Tag: powerpoint designs

4 Factors for Creating Info-Heavy PowerPoint Slide Designs

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PowerPoint Slide Designs

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slide design

Aug 20, 2015

Making arguments without providing evidence to back up your stand is a bad move in presentations. It is useless, however, to bombard your slides with unnecessary information. Designing your deck haphazardly only muddles the information-sharing process and confuses your audience.To improve your deck for your next pitch, here are four important things to keep in mind when creating info-heavy PowerPoint slide designs:

Accuracy

Facts, data, and other information presented in your slides should be correct, current, and relevant. When citing from the internet, make sure to properly fact-check and source your information. Avoid directly citing Wikipedia. Follow the citations if you want to refer to something you find interesting in wikis. Maintaining accuracy is important not only for the sake of your slides, but for your credibility as well.You want to present data to inform and convince—not to misinform and deceive.

Clarity

It’s not enough to have accurate information. Your content should be displayed in a clear and organized manner that makes all the facts and numbers easier to understand. Cut down all the content to the bare minimum that you need to get your point across. Reducing them to the most pertinent and logical manner allows for easier transfer of information.According to presentation trainer, Nancy Duarte, there are a number of ways to arrange your slides so they pass the glance test, or the audience’s first scan through your deck. Among these are keeping your layout simple, maximizing white space, using proper fonts, and emphasizing the important points structure your deck into something that’s easily digestible.

Meaningful

Correct and well-ordered figures aren’t enough. An important key is to inject some significance that relates to your audience. To best connect with your audience, it’s vital to do some advanced research and determine their interests, needs, and concerns. Knowing these will assist you in adjusting to optimize your presentation to their needs.Presenting your slides as a story or in a narrative structure best engages your listeners. This is due to how we’ve come to recall memories and enjoy our entertainment: as a series of episodes with a chronological structure and thematic background.

Memorable

The best presentations are those that remain with the audience. Executing a memorable presentation requires getting on your listeners’ good will. It’s important to improve your credibility by looking enthusiastic, genuine, and creative.Effectively communicating your own excitement regarding your topic also adds to your power to persuade. This assures your listeners that your topic is worth their time. Inserting a slice of yourself through a personal anecdote also increases your audience’s perception of you as a genuine person.Lastly, a creative approach using a funny or poignant beginning and/or ending, or through a unique execution of your presentation, also makes your slides more memorable.

Conclusion

Being new at presenting or not having enough time is never an excuse to show up with lazily-made slides.Always design your PowerPoint slides like a professional to get the best out of your message, and maximize the impact on your audience. 

References

“3 Secrets to Make Numbers Interesting in Sales Presentations.” SlideGenius, Inc. May 13, 2015. Accessed August 20, 2015.Duarte, Nancy. “Do Your Slides Pass the Glance Test?” Harvard Business Review. October 22, 2012. Accessed August 20, 2015.”Five Ways to Transform Your Overloaded Text Slides.” Think Outside The Slide. September 14, 2012. Accessed August 20, 2015.

3 Ways Altruism Impacts Your Sales Presentation Skills

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Rick Enrico

slide genius

speaker

Aug 20, 2015

Chances are, you’ve been brought up to value altruistic behavior. This might have even turned you into the successful person you are now (or hopefully, will become). It may also have highly positive ramifications for your sales presentation skills.First, let’s define our word of the day.Altruism is a desire to help other people. Characterized by a lack of selfishness, anthropologists claim that civilized societies came about because altruism incentivizes cooperation. It is unfortunately not a universal trait, with several difficulties preventing people from practicing self-sacrifice for the greater good. The frequent barriers to showing selflessness include laziness, compounded by a feeling that the benefits are minimal.Showing concern for others inspires other people to care for your welfare in kind. Here are specific ways that altruism can improve your speaking skills for your next sales presentation:

Altruism Makes You Relatable

Audiences are more likely to listen to speakers they relate with. Showing them that you care for their well-being promotes social connection. According to psychologist Sonja Lyubomirsky, this “fosters a heightened sense of interdependence and cooperation in your social community.”You can increase their involvement by using words that convey a collaborative theme in your presentation. You want to say sentences such as: “We want to start a partnership where we both profit greatly through cooperation.” or “This proposal hopes to begin a mutually beneficial partnership that yields income for all parties.”Tell your audience that what benefits you, which, in turn, benefits everyone.

