your slide layouts

Contrary to what you may believe, great presentation design is not about being very artistic or creating complex layouts. Instead, your focus should be on communicating information in a nice, user-friendly way.

For example, this presentation has many slides that emphasize a great alternative to the conventional approach of putting text over an image. It leverages a split-screen layout for each slide, resulting in clean and elegant quotes paired with stunning visuals. 

Pay attention to the following best practices as you work on slide layouts:

• Make sure you have a reason for aligning elements in a certain way for each slide. If possible, use frames or grids to align your images and text appropriately. 
• When used too often, center alignment makes your design look amateurish. Use it only as a last resort.  
• Don’t keep using the same layout for consecutive slides. It makes your presentation dull and repetitive. Mix up the layouts to keep your audience engaged. 
• Have enough white space around each element. Don’t feel like you have to fill vacant spaces with more objects. Giving each visual room to breathe makes your whole design easier on the eyes, while a cluttered composition is hard to make sense of. 

Pick your colors wisely

Colors influence emotions and contribute to the identity of your brand. They also lift the audience’s overall sense of enthusiasm and move people to action. So you must use colors strategically to pull the audience into your presentation. 

For example, this colorful presentation for Adidas was designed to show how its deck could give a combination of fun and luxurious vibes. 

Notice the colors used in the above slide. There is a lot of white, purple, and blue, with some variations used sparingly around the illustrations. Only three main colors are doing most of the heavy lifting. That’s why the overall design still works even with some extra colors thrown in. 

Pay attention to the following best practices as you work on your presentation colors:

• If your company already has a color palette in place, stick to it. If not, pick a strong color scheme with no more than five colors to serve as a base for your presentation design. Too many colors can make your audience frantic. 
• Use tools such as Adobe Color CC , Kuler , Piknik , and 0to255 to play around with different colors and color schemes and see what works with what. 
• Make sure your color scheme has colors that can contrast and complement each other. Colors that don’t clash will make your presentation look clean and polished. 

Select the right fonts

Typography is another factor that can make or break your presentation. Fonts have a subtle but powerful impact on how the audience views both your presentation and your brand. 

But choosing fonts is a major challenge for those without any form of design education or experience. They mistakenly think that simple and basic fonts are too dull and boring. So they try to look for some fancy fonts to make their presentation exciting, eventually ending up with some hideous or outdated font such as Comic Sans.

Instead, you should consider the readability of the message you want to convey. For example, this presentation by With Company makes great use of modern typography . 

Since many of the slides have lengthy quotes, they are split in ways to make the message easy to digest. In addition, see how all the text is super clean and concise. 

Pay attention to the following best practices as you work on your presentation fonts: 

• Just like with your color scheme, use the same set of fonts and the same font sizes in all the slides of your presentation. For example, if your slide heading is Verdana 40pt, then each slide heading should be Verdana 40pt. In fact, you don’t need more than three fonts that work well together. 
• If you feel like using some animated text that bounces, soars, or glitters, just don’t. Curb the temptation. Hyperactive words and phrases are annoying and distracting. 
• If you already have standard font pairs based on your company’s brand identity, use those. If not, choose fonts that convey the voice and tone you’re aiming for. 
• The best fonts for presentations are simple, professional, modern, and readable. Pick a font such that there is a significant difference between its regular and bold font faces.
• Don’t shy away from using standard fonts. Avoid using some rare font that’s unlikely to be available on all computers and mobile devices.
• Pair fonts that work well with each other. Granted, this can be tricky and hard for an untrained eye to pull off. But there are many collections known to be effective. So you can pick from those. Resources like FontPair and FontJoy make it easy to find great font combinations.
• As discussed before, size the fonts based on visual hierarchy. For example, headlines should be larger than body text. But even the least significant texts should be large enough to read, with appropriate line and letter spacing. 

Wrapping up

We know this may be a lot to take in. It’s not easy to design a mesmerizing presentation. But the final result is worth all the trouble. A great presentation can open doors that you may have never thought to be possible. 

A clean design is much easier to take in. It makes you and your brand look more credible and professional. So use the above steps to push your design skills as far as you can. 

Start improving one thing at a time, and your efforts will add up to a point where you’ll design stunning presentations without thinking. You can also accelerate the process with a tool like Piktochart that comes with hundreds of ready-made templates and intuitive features. So get started today.

About The Author

Hitesh Sahni is an editor, consultant, and founder of http://smemark.com/ , an upscale content marketing studio helping brands accelerate growth with superior and scalable SEO, PPC, and copywriting services.

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Color Blocking – Using colors for dominance

A very elegant example of how colors can be used in architectural presentation styles to make elements stand out. Mostly used to denote massing in a 2d drawing, the color blocking technique is very obvious, but very attractive. Designers can chose colors depending on the number of elements, or based on the heirarchy of masses. So, the colors can be a variation of shades, for eg. one color used in different hues, or the same color tone, for eg. neutral or earthy shades, or bright colors used in the background with the drawing in plain white in the foreground etc. etc. There are n number of permutations and combinations which can be tried in this style and each would give an interesting result. 

Axonometric Style – All in one drawing style

One of my favourite techniques for presentation, the axonometric or simply axo style is according to me the easiest to read. Using an axo view, the designer can very well explain the concept and the inter-relationship between various stories, the play of levels or heights, as well as function of every space of the project. An all in one technique, this one diagram is enough to explain the plan, the facade, the inner details, sections and view of a single building. The axo can also be drawn in a variety of ways like sectional axo or floor plan axo etc. to explain further details. This technique is especially useful when the floor plate needs to be explained in minute detail, whereas the facade is a continuous element on all sides. It also conveys the process of design, for instance the steps in the making of the building. What’s more is, this style is the easiest to achieve on software, making it a go-to for students and small firms.

Perspective Drawing – 3D visualization

A 3D render is the best way to express what a designer has in his/her mind. The client understands the atmosphere of a space more than a 2D drawing. The sense of scale, colors, textures and feel of a space is best conveyed in this technique. There are a lot of ways to achieve 3D renders, especially with the tools available nowadays. It can be a photo-realistic render or a photoshop collage or a wireframe or white render. However a perspective drawing, where one has the sense of actually being in the space is my top pick. The angle or the camera placed is the most important thing in this style. Where the view gets cut and the kind of textures and colors one uses, with the correct light and shadow setting is also very essential. 

Info-graphic – Minimalist drawing style

The single line drawing presentation styles is used extensively these days, where the presentation appears to be more an info-graphic than an architectural drawing. This style is used mostly when the 3D view expresses the major portion of the design and the elevation and section drawings are merely present for further understanding. Often, drawings are not even part of the scheme, only a few details or plans are expressed, in single line for conveying the volumes. This style is perfect for architectural portfolios, where one project is to be displayed on one sheet, where there isn’t much scope for a lot of drawings.

Geometric Style – Clean lines and shapes

Sometimes, the drawing or the main focus of the project is lost in context with too many shapes on the sheet. The geometric style expresses everything in sharp straight lines. The absense of organic drawings in the form of trees, cars, etc. or expressing them in lines makes it more interesting to look at and doesn’t distract from the main project. This style is very eye-catching and extremely easy to achieve. Another way to add to this style, is by playing with the opacity of elements. For example, elements which have a more complex shape, like humans or trees, can have a very low opacity as opposed to the main components of the sheet like the facade etc. In this way, the project is highlighted and other elements, while present, do not overpower the sheet. 

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Drawing From Observation

10 tips for better presentation slides.

Credit: http://blog.ted.com/10-tips-for-better-slide-decks/

Aaron Weyenberg is the master of slide decks. Our UX Lead creates Keynote presentations that are both slick and charming—the kind that pull you in and keep you captivated, but in an understated way that helps you focus on what’s actually being said. He does this for his own presentations and for lots of other folks in the office. Yes, his coworkers ask him to design their slides, because he’s just that good.

We asked Aaron to bottle his Keynote mojo so that others could benefit from it. Here, 10 tips for making an effective slide deck, split into two parts: the big, overarching goals, and the little tips and tricks that make your presentation sing.

The big picture…

• Think about your slides last . Building your slides should be the tail end of developing your presentation. Think about your main message, structure its supporting points, practice it and time it—and then start thinking about your slides. The presentation needs to stand on its own; the slides are just something you layer over it to enhance the listener experience. Too often, I see slide decks that feel more like presenter notes, but I think it’s far more effective when the slides are for the audience to give them a visual experience that adds to the words. .
• Create a consistent look and feel . In a good slide deck, each slide feels like part of the same story. That means using the same or related typography, colors and imagery across all your slides. Using pre-built master slides can be a good way to do that, but it can feel restrictive and lead to me-too decks. I like to create a few slides to hold sample graphic elements and type, then copy what I need from those slides as I go. .
• Think about topic transitions . It can be easy to go too far in the direction of consistency, though. You don’t want each slide to look exactly the same. I like to create one style for the slides that are the meat of what I’m saying, and then another style for the transitions between topics. For example, if my general slides have a dark background with light text, I’ll try transition slides that have a light background with dark text. That way they feel like part of the same family, but the presentation has texture—and the audience gets a visual cue that we’re moving onto a new topic. .
• With text, less is almost always more . One thing to avoid—slides with a lot of text, especially if it’s a repeat of what you’re saying out loud. It’s like if you give a paper handout in a meeting—everyone’s head goes down and they read, rather than staying heads-up and listening. If there are a lot of words on your slide, you’re asking your audience to split their attention between what they’re reading and what they’re hearing. That’s really hard for a brain to do, and it compromises the effectiveness of both your slide text and your spoken words. If you can’t avoid having text-y slides, try to progressively reveal text (like unveiling bullet points one by one) as you need it. .
• Use photos that enhance meaning . I love using simple, punchy photos in presentations, because they help what you’re saying resonate in your audience’s mind without pulling their attention from your spoken words. Look for photos that (1) speak strongly to the concept you’re talking about and (2) aren’t compositionally complex. Your photo could be a metaphor or something more literal, but it should be clear why the audience is looking at it, and why it’s paired with what you’re saying. For example, I recently used the image above—a photo of a container ship about to tip over (it eventually sank)—to lead off a co-worker’s deck about failure preparation. And below is another example of a photo I used in a deck to talk about the launch of the new TED.com . The point I was making was that a launch isn’t the end of a project—it’s the beginning of something new. We’ll learn, adapt, change and grow.

