Your PowerPoint Doesn't Have to be Boring.*

Author:
Kelley Olmedo
Kelley OlmedoDesigner
Your PowerPoint Doesn't Have to be Boring.*

Ask any designer which program is their least favorite to work in, and chances are it’s one of the Microsoft 365 apps (see Michael’s blog here). But, given that it’s a program that our clients probably use, it is one we are destined to have to deal with. Now that we have that disclaimer out of the way, just because it is yet another PowerPoint presentation does not mean it has to look like just another PowerPoint presentation. Here are some tips on how we can help you dress up your PowerPoint to be more engaging:

1. Give us content. If you want your PowerPoint to look more designed and less template-y, we simply need the content to work with. When I have no idea what’s going to be on the page, then I cannot completely give you a layout that works with the content instead of just text on a slide. If you don’t have content to give, then you can give us your previous presentation to use as placeholder content, and you can modify/copy as needed. 

1b. The content doesn’t need to include every word (caveat, this mainly applies to live presentations). Written content should be used as talking points and main content. You don’t want your audience reading slides while you talk.

2. Don’t be afraid of color. (This goes for lots of projects, really, I love color.) Large color fields and gradients, large images, and fun color washes will help grab attention of the viewer and keep it. Also, when layouts and colors shift from slide to slide it keeps the viewer engaged in the content. If the content dictates a more simple, heavy text layout, then we can use color fields and image wash slides in divider slides to help break up the monotony of text layouts.

3. Let’s use different fonts. Using unique fonts will 100% help your presentation look more designed and professional. If you have brand fonts already purchased — we can use those! If you don’t have a brand font, or you have way too many computers that would make font licensing cost-prohibitive (see Josh’s blog on the subject of font licensing), we can use Google Fonts. Google Fonts has a wide variety of font options (see image to the right) and best of all, they are free! If you have multiple people that need to work on a PowerPoint file, it is as simple as sending each person a zipped file of fonts for them to drag into their computer’s fonts folder. Presto.

There is a lot that can be done within the confines of PowerPoint to level up the style of your presentation. Let us help you make PowerPoints look fun instead of boring corporate presentations.  

 

*I don’t mean to call your presentation boring, I promise.