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25 Important Design Elements for Designers

Posted on by richmond

Every industry has its own set of jargons—even design. While having a so-called “eye for design” can help you go a long way, it’s not enough to cut the mustard. There are still some basic principles to follow and adhere to in order to achieve a certain credibility in the field. Before you can become a master of design, there are fundamental principles that you need to learn first. Design is as much a skill as a raw talent, after all.
You may be a natural artist who simply has a knack for creativity, but sometimes, that’s not enough, especially if the industry you’re trying to permeate is graphic design. There are conventions in this industry that you need to study in order to create useful and valuable artworks. Don’t get this wrong—you can certainly start random projects and find an audience for it afterwards. But if you want to become a prominent figure in the competitive design market, you need to study the game first to be one of the best.

The Importance of Design Elements

Art cannot exist without the pieces that comprise it, whether they be simple or otherwise. What lend a work of art an identity are the different elements that bring it to life. Those same elements set a convention through which a design enthusiast can appreciate or judge the beauty of an art form.
Another reason why the different elements of design are important is that they form a system around which the language of design revolve. Without these, art appreciation cannot be possible. To illustrate, imagine being asked to assess a work of art. If you don’t understand how design elements work, you’d be limited to making vague observations. However, if you’re well-spoken in this department, you’ll be able to express exactly which aspects of the design works or not.
The elements of design are important in so many levels. That’s why every designer and design enthusiast should strive to master them.
25 Important Design Elements for Designers

Resources:

Copperman, Amy. “8 Basic Principles of Design to Help You Create Awesome Graphics.” Adobe Spark. July 27, 2016. spark.adobe.com/blog/2016/07/27/8-basic-design-principles-to-help-you-create-better-graphics
Hortin, Anthony. “The 5 Basic Principles of Design.” Maddison Designs. March 27, 2009. maddisondesigns.com/2009/03/the-5-basic-principles-of-design
Taheri, Maryam. “10 Basic Elements of Design.” Creative Market. May 27, 2016. creativemarket.com/blog/10-basic-elements-of-design
Wong, Yoon Sann. “Graphic Designers: Cheat Sheets That Simplify Design Elements, Print Terms, More.” Design Taxi. September 2, 2016. designtaxi.com/news/388239/Graphic-Designers-Cheat-Sheets-That-Simplify-Design-Elements-Print-Terms-More

PowerPoint Keyboard Shortcuts for Presenters

Posted on by richmond

Has it ever happened to you that, when crafting slides for a great presentation, you’ve got multiple objects to select, copy, paste, move, etc. And working with your mouse is slowly but surely becoming tedious, exhausting, and time-consuming? To be fair, it’s not limited to just PowerPoint.
In almost every program on desktop, and even the operating systems (Windows and Mac) themselves, there are specific sequences and/or combinations of keyboard presses that correspond to functions and commands, called keyboard shortcuts.
Ever wondered what the keys on the bottom row are for, specifically the Ctrl (Control) and Alt (Alternate) keys? They’re integral to keyboard shortcuts. If it’s not Ctrl plus a key, then it’s Alt plus another key—or both Ctrl and Alt. To give you an example, if you’re a Windows user, then you’re familiar with the desktop shortcut “Alt + Tab” for cascading through different active windows/open programs. There’s “Ctrl + Alt + Del” as well, opening a Securities Options menu where you can choose Task Manager, among other things.
In short, keyboard shortcuts give you access to functions that are usually hard to access by mouse. But they don’t stop there. If efficiency didn’t cross your mind the first time you read the phrase “keyboard shortcuts,” since they make a certain number of functions faster to do, then how about health?
Repetitive strain injury (RSI) has been linked with too much computer mouse use. Although extended keyboard use has also been linked to RSI, an average person uses the mouse more than a keyboard. At least with keyboard shortcuts, you’re balancing your use of both computer accessories with less risks involved.
Now, when creating those enticing slides, what shortcuts are available to you? Check this gifographic to learn what you can train yourself to use and share with your presentation friends. You can bet that experienced presentation designers and public speakers use the hotkeys below to help them go through their PowerPoint files quicker and better.

Knowing Which PowerPoint Keyboard Shortcuts Can Help You Out

Resources:

Jones, Steven C. “Computer Work Postures and Injury: The Stress of Reaching for the Mouse, a Doctor’s Perspective.” Business Know-How. n.d. www.businessknowhow.com/manage/computer-mouse-injuries.htm
Klosowski, Thorin. “Back to Basics: Learn to Use Keyboard Shortcuts Like a Ninja.” Lifehacker. December 20, 2012. www.lifehacker.com/5970089/back-to-the-basics-learn-to-use-keyboard-shortcuts-like-a-ninja
“5 Reasons Why You Should Be Using Keyboard Shortcuts.” Shortcut Keys. n.d. www.shortcutkeys.net/why-use-shortcuts

2017 Checklist: What Your Business Needs to Do to Start the Year Wisely

Posted on by Rick E

It’s already the third day of 2017. My, how time flies, doesn’t it? With the new year, though, how much have you done? Or, perhaps, a better question would be, “How far are you willing to go this year?”

Past the fireworks and new year’s feast lies an unknown. The uncertainty of the future. But then again, it’s a brand-new start… isn’t it? Blank slate, anyone?

New beginnings can be looked at in a myriad of ways: positively, negatively, pragmatically, stoically, and so on. If you’re one who holds new years in a high note, then you’re sure to hope for the best in 2017—like the past years as they started. Others can be unconcerned, at worst be apathetic, and just go on with their daily grind. Not saying this is wrong, mind you.