And now some tactical tips…

• Go easy on the effects and transitions . Keynote and Powerpoint come with a lot of effects and transitions. In my opinion, most of these don’t do much to enhance the audience experience. At worst, they subtly suggest that the content of your slides is so uninteresting that a page flip or droplet transition will snap the audience out of their lethargy. If you must use them, use the most subtle ones, and keep it consistent. .
• Try panning large images . Often, I want to show screen shot of an entire web page in my presentations. There’s a great Chrome extension to capture these—but these images are oftentimes much longer than the canvas size of the presentation. Rather than scaling the image to an illegible size, or cropping it, you can pan it vertically as you talk about it. In Keynote, this is done with a Move effect, which you can apply from an object’s action panel. .
• For video, don’t use autoplay . It’s super easy to insert video in Keynote and Powerpoint—you just drag a Quicktime file onto the slide. And when you advance the deck to the slide with the video that autoplays, sometimes it can take a moment for the machine to actually start playing it. So often I’ve seen presenters click again in an attempt to start the video during this delay, causing the deck to go to the next slide. Instead, set the video to click to play. That way you have more predictable control over the video start time, and even select a poster frame to show before starting. .

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Visually Minded: Drawing and Presenting Ideas as Sketchnotes

Visual thinker and Sketchnoter Jonny Daenen shares techniques for drawing and organizing graphic presentations and sketchnotes for ideas you are passionate about.

"Pouring your information into a visual representation has the benefit of making ideas tangible. It motivates people to have a conversation or discussion about it. It's also a lot easier to spread information this way, as pictures have the power to create a lasting impression within an instant."

Jonny Daenen - My background lies in Big Data. I got my Ph.D. in Computer Science in 2016, after focusing on big data systems for several years. Currently, I am a Cloud data engineer at a marketing automation company. It's incredible to think about the vast amounts of data we generate daily and all the things we can do with it. I see myself as someone who designs and builds solutions for creating value from this enormous pool of data.

I love learning about technology and then applying   or spreading   the knowledge. The latter is something I've picked up during my time as a teaching assistant. It's a great feeling when you are able to teach new concepts to people who are eager to learn. At the same time, when you explain an idea to someone else, you'd better make sure you understand it thoroughly first! During my career, I've discovered that visualizations are a key component in teaching, discussing, and pitching ideas. It helps me to understand what's going on and transfer information to someone else.  

How did you get into visual thinking and sketchnoting?

Great question! I've been fond of doodling for a long time, and I think this is where my urge to draw comes from. I remember a history course in high school, where we had to memorize quite some information, for example, about agriculture in historical times. As I was not keen on learning by heart, I decided to draw logical pictures containing all the elements. A doodle with cows and crops made it so much easier to understand and remember. 

Fast forward to my Ph.D., and I'm still drawing and doodling. Only this time, I'm using the blackboard to pass on ideas to students. At some point, during a TEDx event, I also saw people making sketchnotes live on stage and followed an introduction to sketchnoting. Packed with quite some ideas, I gradually started to adopt them into my daily routines.

During my career, I noticed that I liked capturing information, and started leveraging these visual techniques more and more. Today, I am applying them to create presentations, technical diagrams, and summaries of Apple product presentations. I've also decided to go fully digital.

One of my first attempts to draw a high level diagram, created in Papers.

Can you please share what visual thinking and sketchnoting are? How does visualization help you to remember and share ideas?

In my mind, visual thinking is about capturing the essence of "things" - systems, products, technologies, ideas, etc. - in a visual image. It helps us to understand problems, enabling a zooming out to abstract concepts, and a zooming in on all the nitty-gritty details when needed.

Sketchnoting is the art of visual note taking. A keynote, presentation, event, manual, technology, etc. can all be summarized visually. This helps to make topics more approachable and digestible.

My main purposes for sketchnoting are to capture information for later reference, evangelize ideas, and learn more about a topic. While I draw, my mind focuses on the matter at hand, helping me understand things better and allowing me to easily remember them. People have responded quite well when I share my sketchnote summaries or when they see drawings appear in a slide deck. It seems to be a very powerful method to get a message across.

One of the first drawings I did in Concepts that shows the basic components in marketing. This was used in multiple presentations.

Pouring your information into a visual representation has the benefit of making ideas tangible. It motivates people to have a conversation or discussion about it. It's also a lot easier to spread information this way, as pictures have the power to create a lasting impression within an instant. 

In software engineering, for example, I find it really helpful to have a diagram of what I'm working on. It helps me navigate code and allows easy communication with other people. It is vital to have a bird's eye view of what you are working on while still understanding the details of the code in front of you. Especially when you get confronted with bugs, visual thinking is helpful and allows you to more quickly approach the problems at hand in a structural fashion.

And whether it helps me remember things? Well, yes and no. On the contrary, it helps me free my mind. While I draw, I think about the structure and properties of what I'm drawing. I'm comparing similar technologies, zooming in and out in my mind while I pinch on the screen, and discovering logical concepts as I progress. This process helps me better understand whatever I'm sketchnoting about. 

Still, at the same time, my brain will also know that all the details are in my sketchnote for reference, and it seems it will forget about unnecessary details and instead store a pointer to the sketchnote. Next time I need to recall the price of the iPad Pro in 2020? Or the technology that Spotify talked about to manage their data quality? My brain will know that I noted that down in a specific sketchnote and present me with a vague layout of what my drawing looked like.  

You have very informative sketchnotes with a clear presentation style. How do you go about visualizing ideas and data? What creates a clear presentation?

Thank you! Visual representations should capture the essence of an idea, product, technology, etc. as much as possible. When sketchnoting an event, I start from the bottom up: starting with the details, clustering them into bigger ideas, and attaching these to a bigger topic. It's a hierarchical approach, which should help viewers quickly identify relevant information while also allowing for fast zooming from specific details to the more abstract topic.

For slide decks, this is a bit different. Here I start working around the main takeaway, outline a structure in a mindmap and translate individual slides into drawings during the process.

Presentations or sketchnotes should provide a logical flow of information; they should guide the viewer. In presentations, you get a linear flow, which can sometimes feel quite restrictive but at the same time also more reassuring. In sketchnotes, you get a lot more freedom, but the challenging part is in the overall flow of your drawing to make sure people can find their way in it.

One big difference between presentations and sketchnotes: in presentations, the visuals support the story; in sketchnotes, the visuals are the story.

A sketchnote for a live show of the Dutch-Belgian podcast Tech45 , to celebrate their 10 year anniversary.

Once you have your key ideas down, how do you organize your information on the page?  

I try to group information into clusters that belong together. If I'm making a sketchnote of an Apple keynote about a new iPhone, Apple Watch, and health services, I will cluster the information accordingly. Many presentations and events already have an implicit or explicit structure that is quite usable as a guiding structure.

When you are creating larger sketchnotes that span multiple presentations or many topics, I'd recommend collecting information first and then choosing what your focus will be. This is a lot more challenging but can be even more rewarding as you will learn a lot by creating this structure yourself.  Whenever I'm stuck, I always resort to creating a mindmap of the structure. This will be my guide and help me make decisions about what content goes where.

My latest Apple sketchnote: WWDC 2021. Heaps of new products and features were announced, I tried to combine it all in this gigantic sketchnote.

What are your favorite tools and apps for sketchnoting? 

Concepts, of course! I do have some real-world Copic markers that I use for decorating Christmas or birthday cards, but in the digital world, Concepts is my tool of choice. My current setup consists of:

• Apple iPad Pro 10.5"
• Apple Pencil (1st gen)
• Concepts App

When my girlfriend introduced me to Concepts, I was immediately sold. The gesture system and the fact that the app is vector-based were ideal for me. I've never considered myself great at drawing, as I always had difficulties getting what's in my head on paper. And even when I did, I managed to add that one final detail that messed it all up. By using Concepts, those limitations in my drawing process were immediately removed. I can now draw joyfully, use quick gestures to rearrange my drawing, and perform the "undo" gesture whenever I need to.

A mindmap of all aspects I use Concepts for.

How does Concepts fit into your visual thinking workflow?

My workflow is a bit different depending on when I'm creating a presentation with hand-drawn slides or when I'm making a sketchnote.

In the case of a presentation, I start out with a mindmap. I use the MindNode app to brainstorm, group, and structure my story. When roughly 70% of my story and content ideas are there, I pour this mindmap into slides with textual content. Next, the most essential and complex slides get their own drawing (drawn in Concepts); the text is reduced to a minimum, as I will talk over it anyway, but the essence remains. Finally, I start doing dry-runs, and I iterate over the slides and drawings until it feels good. 

For this process, I love working with the combination of an iPad and a Mac: I simply copy-paste a part of my drawing from Concepts on my iPad directly into Keynote on my Mac (using Universal Clipboard).

When I create a new sketchnote of a presentation or event, I always follow it live. It forces me to stay focused and capture essential information fast. I will note down text and make some quick doodles; the result looks a bit like a messy shopping list. The big thing here is that Concepts allows me to quickly switch tools and make fast adjustments (select, rearrange, zoom, scale) without interfering with my flow of thought. 

At first, this is where I stopped. While sketchnoting often focuses on getting your drawing done at the moment (especially when it's on paper, you cannot edit easily), I noticed that I needed a bit more freedom and time. 

0.1 Apple Spring Loaded Event - first rough version after the live event. 0.2 I added core elements of the most important announcements. 0.3 More visual elements are added to guide the viewer. 0.4 All sections now have a heading to make them stand out, basic highlights were added in orange and spacing has been improved.

So, after the initial rough phase, I start grouping related information together and drawing larger images showing a central topic. For example, I capture all details from a new iPhone camera system live, then I group this together; this is then grouped again with other topics around the iPhone, which is then grouped with maybe another iPhone Model. This is how a specific section in the sketchnote comes to life. 

In my sketchnotes, I try to follow a hierarchical format so that people can quickly get the information they want. Compared to a presentation, which is linear, sketchnotes allow you to create your own flow. When people want information only on that iPhone camera system, they are attracted by the iPhone illustration and can then zoom in on the camera cluster right next to it.

After capturing the overall structure, I fix weird-looking icons and redo some unreadable handwriting. It turns out I still need to work on my 1's, apparently, there seems to be quite a difference across continents on how to write the ideal number one. Next, larger illustrations are added to clusters to make them stand out.

Whenever possible, I try to fit into the event theme. Apple, for example, always has a specific theme in their events, which I try to adopt and mix with my own style. 

