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Typography

At its most basic level, typography with presentations is all about working with fonts to make your text on each slide look good. But what constitutes “good”? That’s the question you have to ask yourself when you’re designing a killer slide.

The main things you want to keep in mind are clarity and readability. There are a lot of things that go into making a font clear and readable – and this is also one of those things that, at its best, is completely unnoticeable to your audience.

Some of the most common mistakes are bunching up the letters too much (tracking), using too many different fonts, using clashing fonts, and overdoing the emphasis. These all negatively affect your audience’s ability to understand your message – the moral of the story is to not let your design desires overshadow your content.

Kerning

Kerning is the amount of space between two letters in your text – you know how sometimes you read something and the “r” and “n” next to each other look like an “m”? That’s an example of bad kerning.

Orphans and Widows

This is a very common mistake for novice presentation creators, and once you know what it is, you’ll see it everywhere. In bodies of text with multiple paragraphs, it’s when there is one word at the end of a sentence that doesn’t quite fit, so it goes all by itself to the next line – or, worse, the next page. You ideally won’t have big paragraphs in your slides, but in case you can’t avoid it, this is a good thing to check for. You also don’t want this to happen to your title or subtitle, as it just makes it feel more unbalanced and sloppy.

Hierarchy

You are definitely familiar with visual hierarchy, even if you couldn’t tell us exactly what it is. It’s all about which order you are supposed to read the content, and the creator of the content – you, in this case – has to make that very clear for the reader.

There are six main things you have to consider:

• Size: The rule of thumb for this one is that the more important something is, the bigger it should be. Think about a newspaper article – the title is always the biggest.
• Color and contrast: Using one or two accent colors that complement or contrast each other can be a very effective way to draw the eye to the thing you want to emphasize. For fool-proof color choices, use the handy dandy color wheel.
• Typographic hierarchy: Start with three “levels” of text at a minimum – header, sub-header, and body copy. This will help you organize your message into the most important information, followed by the sections or grouping of your main message, and finally the complete message.
• Fonts: Consider how the personality of the font fits your message, and how readable it is.
• Spacing: You want your typography to be well-spaced, and you also want whitespace in your image, one of the 10 tips we give for image selection.
• Composition: Make sure your slide is put together in an interesting and purposeful way, by arranging the images and text in a way that achieves balance and structure for your reader.

Serif Typeface and Sans Serif Typeface

They may sound like magic spells, but really, serif and sans serif fonts are just about the little strokes at the top and bottom of the horizontal lines in your font. Serif fonts have the little strokes. Sans Serif fonts don’t have them.

Serif and Sans Serif fonts have very different personalities, which is what makes them important in your design. Times New Roman is a super common serif font, and it’s very easy to read and professional. The font in the image above is also a serif font.

Calibri is a great example of a sans serif font and looks much more modern and stylish. Consider the feel you want your message to have, and choose your font – serif or sans serif – with that in mind.

To see some of my favorite fonts for presentations click here.

Alignment

Alignment is super important for slide design. There are six types of alignment: left, right, center, middle, top, and bottom. There’s not any right answer except to keep it consistent and neat; each message and design will call for its own type of alignment.

The alignment will help with the balance and order of the slides, keeping the audience reading your message in the intended order, and not jumping around the slide or getting distracted.

Color Palette 

Bring out your inner artist! The palette you use will give off a certain mood, personality, and vibe to your entire design. If your company has an official palette, definitely use those – you can always match it to their corporate branding colors or their logo.

If not, let your imagination run wild – well, not too wild. Stick to 3 to 4 colors so the look isn’t too overwhelming. If you’re looking for inspiration, nature can be a great place to start! You can also turn to the World Wide Web at www.designseeds.com or www.colourlovers.com.

Resolution

Resolution is an easy thing to forget about when you’re creating your presentation, and then be rudely reminded of when it’s put up on a big screen and suddenly your images look terrible.

Make sure you’re always using high resolution images because then it’ll look good at any size – if the resolution is too low, you risk having nice details turn into blurry, pixelated chunks. This is a common beginner’s mistake, so don’t make it!

Parallax Scrolling

If you’ve been hanging out around the cool websites lately, you’ll have noticed a lot of them have started implementing a really cool looking scrolling effect with their images and text – you guessed it, it’s called parallax scrolling. It’s when your background image moves more slowly than your foreground image, and it looks awesome.

With the creative use of bleeds and transitions in PowerPoint, you can now create a cool looking parallax scrolling effect in your presentation. Check out our template, which coincidentally features parallax scrolling – you won’t regret it.

Simple PowerPoint templates:

• Simple PowerPoint templates can save you time and ensure a clean, professional look for your presentations.
• Opting for simple PowerPoint templates helps in maintaining consistency throughout your slides, making them easier to follow.
• When choosing simple PowerPoint templates, look for designs that offer flexibility while still keeping a minimalist approach.
• Simple PowerPoint templates are great for emphasizing content over design, ensuring your message is clear and impactful.
• Utilizing simple PowerPoint templates can streamline your design process and allow you to focus more on your content.

Scale

Scale, put simply, is how big or small an object is in relation to the other objects. But as simple as that sounds, there are some really fun and unique things you can do with scale!

On an organizational note, you can use scale to create or emphasize hierarchy, like we talked about above. You can also use scale to make the image interesting or unexpected to catch the reader’s eye, like making something that would typically be very small, very large. Get creative!