No matter how you look at it, the new year is about to give another set of challenges—other chances to grow, opportunities to take, and lessons to learn. But before that, you have to be prepared for them. Check out the infographic below to know how you and your business can have a fresh start to be wiser.

Business Checklist for 2017

If you hold on to the thought that how you start your year will affect the rest it, then stop. It doesn’t work that way. Just stop. You may start the year in a good mood, but someone or something may ruin parts of it. Or the other way around: 2017 may start in a bad way, but someone or something will turn all of it around. When you begin your day, does it always stay good or bad?

And there’s the lesson there: don’t just wait for your year, or day, to be magically fixed. It’s your effort that will get you through the day or through the year.

You decide your own future. A more familiar version of that is, “Life is what you make it.” This presentation design agency made it because of hard work. You can too. “Decide my own future.” How’s that for a New Year’s resolution?

 

Resources:

Evans, Lisa. “4 Ways to Get into a Positive Mindset for the New Year.” Entrepreneur. December 18, 2013. www.entrepreneur.com/article/230427

Ratliff, Joseph. “The Myth of The New Year’s ‘Blank Slate.’” Medium. December 31, 2013. www.medium.com/challenging-the-status-quo/the-myth-of-the-new-years-blank-slate-11b342611a36#.e7dl0fmf6

Looking for creative presentations that can leverage your business? Enjoy free PowerPoint templates from SlideStore! Sign up today.

Season of Giving: Making Your Audience Happier with Gifts

Posted on by Rick E

Ah, the Yuletide season. Nothing like the cold winter nights, all snuggled up in a blanket and drinking hot chocolate or eggnog—or any hot drink at all. Perhaps alone, if you so choose, or with loved ones. A cozy thought, especially for those looking to make the most out of this time of the year.

And by “make the most out of this time of the year,” let’s define it as “going out and spreading the message of the holidays.” Or, you know, “the season of giving.” This group of PowerPoint presentation professionals would like to think that, aside from the above statement, we consider that every day should be like Christmas—and in turn, every presentation should be just as giving as the last, if not more.

But what are you actually giving to your audience? Do you have to be a secret Santa to do that? Let’s take a step back and have a look from the observer’s perspective with this gifographic.

Making Your Audience Happier with Gifts

There’s no season like Christmas. For many, it’s a time of cheer and splendor, while for some, it’s a time of charity and selflessness.

For each and every one, it’s about merrymaking. Parties with officemates, friends, family, and relatives all make the holidays worthwhile. Get-togethers from distant beloveds and reunions with people you seldom see but often miss. Getting into the spirit of the season with decorations, fetes, and gift-giving truly make it a joyous part of the ending year.

And there’s no feeling better in the world than the merriment spent with those close to you.

It’s not as if your audience shouldn’t be treated as such. They’re an integral part of your task—as small as a group of company executives or as big as a jam-packed auditorium as it may be. Your audience is one of the reasons you’re onstage; they’re there to cheer you and to make sure you’re not doing this in vain.

Don’t take for granted that kind of support. You and your audience are playing your parts. Make the best out of it.

 

Resources:

Dorfman, Jeffrey. “Twenty Quotes And Verses On Giving For Christmas.” Forbes. December 25, 2014. www.forbes.com/sites/jeffreydorfman/2014/12/25/20-quotes-and-verses-on-giving-for-christmas/#54867dde1e17

Mack, Lloyd. “Christmas is the season for giving.” Kenora Daily Miner & News. December 1, 2016. www.kenoradailyminerandnews.com/2016/12/01/christmas-is-the-season-for-giving

Looking for creative presentations that can leverage your business? Enjoy free PowerPoint templates from SlideStore! Sign up today.

Presentation Lessons You Can Learn from Your Thanksgiving Dinner

Posted on by Rick E

With fall ending (fine, let’s cave: Winter is coming), it’s high time again for turkey season. Thanksgiving. In one Thursday night, families dine together for a feast. For a holiday that had its roots on the popular belief that the first-year survivors who came to the New World aboard the Mayflower dined with the Wampanoag tribe after a great harvest, it has since become more than just that and more about the appreciation and giving thanks for basically every good aspect in our lives.

While not forgetting the memorable parades, awesome sales, great sportscasts, and the coming holiday season, people look forward to Thanksgiving dinners the most.

The soggy yet scrumptious croutons floating on the soup. Two bowls of glorious mashed potatoes—one smooth and one with chunks—side by side a gravy boat filled to the brim. Fruits of a myriad colors on one corner and freshly baked loaves of bread on the other. The smell that wafts across the room from that first slice of turkey.

Looking at a traditional Thanksgiving Dinner table, you can draw the similarities between the feast in front of you and a great PowerPoint presentation in front of your audience.

You don’t? Well, awesome presentation design agencies certainly do. Here’s an infographic showing you the anatomy of an excellent visual aid with food that only comes on the last Thursday of November.

Presentation Inspired by Thanksgiving Dinners_Gifographic

Now’s the time to be appreciative of the many stuff you can be grateful for: a great family, an awesome career, a solid support group, and even the material things. There’s no greater sense of being alive than being thankful to be alive. (But, come on, it doesn’t mean it just has to be during this time of the year. Show it all year round!)

With the Yuletide season looming, it won’t be long after new year comes—new beginnings, resolutions, targets, goals, etc. Another year of successes and failures. Another year of expectations and efforts.

Before those come, take a breath. You wouldn’t want to be exhausted when the year ends a month from now, don’t you?

Resources:

Faught, Steven. “Anatomy of a Good Presentation.” wePresent. September 23, 2014. blog.wepresentwifi.com/anatomy-good-presentation

“HISTORY OF THANKSGIVING.” History.com. n.d. www.history.com/topics/thanksgiving/history-of-thanksgiving

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