Now that I've got all the content, I can focus on the overall layout to end up with a balanced image. I move the bigger groups around and try to create an implicit flow in the picture. Then, I let some key terms stand out using colors, and I add shadows to bring the illustrations alive. Finally, some things I've been dragging along since the beginning get cut. When they just don't fit, they need to go, even if I thought it was a great idea. Kill your darlings, I guess...

When it's done, I export my work at different DPI settings and publish it online. As you can see, as opposed to presentations, all of the work on the sketchnotes happens within Concepts itself.

Final version of Apple's Spring Loaded Event.

You mentioned you do a lot of visual communication work with clients. What is your workflow like with them?

When communicating with clients, it's crucial to have a common understanding. Visuals can help a lot; whether you're using a whiteboard, a presentation, or a diagram, it will almost always make conversations easier and more to the point. 

For live discussions, I prefer to use a whiteboard whenever possible; it encourages people to think together and to be part of new ideas from the start.

When I'm preparing a slide deck, my goal is to tell a story that supports the main idea of the presentation. When I explain a technical solution, I try to avoid bombarding the client with too many specifics and instead focus on the value the solution will create for them. This can often be expressed using simple images and icons. In contrast to text, these will often emphasize your point and support your story to a greater extent. Of course, my backup slides will have some more detailed diagrams for the Q&A part.

After meetings with clients or stakeholders, I do not go as far as creating a summary sketchnote for that meeting, but instead, I make a summary mindmap. Again, a very powerful visual tool that allows people to quickly find what they are looking for. I've even found these mindmaps to be a potential replacement for slide decks in some instances: it takes way less time to put them together and immediately shows structure and content in a digestible form when done right.  

Do you have any tips or techniques you can share about visualizing information?

The sketchnotes I create have changed over time. I learned a lot by starting with the Concepts sketchnote tutorial and still using some of the presets today. I've also been inspired by seeing other people create illustrations on my iPad and borrowed some of their techniques. 

I recommend experimenting with colors, quick shadows, smoothing, and nudging. Also, just trying out different tools in the app really helps! But the technique that works best for me is iterating. The sketchnotes I create are refined over several days (sometimes weeks) until I get them into a presentable form.

Sketchnote I created when I got certified for Google Cloud, to indicate all important parts included in the certification.

When choosing what to draw, I try to utilize simple illustrations. A battery gets a power icon, performance gets a rocket, and so on. The key is to find something recognizable for most people and keep it clean and simple. When you don't know what could represent an idea, try to think of a few emoji that would capture it.

Sometimes it's tempting to let the visuals distract the viewer too much, hence I believe it is important to try and keep information central to your visual. A good example on how to use a minimalistic approach to emphasize your point visually can be found here: https://www.darkhorseanalytics.com/blog/data-looks-better-naked/  

What are some best practices you can recommend for getting into a visual workflow and improving your skillset?

The first step is finding something you're passionate about. I am passionate about technology, I've been following Apple keynotes for quite some time before I started sketchnoting. The same holds for my new, more technical Google Cloud sketchnotes. After seeing Google's keynotes, I always want to make sure other people have a low-friction way to accessing this content I find so interesting myself.

Google Cloud's Data Cloud Summit: summary from a series of presentations, which introduced the latest advancements in Google Cloud Platform w.r.t. data technology.

That is the second step: finding your motivation. Why should you draw? As I said, I love to capture information for later reference, evangelize ideas, and learn more about a topic; drawing helps me achieve these goals. If you can find the thing to motivate you - which can be anything - you're all set!

Once you've found the right topic and motivation, I'd recommend doing the Concepts sketchnoting tutorial . Whether it is for a full sketchnote, a slide in your presentation, or a technical diagram, you'll be ready to go in no time! And remember, when you're not happy with your first result, this is all digital: just iterate over it tomorrow!  

Jonny Daenen is a computer scientist specialized in Big Data. He is interested in understanding the inner workings of both existing and new technologies, and loves to make them accessible to a broad audience. He's passionate about data engineering and data science, Cloud computing, visual thinking, and Apple products.

• Twitter: @JonnyDaenen
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonnydaenen/
• Website: https://connectingdots.xyz

Cover photos by Michelle Gybels Interview by Erica Christensen

Recommended

The Concepts Sketchnoting Toolbox - Learn sketchnoting tips so you can sketch ideas and take notes visually, and use this guide to set up your infinite canvas and pens in Concepts.

5 Tools for Visual Thinking on Your iPad - Five great tools to help you take notes, think visually and communicate on your iPad with Concepts.

Sketchnoting Tools and Techniques - Graphic Recorder Tobey Busch shares tips for creating simple visual images and sketchnotes.

Teaching Strategic Thinking Skills to Airforce Pilots - Major John Webb of the U.S. Air Force teaches strategic thinking to pilot students with Concepts and his iPad.

The Definitive Guide to Virtual & Live Sketching for Meetings and Events

Why virtual live sketching.

In the wake of COVID-19 and the seismic impact the pandemic has had on live events, everyone has scrambled to convert their in-person meetings, conferences, and events to a virtual context.

Instead of a glitzy ballroom in Vegas, we are now on Zoom.

Instead of a corporate retreat center deep in the Appalachian Mountains, we are now on Microsoft Teams.

Instead of a massive arena in downtown Los Angeles, we are logging onto GoToMeeting.

Instead of a conference room in the snazzy Manhattan corporate office, we are now dialing into Google Meet.

You get the picture.

Although we are all grateful to live in a day and age with a virtual alternative to in-person gatherings, one unfortunate truth remains:

Most virtual events are terrible.

Boring. Blah. Lame. Mundane. Meh. Rote.

Whatever word you choose, most of us have had our fill of virtual events.

The good news is that there are lots of enterprising companies and teams out there striving hard to innovate ways to make virtual events better and introduce compelling solutions to address the pain points of these online gatherings.

One of those innovative solutions is Virtual Live Sketching (aka “ Remote Visual Notes ”).

Although Virtual Live Sketching isn’t entirely new, the scale to which it is being leveraged in the wake of COVID-19 was unheard of until now. Although the tools and mechanisms for delivering this remote visual note-taking service were already in existence, the way companies, teams, and organizations are harnessing it to deliver value to their audiences is taking us into uncharted territory.

Virtual live sketching is a compelling, engaging, and must-have value-add for virtual meetings and events in a post-COVID world, and we’ll share with you just why.

In this Definitive Guide to Virtual Live Sketching for Meetings and Events , you’ll learn about:

• The history of visual communication. From cavemen to memes, we’ll explore how visual learning and communicating with simple pictures is hard-wired into our DNA.
• The power of visual communication. Using actual data and research, we’ll unpack the four main ways that visuals supercharge communication to make it more effective.  
• Live sketching overview . Whether you call it live sketching, visual notetaking, graphic recording, doodling, live scribing, or sketchnotes, we’ll give a quick overview of this particularly exciting form of visual communication and collaboration.
• Contexts for live sketching. There are dozens of ideal contexts for live sketching – we’ll explore the top ten places where you may find this service in action.
• COVID-19 and the dawn of remote visual notes (aka virtual live sketching). In 2020, the world of live sketching changed forever. We’ll show you how.
• Virtual live sketching overview. With the “dawn” of virtual events, many aspects of live sketching have changed. Many have not. We’ll take a moment to walk through how remote visual notes works, the tools used, common platforms for integrating it into virtual events, and our process.
• What makes virtual live sketching awesome. There are four huge pain points when it comes to virtual events and four huge ways that remote visual notes tackle these pain points head-on. The net result: better virtual meetings and events.
• Leveraging the sketch output. When it comes to maximizing the value of the sketch output and deliverables, the possibilities are endless. We’ll take a look at some of the most common ways these compelling takeaways are leveraged.
• What can you do? We’ll conclude with some actionable next steps to begin leveraging virtual live sketching for your next virtual meeting or event.

History of Visual Communication

Before we get into the “here and now” of Virtual Live Sketching and Visual Communication, let’s talk about the history of visual communication. Don’t worry, we’ll promise not to bore you.

The first forms of visual communication popped up between 40,000 and 8,000 BC. Of course, we’re talking about prehistoric cave paintings. Most scholars agree that these paintings were used for ceremonial purposes, to bond a tribe together and celebrate communal efforts, like a great hunt or battle. In brief, they were simple pictures to communicate ideas, align a group, and inspire action.

From there, the next major form of visual communication was Egyptian Hieroglyphics, which emerged around 10,000 BC. These were simple images and icons used to tell stories. Another name for this form of visual communication is “petroglyphs.”

Visual communication took another leap forward around 2,000 BC, when the Chinese developed logograms, which we similar to hieroglyphics yet a bit simpler. Like their Egyptian predecessor, logograms were simple symbols used to represent ideas, objects, people, or religious deities.

Between 2,000 and 700 BC, the Egyptians, Greeks and Romans introduced the idea of the alphabet: for the first time in human history, a simple symbol was used to represent a sound. These alphabets would go on to become the foundation of all modern languages.

Between 400 AD and 1600 AD visual communication became a primary feature in medieval Christendom. Illuminated manuscripts and stained-glass windows leveraged images, illustrations, icons and symbols to communicate the stories of the Bible. The reason for this is simple: most people at that time couldn’t read. In contrast, images were quick to understand, they were enjoyable to look at, they elicited emotion and they inspired people to action.

As technology advanced, so did visual communication. The advent of the printing press, photography, film, the computer and the internet all rapidly advanced the evolution of visual communication.

And so, where is visual communication today?

Emojis, Memes, and Gifs. Oh my.

Just kidding! Of course, emojis, memes, and gifs are all a form of visual communication, but that is not the point of this blog, or the point of this quick history lesson.

The point is simple: visual communication is in our DNA. It’s part of being a human. It makes communicating ideas easier and more effective. It excites, aligns, and inspires people. It leads to action and outcomes.

Visual communication is powerful, and that is why Live Sketching exists.

Power of Visual Communication

Yes, Live Sketching exists for one simple reason: Visual Communication is incredibly powerful. Visual Communication (and by extension, visual learning) is a powerful, effective and actionable way to share ideas, communicate a message, mobilize a team, inspire an audience, and drive real results.

So, how exactly is visual communication so powerful? There are four main reasons, all of which are backed up by science and research:

First of all, Visual Communication makes ideas efficient .

The old adage goes: “a picture is worth a thousand words.” We would argue it is worth far more than that! The research shows that 93% of communication is non-verbal , and that the human brain processes visuals at an unfathomably higher rate than it processes text. Another bit of research states that visuals are processed 60,000x faster than text . That is astounding.