Altruism Makes You Happier

Neuroscientist Emiliana Simon-Thomas cites a report that shows how altruism has positive effects on an individual’s health and happiness. This doesn’t mean that people only feel good because they think they’re supposed to. In fact, the effects of unselfish acts are reflected in neural studies on the brain.These studies have also shown that charitable actions activate the same areas of the brain that are related to receiving gifts. It’s clear that doing good does good for you, too.As opposed to egoists, who think more selfishly, altruists put the wellbeing of others before their own. Projecting this positive aura has the added benefit of putting people in a good mood. Related to our earlier point, this also makes it more likely for them to pay attention.

Altruism is Contagious

In addition to how selflessness can make you happier, it also triggers an area of your brain linked with the processing of moral behavior. This rewards your brain, making it more likely that practicing altruism will feel good in the future.This creates a positive feedback loop (or as Sonja Lyubomirsky puts it, “a cascade of positive social consequences”) which hopefully leaves an impression on your listeners to inspire them as speakers. Being good to others makes them try to be better towards everyone else.

Conclusion

Altruism is a key trait that has helped our ancestors survive the harshest conditions – enduring the hardest challenges through greater cooperation. It takes a little step to show the smallest amount of care for the welfare of others. The benefits could snowball into something greater – to the benefit of you and your pitch.Unsurprisingly, being kind to your fellow human beings is unambiguously good for humanity. Being kind to others makes you appear more relatable, which makes your audience reach out to you more. Doing good deeds doesn’t only make other people happier – it also makes you, yourself, feel better.Even better, doing good for one person will cause a chain reaction, wherein people will pass the good deed on to other people. This is especially advantageous for you if you started it, as people will be able to trace the initial seed of goodwill back to you.What’s good for humanity is also good for your sales presentation skills. 

References

Lyubomirsky, Sonja. “Happiness for a Lifetime.” Greater Good. July 15, 2010. Accessed August 20, 2015.Simon-Thomson, Emiliana R. “Is Kindness Really Its Own Reward?” Greater Good. June 1, 2008. Accessed August 20, 2015.”Using Common Values in PowerPoint Presentations.” SlideGenius, Inc. April 21, 2015. Accessed August 20, 2015.

3 Reasons to Single-Task: Learning the Art of Mindfulness

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PowerPoint Design

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PowerPoint Experts

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presentation experts

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presentation tips

Aug 19, 2015

While multitasking helps your productivity in some aspects, it does more harm than good for presenters. Though always being prepared for the unexpected lets you stay on top of any situation, being mindful of your audience makes you an effective presenter, increasing your chances of successfully engaging them and delivering your message.Public speaking trainer, Gary Genard, presents mindfulness as a key skill in crafting an effective pitch. Mindfulness means paying attention to what happens in the present. For Genard, this skill lets you achieve total audience engagement in your professional presentations, letting you focus on connecting with them and meeting their needs.Here’s our own take on the benefits of single-tasking:

1. Single-Tasking Lets You Focus

Some people believe that single-tasking isn’t as productive. However, focusing on one thing at a time allows the speaker to concentrate on a particular task at hand, improving your stage presence and connecting you with your audience. Aside from your interactive PowerPoint slides or speech, single-tasking enables you to speak to the crowd without being distracted.While distractions are unavoidable, remaining focused strengthens your message’s impact. It also boosts your confidence and reduces your anxiety, knowing that you’re in full control of the situation. Consider these ways to help you attain mindfulness and become a more effective presenter:

2. Single-Tasking Keeps You Mentally Present

Multitasking won’t be helpful especially when you begin worrying about what your audience thinks of you on the stage. Allowing yourself to be distracted might lose your audience’s attention and prevent them from getting interested.Since your audience is your main priority, your mind should be set on achieving their needs and wants to show that you care about them. Being mentally present also allows you to convey your topic’s most significant points as you involve your audience in your presentation.