Transparency

If you’ve fallen in love with a photo that doesn’t have a lot of white space, putting text straight over it is going to be pretty tough to read – and that’s where transparent shapes come along to save the day. Overlaying a simple transparent shape on top of the image is a great way to make the text more readable on the slide, and help it stand out a bit.

You can also use transparency to make your image a bit less intense – it’ll make it fade into the background a bit more.

Bleed

Bleeds are a great way to get some of the cool look and feel of Prezi without actually having to use Prezi. A bleed is when part of your image is “cut off” on one edge of the slide. So for example, you use a picture of a rocket, and you make part of it fall outside of one of the edges.

The way to get the cool Prezi effect, where it looks like each slide is just part of a bigger whole, is to combine bleeding with one of the directional sliding transitions. For example, part of the rocket goes on the first slide, and it’s cut off by the right edge of the slide. For your next slide, put the other half of the rocket on the left side of the slide, and use the sliding transition. That will make it appear as though it’s a whole image, and you’re just moving from one part to the next. It creates a really nice seamless effect.

Stock Photo

Going out and taking your own pictures is usually a waste of time with all the resources available on the web! Unless you’re showcasing a specific product that you need pictures of, just search around to find the images you want to use in your presentation.

Stock photos can be free or paid, so just do a little hunting to find ones that work well for your slide. Unsplash is a great place to start for free ones!

Stock images:

• Going out and taking your own pictures is usually a waste of time with all the resources available on the web! Unless you’re showcasing a specific product that you need pictures of, just search around to find the images you want to use in your presentation.
• Stock images can be free or paid, so just do a little hunting to find ones that work well for your slide. Unsplash is a great place to start for free ones!
• Using high-quality stock images can elevate the look of your presentation without the need for professional photography. Ensure your stock images are relevant to your content to enhance engagement.
• Remember, the right stock images can help convey your message more effectively and keep your audience engaged.
• When selecting stock images, consider their resolution and how they will look on larger screens to avoid pixelation and maintain a professional appearance.

Gradient

A color gradient is when the tone of the color gradually transitions from one tone to another. You can do this along a line, where it transitions from left to right (for example), or radially, where it transitions from the center moving outwards.

If you want a simple way to add a bit more depth to your slide, using a background with a gradient is a subtle and classy way to do it.

Gradient background PowerPoint:

• A gradient background PowerPoint can add a modern and professional touch to your slides, making them more visually interesting.
• When designing a gradient background PowerPoint, choose colors that complement each other and the overall theme of your presentation.
• Implementing a gradient background PowerPoint can help in highlighting certain sections of your slide without overwhelming the viewer.
• Experiment with different directions of the gradient background PowerPoint, such as linear or radial, to see what best suits your design.
• Using a gradient background PowerPoint strategically can help create depth and dimension in your slides, enhancing the overall visual experience.

Rule of Thirds

This one is a little different than the oft-quoted Rule of Threes that we love so much. The Rule of Thirds is about where the audience’s eye focuses on an image.

To find the focus points, divide the image (or the slide) into three parts vertically, and again horizontally. You should get four intersection points – that’s where the eye will focus, and where you want to emphasize the most important stuff in your design.

Rule of thirds in design:

• The rule of thirds in design is a fundamental concept for creating balanced and visually appealing slides.
• To apply the rule of thirds in design, divide your slide into a grid of nine equal parts by placing two equally spaced horizontal lines and two equally spaced vertical lines.
• Aligning your key elements along these lines or at their intersections helps in achieving a more structured and engaging slide.
• Using the rule of thirds in design can significantly improve the composition of your slides and guide the viewer’s eye naturally through the content.
• Practicing the rule of thirds in design ensures that your slides are not only aesthetically pleasing but also effective in communication.

Texture

Your presentation may always be on a flat screen, but that doesn’t mean you can’t give your images the appearance of texture – in fact, as far as increasing the interest and engagement with your image, this really gets you good bang for your buck.

The easiest way to do this is to put in some images with a lot of texture into your design, and boom – visual interest!

White Space

White space (i.e., negative space) is probably one of the most important things you need to consider when designing slides, and we touched on it briefly earlier. It can really make or break a good slide design.

Design slide layout:

• A well-thought-out design slide layout is crucial for organizing your content effectively and making your presentation more engaging.
• Start your design slide layout by deciding the hierarchy of information and ensuring it flows logically from one slide to the next.
• Keep your design slide layout clean and uncluttered, using white space to balance your text and images.
• Consistency in your design slide layout across all slides helps in maintaining a professional and cohesive look.
• Customize your design slide layout to fit the specific needs of your presentation, considering factors like audience and purpose.

Margins

Margins are just the amount of white space you leave around the edges of your design, and ties in with the whitespace above. More margins is more whitespace, which creates a more calm design.

Don’t get us wrong, though – you can definitely still use small margins. But keep in mind that you’ll have to balance that out somewhere else in the image.

Lorem Ipsum

No, you don’t have to learn Latin to be a designer – lorem ipsum is simply referred to as “filler text” so that it can create a realistic looking final product without distracting you with real words or a real message.

Contrast

Finally, we have contrast. Using contrast in your slides – between images, fonts, or colors – will create visual interest and texture. You can use contrasting font colors for two opposing points, thick fonts and thin ones, or even low contrast to de-emphasize your image.

If you’re not sure where to start with contrasting colors, head to the color wheel again. Those opposite from each other are contrasting colors – for example, red and green or blue and orange. Keeping them the same tone will create a really clean look to your slide, while still keeping up the visual interest.

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