Moreover, visuals are a global language that transcends linguistic barriers and most cultural barriers as well. Fewer people get tripped up on images, especially when compared to the written or spoken word, which can lead to misunderstandings and miscommunications.

In the Back of the Napkin , Dan Roam articulates this effectively:

“Pictures can represent complex concepts and summarize vast sets of information in ways that are easy for us to see and understand…they are useful for clarifying and resolving problems of all sorts.”

If you want to communicate ideas quickly, communicating with visuals is a no-brainer.

Second, Visual Communication makes ideas understandable .

Again, the science here is astounding. Listen this: 83% of human learning occurs visually . That means that the other channels of learning (verbal, auditory and kinesthetic) only comprise a mere 17% percent of human learning!

In fact, a study showed that people following directions with text and illustrations do 323% better than people following directions without illustrations. And sometimes, if you’re building an IKEA bookcase, your directions might not have text at all!

The truth is, visuals help you “see” the meaning behind ideas. They help make complex ideas and subjects understandable and powerful by making them visible.

Moreover, the average person’s attention span is incredibly short…and getting shorter. According to the research , the average human gets distracted in 8 seconds. This is a shorter attention span than a goldfish! Visual Communication also enhances comprehension simply by the fact that is holds peoples’ attention longer.

Thirdly, Visual Communication makes ideas memorable .

Again, the research backs this up. One compelling stat is that people remember 10% of what they hear, 20% of what they read, and 80% of what they see and do.

Another bit of research shows that retention of information three days after a meeting or other event is six times greater when information is presented visually and verbally than when the information is presented only verbally.

For whatever reason, pictures get lodged in our brains much more than spoken or written text. We forget names, but remember faces. Like experiences, we have a hard time forgetting powerful images and the ideas or concepts they embody.

Fourth and finally, visual communication makes ideas shareable and actionable.

It’s pretty simple—pictures are easier (and more fun!) to show to others. The outrageous growth of visuals-based social media platforms over the past few years testifies to this. Pinterest, Snapshot, Tumblr, Instagram and TikTok are all visuals-based social media channels…and they are growing like wildfire. People love to share and consume visual content.

Consider that Visual content is more than 40X more likely to get shared on social media than other types of content. Also, articles with an image once every 75-100 words got 2x the number of social shares than articles with fewer images.

To elaborate on this, a recent study showed that:

• Tweets with images received 150% more retweets than tweets lacking images
• Facebook posts with images receive 3X more engagement than those lacking images
• On Instagram, photos showing faces get 38% more likes than photos without faces
• Infographics are liked and shared on social media 3X more than any other type of content

Moreover, considering their ease of use and mainstream availability, anyone with a smartphone, whiteboard, or sketchbook can share their ideas visually. It has never been easier, cheaper, or more convenient to share and process visual content.

Visual communication is incredibly powerful and engaging…and not just on social media and in text messages. The principles of visual communication—and the value of it—applies to professional and business contexts as well.

To quickly summarize, visual communication is incredibly powerful. It helps make communication of ideas more:

• Understandable
• And Shareable and Actionable

Live Sketching helps you and others harness the power of visual communication and apply that power to engage an audience, align a team, and inspire action.

Let’s take a moment now to unpack just what we mean by “Live Sketching.”  

What is Live Sketching?

Live Sketching goes by a lot of names: Graphic recording, visual notetaking, sketchnoting, live scribing, and the list continues. We use a lot of these terms interchangeably, although prefer “live sketching” as it’s the most understandable and approachable.

Whatever you call it, live sketching can be defined as “the real-time capture of content using sketched text and images”. Let’s break that definition down starting with “content.”

Most often the content that is captured in a graphic recording is spoken content, such as from a presentation, panel discussion, group discussion or team brainstorm. Whenever people get together to discuss ideas, those ideas can be captured in a live sketched format. However, sometimes other forms of delivered content can be sketched out, such as written group responses to a prompt or question, group emotions, or experiences as they are happening.

The fact that live sketching is in real-time is also important. Graphic recording is not a planned-out endeavor. It is not the same as a produced infographic or art directed illustration. Although portions of it may be planned out, such as layout, color, and a few key ideas, the vast majority of the sketch is organic and unscripted. It is done in real-time and strives to be an accurate and unbiased reflection of the content at hand.

Sketched text and images is the last part of the definition. This is the “what” of Live Sketching. Ideas are captured in both verbal and visual form. The text is mostly used to anchor the ideas to the page, and should never be overly verbose or lengthy. Just enough text should be captured to establish the core idea. Beyond the actual content of the text, the text can also be depicted in an expressive font or color, making the piece more dynamic and helping reinforce the nature of the ideas. The images can be whatever the live artist needs in order to reinforce the ideas on the page. These can include icons, symbols, human expressions and actions, scenes, and much more. At the end of the day, the text and images combined serve the sole purpose of making the ideas understandable, memorable, shareable and actionable. It is about harnessing the power of visual learning to give the content more life.

The first, and most critical step, when it comes to live sketching is Active Listening . Since the vast majority of graphic recording engagements take place in a context with a speaker or multiple speaking participants, the graphic recorder must be a great listener. If not, he or she will capture inaccurate content or miss critical content, both of which will negatively impact the process and final sketches.

At the Sketch Effect, all of our live artists are trained in active listening. As content is being discussed, they will dial up their listening abilities and hunt for the most critical takeaways, overarching themes, and recurring concepts. Active listening isn’t about capturing each and every word. Rather, it’s about capturing the big rocks. It’s about clearing away the “clutter” of a conversation to unearth the gems.

The second step of Live Sketching is the synthesis . As a live artist is actively listening, he or she will take it one step further and begin to synthesize. In other words, they will distill the ideas down to their purest essence. Again, it isn’t about getting down every idea possible. It’s about getting the most critical ideas. This is synthesis.

The third step of Live Sketching is usually text capture . This is when the live artist writes down words. Think of the words like the “bones” of a graphic recording. The words are the foundation of the sketch and inform what is illustrated around it. Again, the words should not be lengthy sentences or heavy prose. Rather, they should be pithy and to the point, capturing the idea with few but deliberate and powerful words.

Step four is the fun part: the sketching ! In this step, the live artist breathes life into the bones and begins visualizing the ideas. This is when they add drawings, illustrations, color, icons and other imagery, all with the purpose of reinforcing the ideas and making the content more understandable and memorable. The sketches also serve a bonus purpose: they’re awesome! They are attention grabbing and eye-popping, adding a “wow factor” to any meeting or event in which they’re featured.

A key aspect of the drawings is the visual concepts. The concept is the “idea” behind the drawing. Some concepts are straightforward, like representing the idea of “growth” with an upwards and to-the-right arrow. Other concepts are cleverer, such as representing “teamwork” as a group of trapeze artists swinging through the air with interlinked arms. Some concepts can even connect back to pop culture, like depicting the idea of “pivoting” with a drawing of Ross, Rachel and Chandler moving a couch up a narrow stairwell. You get the idea. The illustrations on a graphic recording must have a great concept at their core. Otherwise, they are just nice-looking drawings and nothing more.

In addition to the actual drawings, the live artist will also add plentiful color to his or her sketch. Color can be used to reinforce concepts, establish themes, and categorize, along with establishing visual hierarchy and visual navigation. Color also makes the drawings look better, which is always a plus.

To summarize, we define Live Sketching as “the real-time capture of content using sketched text and images”, the goal of which is to reinforce ideas by making them understandable, memorable, shareable and actionable.

Let’s now unpack a few of the main contexts in which Live Sketching can add so much value.

Contexts for Live Sketching

One of the amazing aspect of live sketching is the wide range of contexts in which it can be leveraged to add value. In brief, anytime people are gathered together (in person or virtually) and are discussing ideas or solving problems, live sketching can make the experience better and more effective. Although there are endless types of engagements such as these that can benefit from a graphic recording artist, here are the most common:

• Company Events – The most straightforward scenario for live sketching is at a company event . This could be an all-hands meeting, a new year kickoff, a board meeting, a team summit, and much more. The content that is captured could be a big presentation by the CEO or other key leaders, an engaging panel discussion, or a keynote from an outside thought leader or industry expert. Whatever the company event, Graphic Recording can help document the content through real-time visualization of the big ideas and main themes.
• Corporate Retreats – Similarly, a corporate retreat or offsite event is another great context for live sketching. These retreats usually cover a LOT of ground, and there’s no better way to document the progress made than through live sketched Graphic Recordings. Retreat attendees can literally see all that they discussed in pictorial form, which is an amazing way to galvanize participants and energize them when they return to the office.
• Conferences – A public or internal conference is an ideal setting for live sketching. Most conferences will invest heavily in amazing speakers, organize thoughtful breakout sessions, and bring amazing experiences to their attendees. What better way to crystalize the ideas and experiences at a conference than with live sketched visuals.
• Brainstorm Sessions – A brainstorm session , where a small group of people meet to brainstorm and work through something big, is a perfect context for a live artist. As ideas are being thrown about, solutions are being teased out, and discoveries are arrived at, the live artist will actively listen and document what unfolds. It is a great way to ensure everyone is on the same page, that they can “see” their discussion, and that they drive forward towards the stated goal of that session, whatever it may be.
• Training Events – Any type of event where people are gathered for training is also a good opportunity to leverage a Graphic Recording artist. The artist will be able to observe the training and capture the key themes and critical ideas that emerge. Trainees will be able to walk away with an amazing visual piece that anchors the most important portions of the training.
• Team Workshops – Similar to training events, any team workshop can be enhanced with live sketching. The live sketch artist will watch the workshop unfold, capturing the most salient moments, key learnings and important takeaways. Workshop participants will see the output of their workshop visualized in the output of the live artist.
• Trade Shows – A trade show is prime opportunity to leverage live sketching. What better way to draw an audience into a booth than with a live artist. At a trade show, the live artist can capture aspects of the product, company or brand, interact with booth participants, or capture the key ideas from a presentation.
• Product Demos – A clever way to add flavor to a product demo is with a live sketch of the demo itself. This is an engaging addition that keep people’s attention.
• Sales Pitches – An interesting addition to a sales pitch is to incorporate live sketching as part of the pitch. This is a surefire way to make an impression and help the pitch resonate.
• Fundraisers, Auctions and Galas – Finally, charity events like fundraisers, auctions or galas are a great opportunity to incorporate live sketching. Typically, these events will feature presentations, stories, testimonials, and more, and capturing this content in the form of live sketched visuals will help the audience connect to the purpose of the event and stay engaged.