3. Single-Tasking Helps You Develop a Single Objective

Knowing your main purpose lets you limit your ideas to an amount you can control, and lets you organize your thoughts for crafting your pitch. Once you have your topic, list down all the information you’ll include and come up with a simple objective for your pitch.Do you want them to take action? Do you want them to form small groups to discuss your topic with each other? This lets you fulfill your main goal, preventing clients from being overwhelmed with complex details.

Conclusion

Learning this discipline helps you to set your mind on what you’re presently doing. Instead of overthinking things that might negatively affect your performance, focus on the most important element of your presentation – your audience.Focus on one thing at a time without trying to juggle multiple tasks at once. Being focused means you’re more directly engaged with your audience, not distracted by a million little things you feel like you have to address all at the same time. Single-tasking also means you can condense your presentation with a single objective in mind. With less to worry about, you can direct all your resources to achieving that one goal in the most effective way.Stay focused and see how your audience does the same thing for you.To help you with your presentation needs, let SlideGenius experts assist you!

References

Genard, Gary. “Mindfulness: A Key Skill in Effective Public Speaking.” The Genard Method. October 13, 2013. Accessed August 19, 2015.”Presentation Tips: 5 Quick Steps to Audience Engagement.” SlideGenius, Inc. December 16, 2014. Accessed August 19, 2015.Featured Image: “Intel Engineers Meditating” by Intel Free Press on flickr.com

Advertising PowerPoint Design Tips: Make Your Visuals Talk

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Powerpoint

PowerPoint Design

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powerpoint presentations

presentation

presentation skill

presentation skills

Presentations

Aug 03, 2015

In simple PowerPoint design, images visually support your words, creating a memorable image in your audience’s minds. However, you can play with this basic structure and create something more engaging. In Cutting Edge Advertising, Jim Aitchison suggests the use of metaphors, adjusting your text and images’ placement, or making a bent headline or visual.Center your messages on a clear, specific idea by making an interesting image and supporting it with a straightforward tagline (and vice versa). Once your listeners can picture your message for themselves, your product or service will stick in their minds long after you finish the sales presentation.Sell more effectively by combining this factor with clear-cut messages.

Bent Images with Straight Headlines

Apply the twist here to represent your idea in the image. Show a metaphor, a comparison or a dominant image.The Business Times and The Economist print ads both talk about giving you the whole picture when you read their news. The images—the text cut in half, the binocular-shaped magazines and the Rubix cube— are all twisted to prove their points.Keep your message, font, and text size simple so your clients focus on the image without distractions.

Bent Headlines with Straight Images

You can also show your idea in the headline and support it with a normal image. Clever word puns and verbal metaphors all come in handy as seen in the Cigarillos and Timberland print ads.The text needs to be interesting or provocative enough to get your audience thinking. Otherwise, you’ll get a bland and uninteresting overall visual.

The Secret: Be Consistent

Choosing between the two approaches depends on how you want to emphasize your idea. Once you decide to either bend your text or image, be consistent with your messages.The Business Times and The Economist had one main idea, similar to how Timberland emphasized their durability.Emphasize one main idea, stick to it and support it with relevant facts. Making a striking visual impact ensures that audiences remember you long enough to contact you for a business deal.

References

Aitchison, J. Cutting Edge Advertising: How to Create the World’s Best Print for Brands in the 21st Century. Singapore; New York: Prentice Hall, 2004.Diaz, Ann-Christine. “The Economist’s New Campaign Dishes Out Real — and Metaphorical — Hot Potatoes.” Advertising Age News. November 11, 2013. Accessed August 3, 2015.”Fine-tuning Your Presentation’s Core Message.” SlideGenius, Inc. November 11, 2014. Accessed August 3, 2015.”PowerPoint Visual Design Tips From Ads: Text & Image Balance.” SlideGenius, Inc. July 22, 2015. Accessed August 3, 2015.

