6 PowerPoint Presentation Design Tips To Help You Create A Great PPT

PowerPoint is a great tool to visually present data and information. Educators have used it to explain concepts succinctly via animations and charts.  Marketing professionals have used it to share news about their products and services. Startup entrepreneurs use them while pitching for investment. But a presentation is only as good as its design – a bad visual representation can ruin the experience for the audience. Here are a few PowerPoint presentation design tips to help you sail through:

1.Making The Picture Transparent In PowerPoint:

Transparent pictures are usually inserted in PPTs to create an overall soft look or to allow texts to be shown through the images. While you can add a transparent shape, PowerPoint does not allow you to add a transparent picture. But there’s a workaround. Draw a shape on the Insert tab and choose Format Shape to use the Picture Fill tab – this allows you to fill the shape with an image of your choice. Now insert the image by choosing File and then browsing the picture you intend to fill. Now, to add the transparency effect, pull the Format Picture tab and choose the transparency effect slider. Adjust transparency to the desired level for the final touch.

2.Changing Slide Size In PowerPoint:

Most PowerPoint slides are designed in two dimensions, viz. 4:3 as a standard dimension and 16:9 which is the widescreen dimension. While the standard dimension is ideal for a standard computer screen, the 16:9 ratio is ideal for widescreen computer screens. It’s important to use the proper dimension to ensure that the presentation is scaled suitably. This is done by using centimeters, pixels or inches. But remember to change slide dimensions before starting the design process. To change the slide size, choose the Design tab and then pick the Page Setup tab. Now customise it with the desired height and width.

3.Embedding Links On PPT:

Ideally, if you want to show a website on PPT, you will have to create a link which then prompts the browser to open. But there’s a better way to do this. Several third-party apps can be used to embed a website directly using an HTML iframe. This way your presentation flow remains normal and fluid.

4.Pay Attention To The Font Size:

Small things are more important than you think. When it comes to PPT, not many people think about font size, but it could be an important element when presenting information. The audience is going to very far away from the screen – text smaller than 24pt and they cannot read it. Too large and the slides would look odd. Of course, the font type plays an important role as well. Designers, as a rule, do not select fonts with serifs or those that resemble papyrus. This is because these fonts aren’t clear when viewed from a distance. It would be difficult for the audience to read your content when they’re 20 feet away. Also, they ideally use two fonts – one for the title and the other for headers. But not more than that!

5.Duplicate The Final Slide:

This may seem a weird idea, but helps a lot if you end up accidentally double clicking the mouse – your audiences don’t have to face a black screen. This is especially true when you’re presenting at a prestigious event or exhibition.

6.Build Slides Last:

Or better still, leave the designing to the professionals. You may be tempted to start with the design while working on the speech – don’t! This is one of the most important PowerPoint presentation design tip. The slides are meant to complement your speech not replace it. While you are working on the speech, a design expert can handle the presentation. The audience is more interested in listening to you rather than appreciating your PowerPoint presentation.

If you are looking for a reputed PowerPoint design agency to help you with an important presentation, call us! We’ll work with you on the design elements while you’re focusing on the other elements required to make your presentation a success!