These are just a few examples of the many kinds of contexts in which live sketching can be best utilized. At the end of the day, the goal is to make these meetings, conferences, and events better. The purpose is to add value by making the content of these events understandable, memorable, shareable and actionable…and to “wow” people in the process.

COVID-19 and the Dawn of Virtual Graphic Recording/Remote Notes

As one can imagine, the COVID-19 pandemic completely disrupted world of live sketching. In a matter of weeks, every live event was completely cancelled and graphic recorders and live artists all over the world realized the severity of what was happening to their profession. What was bound to be a busy, productive spring began to look hopelessly bleak.

Thankfully, there was innovation to be done and pivots to be made.

The Sketch Effect was at the forefront of this “great pivot”, jumping immediately to retool live sketching and adapt it to a post COVID world. The result: “Remote Notes” …aka Virtual Live Sketching. This brand-new service was about to take the virtual world by storm and add immense value to the “new normal” of online events, webinars, and webcasts.

Ok, we are going to let you in on a little secret: “Remote Notes” was actually not a brand-new service. In fact, The Sketch Effect, and many others in the industry, had been offering a virtual version of live sketching for years, although this was always a peripheral offering. It always played a very second fiddle to the “OG” service of Graphic Recording.

Regardless of it’s pre-COVID history, The Sketch Effect mobilized and within days officially launched this service and began sharing it with the world. Within a matter of weeks we were working afresh with our clients on their virtual events and within months virtual live sketching became our most popular and fastest growing service in company history.

The world was hungry for an engaging, exciting and differentiating way to make virtual events better, and the Sketch Effect team of Virtual “Remote Notes” Live Artists were happy to be of service.

Remote Notes – How it works  

One of the best things about Virtual Live Sketching, or Remote Notes, is how easy it is to integrate into Virtual events, meetings and webinars. To unpack that, let’s begin with the tools most commonly used, beginning with the sketching tools and then discussing the virtual platforms.

Sketching Tools and Software

For our team at the Sketch Effect, our preferred sketching device is none other than an iPad Pro. This tablet is state of the art. For those less familiar with them, one can draw directly onto the screen of the iPad, seamlessly merging the physical act of drawing with the digital world. The actual sketching tool we use is the Apple Pencil, which is simple, straightforward, and quite effective. The Airplay feature is also extremely handy for the Live Artist when it comes to screencasting onto another device. Another great sketching option that our team will use from time to time is a Wacom Cintiq. This is a digital drawing monitor, which is connected to a computer. This tool is also state of the art, although bulkier and far less mobile.

Our preferred sketching software is ProCreate, which is available on iOS and other operating systems. ProCreate is fantastic for live sketching. It is an elegant program, user-friendly, intuitive, and uncomplicated…in a good way. It has tons of shortcuts and features which enhance the sketching process resulting in better, higher quality final deliverables. The ability to work in layers, copy, cut and paste, and adjust text, color and images give our Live Artists endless options that are unavailable with traditional Graphic Recording using marker and paper. ProCreate also has the ability to capture a video time-lapse of the sketching process, which makes for an especially compelling deliverable. On the Wacom Cintiq, Adobe Photoshop is our team’s preferred software, which is considered the gold standard for digital art.

Virtual Event Platforms

Although we are not a virtual event hosting company, we have learned a thing or two about virtual event platforms. The good news is that Virtual Live Sketching can be integrated in almost all virtual event platforms, some in very dynamic ways.

Here is a quick rundown of some of the most commonly used virtual event  and streaming platforms:

• GoToMeeting
• Microsoft Teams
• Google Meet

The truth is, there are dozens and dozens of virtual event platforms for you to choose from. What matters is that you pick the one that meets the needs of your virtual event and meets your budget. There’s a wide range of functionality and production capability from platform to platform, so do your research and choose well.

As we mentioned, whatever platform you choose will likely be able to support Live Sketching, either by featuring the sketch prominently (spotlight), cutting away to the sketch from time to time (rotating spotlight), or by featuring it after the fact.

Our Process

At The Sketch Effect, we’ve worked hard to build out a simple and proven three-step process for all of our virtual engagements. To learn more about that process, click here.  

Remote Notes – Why it’s Awesome

Virtual Live Sketching, or “Remote Notes”, is an easy and straightforward way to increase the overall value of a virtual meeting, webinar, online event, or any virtual gathering where ideas and experiences are shared.

The value of virtual live sketching boils down to four main areas. To help articulate these four value propositions, we’ll begin each by discussing the associated pain point:

Virtual Live Sketching Boosts Engagement

  First of all, with virtual events, distraction is a click away. This is a major pain point of any online meeting or event. Think about it: when people are attending a meeting or event via their computer screen, then the entire universe is competing for their attention. Literally. There are millions upon millions of potentially more exciting things on the internet, and each one is just a click away. Your favorite blog is a click away. The news is a click away. Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram is a click away. Your email is a click away.

What we like to say (somewhat tongue-in-cheek) is that Virtual Live Sketching provides a “good distraction”. Virtual Live Sketching actively reinforces the ideas and content that virtual event attendees are learning, making it something valuable to look at in the moment. For those who choose to live-stream the sketching process (main spotlight), or at least feature it intermittently (rotating spotlight), the unfolding visuals are a memorizing thing to watch. There’s something magical about watching an artist create his or her art in real-time, and virtual live sketching brings this magic to a virtual event.

In summary, virtual live sketching makes online events, meetings, or webinars more engaging . To compete with the endless army of online distractions, virtual event organizers need to double down on engagement. Virtual live sketching is a great way to do that.

Virtual Live Sketching Increases Alignment

A second major pain point of virtual events is that it’s incredibly challenging to get alignment . Alignment is already difficult to achieve during a traditional in-person meeting. It’s even harder when there is a screen in the way. Misunderstandings are common. Misattribution is rife. Ideas are lost on certain people. Not everyone is on the same page.

Remote Notes addresses this head-on by literally getting people on the same page…or rather, the same sketch! Virtual Sketching documents the main ideas in real-time, allowing people to watch the content unfold as they hear it. Seeing ideas visualized helps people track with each other. This increases alignment in the moment and crystalizes the big ideas to be revisited and leveraged after the fact. By getting everyone on the same page (in sketch form), better and more effective alignment is achieved and the overall virtual meeting or event will be more successful.

Virtual Live Sketching Adds a Cool Factor

A third major pain point with virtual meetings is the “blah” factor…aka “zoom fatigue” . Unfortunately, most virtual events, meetings, and webinars are uninspiring and boring. In other words, they are just “meh”.

Now, in the very early days of the pandemic, Zoom meetings and other video conferences had a certain novelty to them. For most of us, we had never attended an online event or group video meeting, so the first few of these were fun, different, and novel. Well, it wasn’t long before the novelty wore off and virtual meetings became like most other meetings: boring, uninspiring and “blah”.

Virtual Live Sketching provides a much needed “cool factor”. It adds a level of differentiation that makes a virtual event so much more than “just another Zoom meeting”. Not every event organizer is leveraging virtual sketching (yet), so the odds are high that this would be new to many audiences.

If you want to add something cool, different, and fun…and make your audience say “wow!”, Remote Visual Notes will do the trick.

Virtual Live Sketching Makes Following-Up Easy and Effective

The fourth and final major pain point of virtual meetings has to do with how they conclude and what comes afterwards. We’ve all been there: the virtual event is wrapping up, someone formally closes it out, and one by one the attendees click the little button to “leave”. And then what? Engagement completely stops and people immediately move onto something else.

A traditional in-person meeting or event ends much differently. There’s usually a closing session after which people might hang around and mingle. Sometimes the conversations spill over into the hallway, the golf course, or the hotel bar. If folks have flown in from out of town, they might share a cab to the airport, read over their conference materials while waiting at the gate, and process what they’ve learned on the flight home. They can still taste that amazing catered meal, are humming the songs from the special musical guest, and reciting the inspiring rally cry introduced by the CCEO.

In other words, the opportunities for attendees to relive the event, discuss what they learned, and mentally process the ideas continue well after the event has formally concluded.

This is not the case with virtual events. The second someone leaves a virtual meeting, he or she is 100% gone. Unless the virtual event is absolutely mind-blowing, people move on very quickly. Because of this, effective and immediate follow-up is critical to extend engagement. So, to summarize the pain point here: effective follow-up after a virtual event is incredibly important, yet incredibly hard to do well.

The good news is that Virtual Live Sketching makes following-up easy and effective.

Take a moment to consider the typical follow-up you might receive after virtual event: Perhaps you will be emailed the slide deck, send a link to multiple video recordings of the event sessions, or sent a thick PDF document full of notes. All of these forms of follow-up serve a purpose, but they aren’t the most useful or digestible, especially to a busy professional audience.

Sketch Effect graphic recording images are colorful and captivating, fun to look at, and can be consumed in a matter of minutes. They can be easily inserted into a follow-up email, a blog post, or an event recap. As discussed earlier, optional time-lapse video versions of the sketches are an incredibly compelling form of follow-up, especially when edited up and set to music.

Once a client has the final images or videos in his or her hands, the

How to Leverage the Final Sketches  

There are endless possibilities to leverage final sketch image and time-lapse video deliverables following a virtual event, webinar or video meeting. Here are some of the most common, followed by some of the most unique.