3 Expert Tips on Making Your Ideas PowerPoint-Friendly

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PowerPoint Design

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powerpoint expert

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presentation tips

Rick Enrico

SlideGenius

Jun 29, 2015

Here are 3 expert tips to make your ideas PowerPoint-friendly and more impactful:

1. Simplify and Streamline Content

  • Why it works: PowerPoint slides are meant to complement your verbal presentation, not overwhelm the audience with text. Simplifying content helps keep your slides clean and easy to understand. Experts suggest using bullet points, short sentences, or key phrases to ensure the audience can follow along without getting lost.
  • Tip: Limit the amount of text on each slide. A general rule is the 6×6 rule—no more than 6 bullet points per slide and no more than 6 words per bullet.

2. Use Visuals to Communicate

  • Why it works: Visuals like charts, graphs, icons, and infographics help convey complex information quickly and effectively. According to presentation experts, images can enhance retention and understanding by making abstract concepts more concrete.
  • Tip: Replace large blocks of text with visuals that explain or reinforce your message. Use high-quality images, icons, or graphics that are relevant and aligned with your brand.

3. Design for Engagement

  • Why it works: Good design makes your presentation visually appealing and keeps the audience engaged. This involves consistent fonts, color schemes, and layout. Experts recommend maintaining a balance between text and visuals, using white space to reduce clutter.
  • Tip: Keep a consistent visual theme throughout the presentation. Avoid overuse of animations and transitions, and ensure that any animations used enhance the message, rather than distract from it.

By following these tips, you’ll create a PowerPoint presentation that’s clear, visually appealing, and engaging for your audience.

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5 Sales Presentation Tricks from Advertising Agency Gurus

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Jun 05, 2015

Advertising agencies and presenters both sell products and services using effective messages, be it in the conference room, a lecture hall, a television, or a webinar.The problem is that the regular customer or client is subjected to several messages from different companies, each trying to get their products ahead of the competition.You have to go beyond offering what your competition can’t, because almost all competing companies employ the same strategy.

The Challenge

People construct several standards before making purchase-related decisions. This is what renowned author, Jim Aitchison, calls a personal cage.A personal cage is composed of all the experiences, knowledge, morals, and ethics we gain as we grow.These standards affect how we see and interpret every message we encounter, especially advertisements and sales pitches.Building your personal cage happens throughout your whole life.If the bars of the cage act as filters, find relevant messages that pass through these and sell your sales presentation ideas.

The Five Tricks

The Signpost

Signpost messages signify changes in certain kinds of behavior.As Aitchison cites in his book, Cutting Edge Advertising, the Pepsi vs. Coca-Cola story is a classic marketing example.When Michael Jackson became Pepsi’s new icon, they positioned themselves as the drink of the next generation. This led to many Coke drinkers permitting themselves to change those standards.When Steve Jobs unveiled the iPhone’s third quarter market share in 2008, he signified that times were changing for the US smartphone market.Within the first 90 days of its shipment, he showed the iPhone as a potential investment for customers and business partners alike.

A Newsflash

Introducing a new product or service in an ad pitch is challenging for any startup company, especially product launch advertisements.Position your message as a piece of news, like how Jobs introduced the iPhone in 2007.First, he built interest by announcing that Apple reinvented a new product type.Then, he briefly explained the current competition’s weaknesses: fixed keypads and limited functions.It was only after all this that he introduced what made the iPhone different and showed the actual product with its full touchscreen capabilities.This generates strong interest in your offer and highlights what makes you different and more appealing from other brands.

A Message of Support

People always look for something to rationalize an emotional need.Will people buy an expensive sports car to enhance their personal image?Will a company invest in a health insurance program to let employees feel that their well-being matters?Make clients feel that they’re understood. This matches their behavior (in this case, investing in your proposal) with their desires and attitudes.

An Existing Standard of the Client

Since your message is consistent with what your audience already believes in, they’re more likely to respond if you give something that reinforces their beliefs.Citing CreditUnion’s correspondence with Kraft CEO, Robert K. Deromedi, Demand Media’s Vanessa Cross discusses the mechanics of values-based marketing, particularly its customer-centric nature.Kraft wanted to reach out to parents who believed in giving their kids a proper meal, so the company pulled out their junk food advertising to establish credibility with their intended customers.

Shared Experiences

Like the way TED Talk speakers relate their presentations to personal experiences, offering another person’s perspective sells your message.Some experiences mirror your own, even at a conceptual level. This includes being plagued with restrictive problems then solving it intuitively.Look into your company’s product or service history. Did someone have a eureka moment after a long observation? Did someone experience something that led to developing what you sell?Everything has an interesting story behind it. Your sales pitch is no exception.–Everyone has something to dream about: a new house, a better car, a more luxurious lifestyle, etc.Everyone wants something, especially your clients. Make your sales pitch interesting enough to pass through your clients’ standards.Want to know more about using these five tricks more effectively? Hire SlideGenius, your presentation partner, to help you out.

References

“5 TED Talk Secrets for Persuasive PowerPoint Presentations.” SlideGenius, Inc. 2015. Accessed June 5, 2015.Aitchison, Jim. Cutting Edge Advertising: How to Create the World’s Best Print for Brands in the 21st Century. Singapore; New York: Prentice Hall, 2004.Cross, Vanessa. “The Goals of Values-Based Marketing.” Chron. Accessed June 5, 2015.

5 Simple Rules for Mobile-Friendly PowerPoint Designs

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powerpoint designs

Jul 23, 2014

Sites like SlideShare and Brainshark enable you to share your PowerPoint decks online, helping you gain a larger audience.Sharing your content online is an effective marketing technique and it’s something that you should definitely consider. However, your message could easily get garbled if your PowerPoint designs are not optimized for mobile viewing.Here are some reasons on why you should optimize your layout for mobile, and how to do it:

Why Design Matters

According to a study conducted by Statista Dossier, worldwide mobile internet usage was at 73.4 percent in 2013. If their figures stand, 90 percent of people will be accessing online content through mobile devices by 2017.Judging by these numbers, and perhaps your own fast-paced lifestyle, it’s likely that your presentation will be viewed through screens a lot smaller than you prepared it on. As a visual aid, your deck should always complement your key points.Don’t get left behind on the trend. Leverage this to your advantage with mobile-friendly PowerPoint designs.

How to Ensure Mobile-friendly PowerPoint Designs

It doesn’t take a lot of work to make sure that your PowerPoint designs are presentable on mobile devices. All you have to do is follow these five simple rules:

1. Readability

The average screen size of mobile phones is 3.3 inches. That’s significantly less room than the screen on your laptop where you first built your PowerPoint presentation. Keep this in mind while building presentations that you intend to share online. Make sure that the font type and size that you use is extremely readable. You don’t want to have your target audience to squint just to read what you’re trying to say.

2. High-Contrast Colors

Another way to increase the readability of your PowerPoint designs for smaller screens is by using high-contrast colors. Use either a dark background with light-colored text or vice versa. Similarly, avoid using colors that are too bright unless you’re planning to use it as an accent color.

3. Minimal text

Don’t overwhelm your target audience with too much text. Don’t try to discuss too many concepts in one go. Explaining complicated concepts will require more sentences and paragraphs. If you feel like there’s something in your content that needs further explanation, simply link to other resources instead.

4. Powerful images

Visualize your key points with powerful images, but remember to limit yourself to using only 1-2 per slide. Too many images might cause your presentation to lag.

5. Simplicity

Likewise, don’t complicate your PowerPoint designs with too many graphics and animation. You can still add some animations and transitions, but keep them to a minimum. Aim for a seamless viewing experience.

Conclusion

Keep your discussion simple and straight forward. You might as well make an eBook instead of a PowerPoint presentation if you’re planning on a drawn out deck.Make sure your content is visually appealing and readable, for a better mobile experience. Not sure how to start on your deck’s mobile-friendly layout? Contact our SlideGenius experts today for a free quote! 