• Included in a recap email. The most straightforward way to leverage Sketch Effect remote virtual notes is to include them as attachments in a follow-up email to event attendees. The file sizes aren’t too large and can be attached easily to an email or embedded in the text. As mentioned earlier, this is a much more digestible and fun form of follow-up when compared to the typical slide deck, PDF, or video recording. Our clients have told us that when they include the graphic recording images in follow-up emails, open rates for those emails go way up.
• Used in a follow-up report . If you are putting together a follow-up report, what better way to recap the big ideas and main themes than by included the sketched visuals produced by The Sketch Effect.
• Used to market and promote future events. If your event is a public event or a ticketed event, and you plan to host future events like it, then the live sketches are a fantastic way to market and promote it. The sketches will grab people’s attention and give those who didn’t attend an idea of what they missed. Use the images to drive awareness and increase registrations.
• Featured in social media. Most social media channels are visuals-based, and sketched images make for great content.
• Used as blog content. Similar to social media, virtual live sketches can be easily used in a blog post or article, either to complement the post or as the point of the post altogether.
• Used as b-roll content in a recap video. If you’re making a recap video or sizzle reel of your virtual event, live sketches (especially in time-lapse video form) make for great b-roll content.
• Printed and shared via snail mail. In a highly virtual age, sometimes it’s so nice to receive something physical in the mail. We have had numerous clients get their Sketch Effect images printed out on nice paper and mailed out to their event attendees. It’s incredibly fun to open a piece of mail that’s full of the creative sketches that came out of the recent virtual event they attended. It’s a great way to bridge the virtual/physical divide.
• Printed and framed and used as gifts. Similarly, the sketches make for great gifts when printed and framed. These gifts can be sent to keynote speakers, hosts, onscreen talent, or anyone who played a key role in your virtual event. If you are bringing in outside speakers to share, surprise
• Printed, framed and hung in an office or team space. If you have empty walls in your office and are looking for something visually appealing yet meaningful to spice things up, a framed graphic recording sketch is a great idea. You can frame several from the same event or series of events and have a sort of “gallery” exhibition!
• Used as a company-wide screen saver. One of our clients came up with this creative idea! They made it so that every employee’s laptop computer, when in screen-saver mode, cycled between the sketches that came out of the last company-wide meeting. This is a very clever way to reinforce the big ideas and important themes from that event.
• [Insert your clever idea here] Do you have a great idea for how to leverage the sketch output from your virtual event? Let us know!

As you can see, there are tons of ways to leverage the remote visual notes output from your virtual event. At the end of the day, the goal with these sketched summaries is to add value to an event or meeting and extend the engagement as long as possible. Even after your virtual event or webinar has concluded, the graphic recording deliverables keep adding value and keep the ideas and experiences top of mind for attendees.

In summary, visual communication is incredibly powerful. It is in our DNA and has been used for thousands upon thousands of years to communicate ideas, engage an audience, and inspire action.

When it comes to virtual meetings and events, Live Sketching with the Sketch Effect is an incredible way to harness the power of visual learning to make meetings and events more effective.

With live sketching, audiences will be more engaged. Teams will be more aligned. Participants will be mesmerized and excited to see the creative visuals unfold. Instead of yawning, people will be wowed. The follow-up will be quick to digest, enjoyable and actionable.

The world has enough lame virtual events.

Virtual Live Sketching with the Sketch Effect will make your next Virtual Event better .

It will make your next Virtual Event your best virtual event.

Learn more about Virtual Graphic Recording

Don’t think graphic recording is the fight fit your ner needs? Consider video animation to enhance your communication efforts.

Let´s Talk!

“Having artists from The Sketch Effect at our onboarding programs has been a huge hit! The learners love seeing their conversations and work come to life through the sketches the artists create. They feel “heard” and that their contributions are validated. And as a result, they engage more. The sketches have great uses following the programs, too! They can be used in communications and marketing of future events. The team was easy to work with and they made the whole experience fun for everyone.”

Ernie Brescia

Sr. Manager, Design & Development Studio

Book an In-Person Graphic Recorder Today

Book a virtual graphic recorder today, let's talk.

“Our animated video with the Sketch Effect turned out wonderfully and we were very happy with the entire process. It was great working with the Sketch Effect team – they really understood the assignment and our goals for this communication effort! We launched the video to the entire Staff and have been receiving compliments ever since! As our work in this space continues, I’m sure we will be back in touch for more animation projects with The Sketch Effect.”

De’Johna S. Council

Corporate Legal Chik-fil-A, Inc.

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Blog Graphic Design

15 Effective Visual Presentation Tips To Wow Your Audience

By Krystle Wong , Sep 28, 2023

So, you’re gearing up for that big presentation and you want it to be more than just another snooze-fest with slides. You want it to be engaging, memorable and downright impressive. 

Well, you’ve come to the right place — I’ve got some slick tips on how to create a visual presentation that’ll take your presentation game up a notch. 

Packed with presentation templates that are easily customizable, keep reading this blog post to learn the secret sauce behind crafting presentations that captivate, inform and remain etched in the memory of your audience.

Click to jump ahead:

What is a visual presentation & why is it important?

15 effective tips to make your visual presentations more engaging, 6 major types of visual presentation you should know , what are some common mistakes to avoid in visual presentations, visual presentation faqs, 5 steps to create a visual presentation with venngage.

A visual presentation is a communication method that utilizes visual elements such as images, graphics, charts, slides and other visual aids to convey information, ideas or messages to an audience. 

Visual presentations aim to enhance comprehension engagement and the overall impact of the message through the strategic use of visuals. People remember what they see, making your point last longer in their heads. 

Without further ado, let’s jump right into some great visual presentation examples that would do a great job in keeping your audience interested and getting your point across.

In today’s fast-paced world, where information is constantly bombarding our senses, creating engaging visual presentations has never been more crucial. To help you design a presentation that’ll leave a lasting impression, I’ve compiled these examples of visual presentations that will elevate your game.

1. Use the rule of thirds for layout

Ever heard of the rule of thirds? It’s a presentation layout trick that can instantly up your slide game. Imagine dividing your slide into a 3×3 grid and then placing your text and visuals at the intersection points or along the lines. This simple tweak creates a balanced and seriously pleasing layout that’ll draw everyone’s eyes.

2. Get creative with visual metaphors

Got a complex idea to explain? Skip the jargon and use visual metaphors. Throw in images that symbolize your point – for example, using a road map to show your journey towards a goal or using metaphors to represent answer choices or progress indicators in an interactive quiz or poll.

3. Visualize your data with charts and graphs

The right data visualization tools not only make content more appealing but also aid comprehension and retention. Choosing the right visual presentation for your data is all about finding a good match. 

For ordinal data, where things have a clear order, consider using ordered bar charts or dot plots. When it comes to nominal data, where categories are on an equal footing, stick with the classics like bar charts, pie charts or simple frequency tables. And for interval-ratio data, where there’s a meaningful order, go for histograms, line graphs, scatterplots or box plots to help your data shine.

In an increasingly visual world, effective visual communication is a valuable skill for conveying messages. Here’s a guide on how to use visual communication to engage your audience while avoiding information overload.

4. Employ the power of contrast

Want your important stuff to pop? That’s where contrast comes in. Mix things up with contrasting colors, fonts or shapes. It’s like highlighting your key points with a neon marker – an instant attention grabber.

5. Tell a visual story

Structure your slides like a storybook and create a visual narrative by arranging your slides in a way that tells a story. Each slide should flow into the next, creating a visual narrative that keeps your audience hooked till the very end.

Icons and images are essential for adding visual appeal and clarity to your presentation. Venngage provides a vast library of icons and images, allowing you to choose visuals that resonate with your audience and complement your message. 

6. Show the “before and after” magic

Want to drive home the impact of your message or solution? Whip out the “before and after” technique. Show the current state (before) and the desired state (after) in a visual way. It’s like showing a makeover transformation, but for your ideas.

7. Add fun with visual quizzes and polls

To break the monotony and see if your audience is still with you, throw in some quick quizzes or polls. It’s like a mini-game break in your presentation — your audience gets involved and it makes your presentation way more dynamic and memorable.

8. End with a powerful visual punch

Your presentation closing should be a showstopper. Think a stunning clip art that wraps up your message with a visual bow, a killer quote that lingers in minds or a call to action that gets hearts racing.

9. Engage with storytelling through data

Use storytelling magic to bring your data to life. Don’t just throw numbers at your audience—explain what they mean, why they matter and add a bit of human touch. Turn those stats into relatable tales and watch your audience’s eyes light up with understanding.

10. Use visuals wisely

Your visuals are the secret sauce of a great presentation. Cherry-pick high-quality images, graphics, charts and videos that not only look good but also align with your message’s vibe. Each visual should have a purpose – they’re not just there for decoration. 

11. Utilize visual hierarchy

Employ design principles like contrast, alignment and proximity to make your key info stand out. Play around with fonts, colors and placement to make sure your audience can’t miss the important stuff.

12. Engage with multimedia

Static slides are so last year. Give your presentation some sizzle by tossing in multimedia elements. Think short video clips, animations, or a touch of sound when it makes sense, including an animated logo . But remember, these are sidekicks, not the main act, so use them smartly.

13. Interact with your audience

Turn your presentation into a two-way street. Start your presentation by encouraging your audience to join in with thought-provoking questions, quick polls or using interactive tools. Get them chatting and watch your presentation come alive.

When it comes to delivering a group presentation, it’s important to have everyone on the team on the same page. Venngage’s real-time collaboration tools enable you and your team to work together seamlessly, regardless of geographical locations. Collaborators can provide input, make edits and offer suggestions in real time. 

14. Incorporate stories and examples

Weave in relatable stories, personal anecdotes or real-life examples to illustrate your points. It’s like adding a dash of spice to your content – it becomes more memorable and relatable.

15. Nail that delivery

Don’t just stand there and recite facts like a robot — be a confident and engaging presenter. Lock eyes with your audience, mix up your tone and pace and use some gestures to drive your points home. Practice and brush up your presentation skills until you’ve got it down pat for a persuasive presentation that flows like a pro.

Venngage offers a wide selection of professionally designed presentation templates, each tailored for different purposes and styles. By choosing a template that aligns with your content and goals, you can create a visually cohesive and polished presentation that captivates your audience.

Looking for more presentation ideas ? Why not try using a presentation software that will take your presentations to the next level with a combination of user-friendly interfaces, stunning visuals, collaboration features and innovative functionalities that will take your presentations to the next level. 

Visual presentations come in various formats, each uniquely suited to convey information and engage audiences effectively. Here are six major types of visual presentations that you should be familiar with:

1. Slideshows or PowerPoint presentations

Slideshows are one of the most common forms of visual presentations. They typically consist of a series of slides containing text, images, charts, graphs and other visual elements. Slideshows are used for various purposes, including business presentations, educational lectures and conference talks.

2. Infographics

Infographics are visual representations of information, data or knowledge. They combine text, images and graphics to convey complex concepts or data in a concise and visually appealing manner. Infographics are often used in marketing, reporting and educational materials.

Don’t worry, they are also super easy to create thanks to Venngage’s fully customizable infographics templates that are professionally designed to bring your information to life. Be sure to try it out for your next visual presentation!

3. Video presentation

Videos are your dynamic storytellers. Whether it’s pre-recorded or happening in real-time, videos are the showstoppers. You can have interviews, demos, animations or even your own mini-documentary. Video presentations are highly engaging and can be shared in both in-person and virtual presentations .

4. Charts and graphs

Charts and graphs are visual representations of data that make it easier to understand and analyze numerical information. Common types include bar charts, line graphs, pie charts and scatterplots. They are commonly used in scientific research, business reports and academic presentations.