Reference

“Mobile Internet.” Statista. Accessed July 23, 2014.

Five Methods to Elevate Your PowerPoint Designs

powerpoint designs

Jul 17, 2014

Unique PowerPoint designs can do a lot for your presentation. Your PowerPoint deck can be the best marketing tool in your arsenal, but only if you know how to utilize it to your advantage. Knowing the best tricks and techniques is definitely a step in the right direction.[sg-blog-modules module=three]We’ve already discussed quick ways to enhance your PowerPoint designs in the past. This time, we’re going further into details. Elevate your message by using these five methods when working on your slides:

1.) Stop using too much text and bullet points

We’ve made this point time and again, but it’s worth repeating. A PowerPoint deck can excel with the most minimal amount of text. People are visual learners, and are inclined to retain information relayed to them through images, like diagrams or pictures.Remember Guy Kawasaki’s 10/20/30 rule? The only thing you should be adding to your slides are information that is key to your presentation.

2.) Don’t bore your audience with the same themes and templates

Tailor fit your PowerPoint designs to the occasion or the topic you’re discussing. Learn how to customize PowerPoint templates. Chances are, your audience has heard multiple pitches, and would appreciate a more innovative deck on screen.It only takes a bit of effort, and you get to practice your creativity. If you’re pressed for time, you can ask professional PowerPoint designers for help.

3.) Choose color schemes that create balance

Your PowerPoint designs will look polished if you’re smart about color choices. Go with a background color that contrasts with the text on your slides. Color can influence people’s perception of your presentation. Certain colors evoke different emotions in different people, so make sure you know how to use them.If you want to play it safe, use a white or light-colored background works against black text. This may make your PowerPoint design seem too simple, so make sure you add a few color accents.

4.) Illustrate points with interesting images

The Internet is a great source for images, and you’re bound to find dozens that fit the theme of your presentation. Take the time browsing through sites like Flickr.Don’t settle for the dated and cheesy clip arts on PowerPoint. But don’t write them off just yet, because you can take the time to redesign them into unique icons.

5.) Be mindful of fonts

You have plenty of choices when it comes to fonts, but make sure that you settle with something that complements the rest of your PowerPoint design.There are also fonts that work better for certain types of presentations. We’ve written about this in the past. Another important point: make sure that your fonts are readable. Going back to Guy Kawasaki’s rule, make use of fonts that are no smaller than 30 points.[sg-blog-modules module=two]

Your Brand Should Be In Your PowerPoint Designs

Branding

Marketing

powerpoint designs

Jul 09, 2014

In today’s competitive business landscape, your brand is more than just a logo or tagline—it’s the embodiment of your company’s identity, values, and message. One of the most powerful ways to communicate your brand is through your PowerPoint presentations. Whether you’re pitching to clients, presenting to stakeholders, or sharing updates with your team, your brand should be infused in every aspect of your presentation design.A well-branded presentation not only reinforces your company’s identity but also builds trust, recognition, and credibility. Here’s why your brand should be reflected in your PowerPoint design and how to effectively incorporate it into every slide.

Why Branding Matters in PowerPoint Presentations

1. Consistency and Professionalism

Consistent branding across all materials—from your website and social media to your presentations—creates a unified look and feel. When your presentations are aligned with your brand, they reflect professionalism and attention to detail. It shows your audience that you take your brand and message seriously, which can increase their confidence in your company.

2. Memorability and Recognition

A well-branded presentation leaves a lasting impression on your audience. The more consistent your brand elements are across all platforms, the more recognizable and memorable your company becomes. Presentations that incorporate your brand’s unique colors, fonts, and imagery help solidify your presence in your audience’s minds.

3. Emphasizes Identity and Values

Your brand is a reflection of your company’s values, mission, and identity. Including these elements in your presentation reminds your audience who you are and what your business stands for. Branding elements in PowerPoint can communicate a sense of trust, authority, or innovation depending on your company’s identity.

4. Builds Trust and Credibility

A cohesive, polished presentation enhances your company’s reputation. When your slides reflect a clear and professional brand image, it builds trust with your audience. They’ll perceive your company as organized, reliable, and credible—all factors that can make or break a client or investor decision.

How to Incorporate Your Brand into PowerPoint Design

1. Use Your Brand’s Color Palette

Your brand’s colors are one of the most recognizable visual elements. Incorporating your brand colors into your PowerPoint slides helps create a seamless experience across your various touchpoints.

How to Do It:

  • Set a Custom Color Theme: PowerPoint allows you to create custom color themes. Navigate to the Design tab, select Colors, and click on Customize Colors. Input your brand’s primary and secondary colors to establish a consistent palette across all slides.
  • Use Colors Consistently: Apply your primary brand color to headings, key elements, and backgrounds, while secondary colors can be used for accentuating details or highlighting data points.

Example:

If your brand uses a blue and green color scheme, make sure that your titles, section dividers, and key visuals use these colors consistently throughout the presentation.

2. Incorporate Your Brand Fonts

Typography is another essential element of branding. Using your brand’s fonts in your PowerPoint presentations ensures visual consistency and reinforces your brand’s personality, whether it’s modern, professional, or playful.

How to Do It:

  • Embed Custom Fonts: PowerPoint allows you to embed fonts so that they appear the same on all devices. Go to File → Options → Save and check Embed Fonts in the File.
  • Use Branded Fonts for Headings and Body Text: Apply your primary brand font to headings and titles and a complementary font for body text. This creates a clean and readable hierarchy while maintaining your brand’s look.

Example:

If your company uses a sleek, modern font like Lato for branding, ensure that all titles and headings in your presentation use this font, while using a legible body font like Arial or Calibri for larger blocks of text.

3. Add Your Logo Strategically

Your logo is the face of your brand and should be present on your slides—but not in an overwhelming way. Incorporating your logo subtly helps build brand recognition without overpowering the content of your slides.

How to Do It:

  • Position Logos in the Header or Footer: Place your logo in a consistent position, such as the top left corner or bottom right corner of each slide. This maintains a branded look without distracting from the main content.
  • Use Transparent Logos: A transparent version of your logo can blend seamlessly with slide backgrounds and give a more polished appearance.

Example:

Place a small version of your logo in the footer of each slide for consistent branding without detracting from the main content.

4. Use Branded Imagery and Graphics

Images and graphics help tell your story visually. Incorporating branded imagery or graphics that reflect your company’s style and tone reinforces your brand identity.

How to Do It:

  • Custom Icons and Graphics: Use icons and graphics that align with your brand’s design language. Avoid generic stock images and instead focus on images that reflect your company’s mission, product, or message.
  • Branded Photography: If your brand uses a specific style of photography, such as minimalist, candid, or high-contrast images, make sure to apply the same style to your presentation images.

Example:

If your brand uses flat design icons, be consistent with that style throughout the presentation rather than mixing with other styles like 3D icons or illustrations.

5. Create Branded Slide Templates

Using a consistent slide template that reflects your brand’s aesthetic is key to maintaining cohesion across presentations. Branded templates make it easier to create professional presentations without worrying about design inconsistencies.

How to Do It:

  • Design Master Slides: PowerPoint’s Slide Master feature allows you to create and customize templates that can be applied across all slides. Customize the layout, colors, fonts, and logos on the master slides to maintain brand consistency.
  • Ensure Visual Hierarchy: Organize your templates with clear title, content, and image placeholders. This ensures that your brand is reflected in every slide while maintaining readability.

Example:

Create a branded title slide with your company’s logo, primary color scheme, and branded font. For subsequent slides, design templates with headers in your primary brand color and accent colors for subheadings.

6. Incorporate Brand Messaging

Your brand’s tone of voice should also come through in your presentation. Whether it’s a formal, corporate tone or a friendly, conversational one, ensure that your written content matches your brand’s messaging.

How to Do It:

  • Use Branded Taglines and Slogans: Include your company’s tagline or mission statement on key slides to reinforce your message.
  • Maintain Brand Voice: Ensure that the tone of your presentation aligns with your brand voice. If your brand voice is formal, avoid using overly casual language, and vice versa.