Effective data visualizations are crucial for simplifying complex information and Venngage has got you covered. Venngage’s tools enable you to create engaging charts, graphs,and infographics that enhance audience understanding and retention, leaving a lasting impression in your presentation.

5. Interactive presentations

Interactive presentations involve audience participation and engagement. These can include interactive polls, quizzes, games and multimedia elements that allow the audience to actively participate in the presentation. Interactive presentations are often used in workshops, training sessions and webinars.

Venngage’s interactive presentation tools enable you to create immersive experiences that leave a lasting impact and enhance audience retention. By incorporating features like clickable elements, quizzes and embedded multimedia, you can captivate your audience’s attention and encourage active participation.

6. Poster presentations

Poster presentations are the stars of the academic and research scene. They consist of a large poster that includes text, images and graphics to communicate research findings or project details and are usually used at conferences and exhibitions. For more poster ideas, browse through Venngage’s gallery of poster templates to inspire your next presentation.

Different visual presentations aside, different presentation methods also serve a unique purpose, tailored to specific objectives and audiences. Find out which type of presentation works best for the message you are sending across to better capture attention, maintain interest and leave a lasting impression. 

To make a good presentation , it’s crucial to be aware of common mistakes and how to avoid them. Without further ado, let’s explore some of these pitfalls along with valuable insights on how to sidestep them.

Overloading slides with text

Text heavy slides can be like trying to swallow a whole sandwich in one bite – overwhelming and unappetizing. Instead, opt for concise sentences and bullet points to keep your slides simple. Visuals can help convey your message in a more engaging way.

Using low-quality visuals

Grainy images and pixelated charts are the equivalent of a scratchy vinyl record at a DJ party. High-resolution visuals are your ticket to professionalism. Ensure that the images, charts and graphics you use are clear, relevant and sharp.

Choosing the right visuals for presentations is important. To find great visuals for your visual presentation, Browse Venngage’s extensive library of high-quality stock photos. These images can help you convey your message effectively, evoke emotions and create a visually pleasing narrative. 

Ignoring design consistency

Imagine a book with every chapter in a different font and color – it’s a visual mess. Consistency in fonts, colors and formatting throughout your presentation is key to a polished and professional look.

Reading directly from slides

Reading your slides word-for-word is like inviting your audience to a one-person audiobook session. Slides should complement your speech, not replace it. Use them as visual aids, offering key points and visuals to support your narrative.

Lack of visual hierarchy

Neglecting visual hierarchy is like trying to find Waldo in a crowd of clones. Use size, color and positioning to emphasize what’s most important. Guide your audience’s attention to key points so they don’t miss the forest for the trees.

Ignoring accessibility

Accessibility isn’t an option these days; it’s a must. Forgetting alt text for images, color contrast and closed captions for videos can exclude individuals with disabilities from understanding your presentation. 

Relying too heavily on animation

While animations can add pizzazz and draw attention, overdoing it can overshadow your message. Use animations sparingly and with purpose to enhance, not detract from your content.

Using jargon and complex language

Keep it simple. Use plain language and explain terms when needed. You want your message to resonate, not leave people scratching their heads.

Not testing interactive elements

Interactive elements can be the life of your whole presentation, but not testing them beforehand is like jumping into a pool without checking if there’s water. Ensure that all interactive features, from live polls to multimedia content, work seamlessly. A smooth experience keeps your audience engaged and avoids those awkward technical hiccups.

Presenting complex data and information in a clear and visually appealing way has never been easier with Venngage. Build professional-looking designs with our free visual chart slide templates for your next presentation.

What software or tools can I use to create visual presentations?

You can use various software and tools to create visual presentations, including Microsoft PowerPoint, Google Slides, Adobe Illustrator, Canva, Prezi and Venngage, among others.

What is the difference between a visual presentation and a written report?

The main difference between a visual presentation and a written report is the medium of communication. Visual presentations rely on visuals, such as slides, charts and images to convey information quickly, while written reports use text to provide detailed information in a linear format.

How do I effectively communicate data through visual presentations?

To effectively communicate data through visual presentations, simplify complex data into easily digestible charts and graphs, use clear labels and titles and ensure that your visuals support the key messages you want to convey.

Are there any accessibility considerations for visual presentations?

Accessibility considerations for visual presentations include providing alt text for images, ensuring good color contrast, using readable fonts and providing transcripts or captions for multimedia content to make the presentation inclusive.

Most design tools today make accessibility hard but Venngage’s Accessibility Design Tool comes with accessibility features baked in, including accessible-friendly and inclusive icons.

How do I choose the right visuals for my presentation?

Choose visuals that align with your content and message. Use charts for data, images for illustrating concepts, icons for emphasis and color to evoke emotions or convey themes.

What is the role of storytelling in visual presentations?

Storytelling plays a crucial role in visual presentations by providing a narrative structure that engages the audience, helps them relate to the content and makes the information more memorable.

How can I adapt my visual presentations for online or virtual audiences?

To adapt visual presentations for online or virtual audiences, focus on concise content, use engaging visuals, ensure clear audio, encourage audience interaction through chat or polls and rehearse for a smooth online delivery.

What is the role of data visualization in visual presentations?

Data visualization in visual presentations simplifies complex data by using charts, graphs and diagrams, making it easier for the audience to understand and interpret information.

How do I choose the right color scheme and fonts for my visual presentation?

Choose a color scheme that aligns with your content and brand and select fonts that are readable and appropriate for the message you want to convey.

How can I measure the effectiveness of my visual presentation?

Measure the effectiveness of your visual presentation by collecting feedback from the audience, tracking engagement metrics (e.g., click-through rates for online presentations) and evaluating whether the presentation achieved its intended objectives.

Ultimately, creating a memorable visual presentation isn’t just about throwing together pretty slides. It’s about mastering the art of making your message stick, captivating your audience and leaving a mark.

Lucky for you, Venngage simplifies the process of creating great presentations, empowering you to concentrate on delivering a compelling message. Follow the 5 simple steps below to make your entire presentation visually appealing and impactful:

1. Sign up and log In: Log in to your Venngage account or sign up for free and gain access to Venngage’s templates and design tools.

2. Choose a template: Browse through Venngage’s presentation template library and select one that best suits your presentation’s purpose and style. Venngage offers a variety of pre-designed templates for different types of visual presentations, including infographics, reports, posters and more.

3. Edit and customize your template: Replace the placeholder text, image and graphics with your own content and customize the colors, fonts and visual elements to align with your presentation’s theme or your organization’s branding.

4. Add visual elements: Venngage offers a wide range of visual elements, such as icons, illustrations, charts, graphs and images, that you can easily add to your presentation with the user-friendly drag-and-drop editor.

5. Save and export your presentation: Export your presentation in a format that suits your needs and then share it with your audience via email, social media or by embedding it on your website or blog .

So, as you gear up for your next presentation, whether it’s for business, education or pure creative expression, don’t forget to keep these visual presentation ideas in your back pocket.

Feel free to experiment and fine-tune your approach and let your passion and expertise shine through in your presentation. With practice, you’ll not only build presentations but also leave a lasting impact on your audience – one slide at a time.

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• Carmine Gallo

Five tips to set yourself apart.

Never underestimate the power of great communication. It can help you land the job of your dreams, attract investors to back your idea, or elevate your stature within your organization. But while there are plenty of good speakers in the world, you can set yourself apart out by being the person who can deliver something great over and over. Here are a few tips for business professionals who want to move from being good speakers to great ones: be concise (the fewer words, the better); never use bullet points (photos and images paired together are more memorable); don’t underestimate the power of your voice (raise and lower it for emphasis); give your audience something extra (unexpected moments will grab their attention); rehearse (the best speakers are the best because they practice — a lot).

I was sitting across the table from a Silicon Valley CEO who had pioneered a technology that touches many of our lives — the flash memory that stores data on smartphones, digital cameras, and computers. He was a frequent guest on CNBC and had been delivering business presentations for at least 20 years before we met. And yet, the CEO wanted to sharpen his public speaking skills.

• Carmine Gallo is a Harvard University instructor, keynote speaker, and author of 10 books translated into 40 languages. Gallo is the author of The Bezos Blueprint: Communication Secrets of the World’s Greatest Salesman  (St. Martin’s Press).

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Working Drawings: Understanding their importance

• Updated: April 18, 2024

What are working drawing?

Working drawings, also known as construction drawings , serve as a common language between architects, engineers, contractors, and other stakeholders in a construction project.

They are a comprehensive set of documents that provide detailed, graphical representations of a building’s or structure’s components.

The primary purpose of working drawings is to illustrate how a structure should be built, providing a clear and concise guide for construction teams.

From the blueprint of a small home renovation to the detailed schematics of a towering skyscraper, these drawings are crucial to the execution of any construction project.

They are a manifestation of the creativity and vision of the architect or designer and serve as the roadmap for the contractor and their team.

Working drawings contain essential information about the size, shape, and location of all parts of the building, as well as the type of materials to be used.

In essence, working drawings ensure that everyone involved in a project shares a unified understanding of what is to be built, preventing costly errors and misinterpretations. They translate the design concept into construction-ready format, transforming ideas into reality.

In this article, we will delve into the intricate world of working drawings, exploring their types, components, preparation process, and the challenges that come with them.

Advantages of working drawings

Working drawings are a critical part of the design and construction process and offer several advantages:

• Detail-Oriented: They are the most detailed and specific type of construction documents. They provide intricate details of all parts of the building, down to the smallest components, to guide builders and artisans accurately.
• Clear Communication: These drawings help to communicate the design intent clearly and concisely among all parties involved in a project. They enable architects, engineers, contractors, and even clients to visualize the project in the same manner.
• Code Compliance: They are crucial to ensure that a project is in compliance with local building codes and regulations. They demonstrate how a project adheres to these rules, which is important for obtaining building permits and avoiding legal issues.
• Cost Estimation: They’re used to estimate the cost of the project accurately. They provide detailed specifications that help in determining the amount and type of materials required, labor costs, and other related expenses .
• Reduction of Errors: By providing explicit instructions and precise measurements, working drawings help reduce errors during construction, leading to cost and time savings. They also help avoid potential conflicts and misunderstandings during the construction process.
• Quality Assurance: They serve as a reference for quality control during the construction process. The detailed plans and sections help to verify that the building is being constructed as per the design, ensuring that the final product aligns with the initial vision.
• Contractual Document: Lastly, working drawings also serve as a part of the contractual documents between the client and the contractor. They define the scope of work, which can be helpful in resolving disputes if any arise during the project.

Types of Working Drawings

Working drawings can be classified into several types, each serving a unique purpose and containing detailed instructions specific to an aspect of a project. Here are the key types of working drawings:

Architectural Drawings:

Or general arrangement drawings (GA’s) are the foundation of all construction projects. These drawings provide a detailed representation of the overall design of the building.

They typically include floor plans, elevations, sections, and details that describe the location, geometry, and other details of all architectural elements of the building.

This might include structural and constructional details, the type and texture of the building material to be used, and even the style of windows and doors.

Structural Drawings:

Structural drawings are essential for specifying the framework of a building, such as the concrete framework, beams, columns, and foundations.

These drawings provide comprehensive details about the load-bearing structures, including dimensions, material types, and sizes.

Structural drawings can include foundation plans, framing plans, and detailed sections and are critical for ensuring the stability and safety of a building.

Electrical Drawings:

These drawings are used to layout and install the electrical systems within the building. Electrical drawings would include the location of outlets, fixtures, switches, and the route of circuitry connecting these elements.

They also provide details on the electrical load of different appliances and how they should be distributed across various circuits.

Plumbing and Sanitary Drawings:

These drawings show the design of the building’s water supply and waste disposal system. They depict the details of fixtures like sinks, toilets, bathtubs, and the path of the water supply and drainage pipes.

It also includes specifications for pipe sizes and materials, and the location of shut-off valves.

Other Specific Types of Drawings:

There are many other types of working drawings that are specific to particular disciplines or project requirements. For example, HVAC drawings provide details on the heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems, including ductwork, vent locations, and equipment details.

Similarly, fire protection drawings outline the layout and details of fire alarm systems, sprinkler systems, and emergency exits.

Each type of working drawing contributes to a holistic understanding of the project and ensures that all stakeholders have the detailed information they need to execute their parts of the project accurately and efficiently.

Components of Working Drawings

Elevations – Elevations provide a vertical view of the structure. They illustrate the height of the building, the position and size of windows, doors, and other architectural features.

Elevation drawings can offer four perspectives: front, rear, and both sides, providing a comprehensive view of the building’s exterior.

Floor Plans – Floor plans provide a top-down view of each floor in the building. They indicate the layout of rooms, corridors, staircases, and the placement of furniture. They also specify the placement of windows, doors, and large appliances. Floor plans are fundamental to understanding the flow and functionality of spaces within the building.

Foundation Plans – Foundation plans detail the footing, column locations, foundation walls, and other elements that provide structural integrity to the building.

These plans also indicate the type of foundation system, such as slab-on-grade, crawl space, or basement. They offer crucial information for the building’s initial construction stages.

Section Views – Section views , or cross-sections, offer a ‘cut-through’ perspective of the building. They are particularly useful in demonstrating the relationship between different levels of a building.

They provide details about construction materials, floor-to-floor heights, roofing details, and wall assembly .

Roof Framing Plans – Roof framing plans detail the design of the roof structure. They specify the type of roofing materials, the pitch of the roof, locations of gutters, downspouts, and the design and placement of trusses or rafters.

Electrical Plans – Electrical plans show the placement of outlets, fixtures, and switches, as well as the routing of circuits. They detail the locations of light fixtures, power outlets, wired devices, and electrical system layouts.

These drawings ensure the correct installation and safety of electrical components.

Construction and Architectural Details – Detailed drawings zoom in on particular areas or components of the building, providing more information than can be seen in the broader views. These can include window details, door details, eave details, staircase details, and more.

These drawings offer a close-up view of how different elements will connect and be constructed in real life, serving as a vital reference for both the design and construction teams.

The Process of Preparing Working Drawings

Creating working drawings is typically a collaborative process involving architects, engineers, and sometimes specialized drafters. The responsibility for preparing these drawings is usually assigned to the professional most suitable for each type of drawing.

For instance, architects primarily handle architectural drawings, structural engineers tackle structural drawings, and so on.

The process of preparing working drawings typically begins after the preliminary design has been finalized and approved, serving as a critical bridge between design and execution phases.

Use of CAD and BIM in Preparing Working Drawings

Computer-Aided Design (CAD) and Building Information Modeling (BIM) have revolutionized the process of preparing working drawings. CAD enables drafters to create 2D or 3D graphical representations of physical objects, while BIM extends this capacity by incorporating information about a building’s characteristics and functionality.

Programs like AutoCAD and Revit are widely used in this process. They not only increase accuracy and efficiency but also facilitate easier changes and corrections.

Importance of Compliance with Industry Standards and Building Codes

One of the essential aspects of preparing working drawings is ensuring compliance with industry standards and building codes. These include regulations regarding safety, environmental impact, accessibility, and other essential factors.

A well-prepared working drawing will adhere to all these requirements, providing a clear roadmap for builders to follow. Any deviation from these codes and standards can lead to legal complications, increased costs, and potential project delays.

While preparing these drawings, it’s also crucial to consider practical aspects such as the ease of construction and materials availability. Careful attention to such details will ensure a smooth construction process and ultimately lead to a successful project outcome.

Challenges and Common Issues in Working Drawings

Coordination among these professionals is crucial to ensure that the information provided in the drawings is consistent and coherent. Without effective communication, discrepancies might occur leading to unnecessary revisions, delays, and increased costs.

Errors and Omissions – Despite the precision tools and technologies available today, errors and omissions in working drawings are still a common issue. This can be due to human error, miscommunication, or lack of understanding of the project requirements.

Such errors can lead to serious consequences including incorrect construction, wasted materials, time delays, and increased expenses.

Information Accessibility – Often, the data included in the working drawings is complex and dense. It can be challenging for non-specialists, including clients and some contractors, to interpret the drawings accurately.

This can lead to misunderstandings and incorrect implementations. Hence, there is a need for clear and accessible presentation of information in these drawings.

Presentation Issues – Working drawings need to communicate a great deal of information in a concise and clear manner. However, poor presentation can lead to confusion and misinterpretation.

This includes unclear labeling, improper scaling, or overcrowded details. It is important to maintain a balance between providing all necessary details and keeping the drawings readable and understandable.

Use of Outdated Information – In the dynamic field of construction, building codes, standards, and technologies are constantly evolving. There’s a risk that professionals might use outdated information while preparing working drawings.

This could result in non-compliance with the latest codes and standards, leading to legal issues, safety risks, and the potential need for costly revisions.

In order to mitigate these common issues, thorough checking procedures, effective communication, continuous learning, and proper use of technology should be prioritized by the teams responsible for creating working drawings.

Working Drawings vs Shop Drawings

Working Drawings and Shop Drawings are both essential components in the construction process, but they serve different functions and are utilized by different parties in the project.

Working Drawings:

• Definition: Working drawings, also known as construction drawings, are comprehensive, detailed sets of plans that provide instructions on how to construct a building. They are prepared by architects and engineers and typically include site plans, floor plans, elevations, sections, and details.
• Purpose: Their main purpose is to communicate the design intent of the architect or designer to the contractor and workers on site. They are used as a guide for the construction process.
• Content: These drawings are more detailed than preliminary sketches, as they show every part of the project in detail, specifying the location, dimension, type of materials, finishes, and more.

Shop Drawings:

• Definition: Shop drawings are a subset of the working drawings, prepared by contractors, manufacturers, suppliers, or fabricators. They provide more detailed information about individual components that need to be manufactured or fabricated, such as custom cabinetry, windows, doors, or equipment.
• Purpose: They are mainly used to explain how a specific part of the project will be produced or installed. They detail the specifics of the material, fabrication, sizing, and installation of components.
• Content: Shop drawings are generally more detailed than working drawings, providing a deeper level of detail about the fabrication or installation of specific components. These drawings often include specific measurements, manufacturing conventions, and sometimes even exact product specifications .

In a nutshell, working drawings provide an overview of the entire construction process, while shop drawings zoom in on the details of specific elements or components.

Both types of drawings are crucial for the successful completion of a project, but they are used by different stakeholders at different stages of the project.

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What is the purpose of a presentation drawing?

Table of Contents

• 1 What is the purpose of a presentation drawing?
• 2 What is the benefit of freehand drawing?
• 3 Why are visuals so important?
• 4 What is a purpose of working drawing?
• 5 Are there any health benefits to drawing and painting?

Another type of drawing is a presentation drawing. The purpose is to describe the design. Generally, presentation drawings are shown to clients during the design process. While in school, these drawings are presented to instructors and classmates.

Why are visuals important in presentations?

In summary Visual aids are worth including in your presentations because they can help you explain information more coherently which makes presenting easier for you and learning easier for the audience. They also help add variety to your presentation thus making it more interesting for the audience.

What does presentation drawing mean?

Any of a set of design drawings made to articulate and communicate a design concept or proposal; such as for an exhibition, review, or publication.

What is the benefit of freehand drawing?

Freehand drawing enables visualization of an idea in the form of a sketch. It is also a universal language designers use to communicate with other participants of a project. That is why freehand drawing ought to be an inherent element of a design process, especially in the first conceptual phase.

What is the difference between presentation drawing and working drawing?

Presentation drawings Drawings intended to explain a scheme and to promote its merits. Working drawings may include tones or hatches to emphasize different materials, but they are diagrams, not intended to appear realistic.

What do architects use to draw plans?

For architects, AutoCAD is primarily used as a 2D drawing tool for creating floor plans, elevations, and sections. The software speeds up the drawing process with pre-built objects like walls, doors, and windows that behave like real-world objects.

Why are visuals so important?

Visual communication helps the audience understand the information. It increases the comprehension of the subject matter. Types of two-dimensional images which aid communication include drawings, pie charts, animation, signs, typography, graphic designs, among many others.

Why is it important to use color when preparing a presentation?

Why is it important to use color when preparing a presentation aid? Color adds visual interest to your aid. Most members of an audience are used to colored media; black and white is considered “boring”. A manipulative aid is any presentation aid that the speaker actively changes during the course of the speech.

What is in working drawing?

Working drawings and specifications are the primary working documents used by a contractor to bid and execute a project. Specifications are the written documents that go with the construction documents and describe the materials as well as the installation methods.

What is a purpose of working drawing?

The primary role or function of working drawings is to convert design data into construction information and to clearly communicate that information to building industry, code officials, product manufacturers, suppliers and fabricators.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of drawing?

Why are drawings important in the design process?

Are there any health benefits to drawing and painting?

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