Example:

If your brand is known for its innovation, include a slide with your tagline or value proposition to remind the audience of your brand’s purpose and strengths.

7. Be Consistent Across Presentations

Branding isn’t limited to a single presentation—ensure consistency across all presentations, no matter who creates them. Consistency strengthens brand recognition and makes your content appear cohesive.

How to Do It:

  • Create a Branded Template Library: Design a set of branded PowerPoint templates that team members can use across the organization. This ensures that every presentation reflects the same level of professionalism and brand alignment.
  • Train Teams on Brand Guidelines: Provide employees with guidelines on how to use brand elements such as colors, fonts, and logos in presentations. This ensures consistency, even when multiple people contribute to creating presentations.

Example:

Develop a branded PowerPoint template for different types of presentations—sales, investor updates, internal meetings—that can be used company-wide for uniformity.

Final Thoughts

Branding your PowerPoint presentations is essential for maintaining consistency, professionalism, and recognition in every interaction with your audience. By incorporating your brand’s colors, fonts, logos, imagery, and messaging into your PowerPoint design, you can elevate the impact of your presentation and reinforce your company’s identity.Remember, a branded presentation is not just about aesthetics—it’s about telling your company’s story in a way that resonates with your audience and leaves a lasting impression. Whether you’re pitching new clients, sharing quarterly updates, or presenting to investors, aligning your presentation design with your brand will help you build trust, create engagement, and stand out in the marketplace.Let your presentations be a reflection of your brand’s strength and identity!

Breathing Room: Unleashing the Power of White Space in PowerPoint Presentations

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white space

Jun 25, 2014

In visual arts, white space refers to the unmarked portion of a page or the empty space in-between content. This graphic design element, however, is more than just a passive by-product of a layout design. White space helps create balance and harmony, allowing a canvas or page to look more appealing.White space is also great for one important purpose. According to designer Corina Ciripitca, graphic artists use it to guide the viewers’ eye and lead them from one element on the page to another. You can also apply this principle to your PowerPoint designs.

Greater impact

Also known as negative or blank space, white space (though, it doesn’t always have to be white) is added to a layout in order to create better structure. As a result, the text or image that the space surrounds generates greater impact. Just look at the sample below:  The image, one of Volkswagen‘s famous ads, utilizes white space to effectively convey its message. Compared to a cluttered design, the advertisement retains only the most essential parts of its message, leaving room for the viewer’s gaze to rest.This avoids sensory overload, which, similar to information overload, defeats the point of communicating to the audience. Too many things going on can overwhelm your audience and bury all the information under superficial details.

Less clutter

With your slide design, leaving plenty of white space can make a lot of difference. In fact, white space has made such an impact on the design industry that Smashing Magazine‘s Vitaly Friedman and a few other writers wrote extensively on the topic.It makes the text as legible as possible while allowing images to capture attention. This means that there’s no need to fill your slide’s empty areas with logos or other pointless graphics or text that do not add to your key points. The less cluttered your slides look, the more powerful your message will become.

Better appreciation

Putting too much text and images can drown out the key points on your slides. When used strategically, the white space on your slides will inform your audience instantly where to look. Apart from making your layout easier to follow, it also offers the eye a visual rest. Using white space in PowerPoint designs is probably one of the easiest ways to add impact to your slides. As you put enough blank spaceAs you put enough blank space around an image or text, you emphasize their importance. In turn, they capture your audience’s attention. Ultimately, even if you don’t know anything about layout design, mastering the use of white space in PowerPoint designs can significantly improve the way you create your slides.

Craft a winning PowerPoint with a simple deck that doesn’t flood the audience’s eyes. Once you’re through with this, you can focus on your pitch and polish your overall presentation.

References

Ciripitca, Corina. “Why Is White Space Good For Graphic Design.” Designmodo. October 13, 2011. Accessed June 25, 2014.Friedman, Vitaly. “White Space and Simplicity: An Overview.” Smashing Magazine. January 12, 2007. Accessed June 25, 2014.