Hot Presentation Trends 2016

Every year, the folks behind the podium look for new trends and ideas to wow their audience to a possible extent, by delivering uniquely engaging and impactful presentations. And therefore, we have done all the legwork to bring you a summation of the trends forecasted by the presentation and design veterans for the year 2016.

To summarize, the list below features some fresh trends as well as some timeless features which will be ruling the market throughout the year. To make is an all-in-one guide to the presenters, we have listed trends under different categories.

TECHNOLOGY AND DIGITALIZATION:

“The Big-time Game Changers” for the presentation and design fraternity

Trend 1: Web-based presentation tools

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It’s time to go Beyond MS PPT and Keynote, and get used to new presentation-making platforms such as Google slides, Prezi, Canva, Slides, Flowvella, Sway, Haiku Deck, etc. Along with a variety of design templates and other features, these tools offer a higher scope of interaction, customization, data accessibility and storage as well as user privacy. The greatest boon is the option of online link sharing which eliminates difficulties in terms of file compression, quality compromise, oversized email attachments as well as calling a conference. While more and more presenters and design firms are tending to use web-based tools, PowerPoint is updating its product features to keep up with its rivals.

Trend 2: Augmented Reality (AR)

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The presentations Gurus are waiting for the ‘Augmented Reality’ to overtake the charge of the world of presentation and design, ensuring the same level of success it has achieved in other industries. Experts are confident about AR to revolutionize the visual aesthetics arena and thus, truly augment the audience experience in the near future.

DISPLAY AND FORMAT:

Attention, Dear Presenters! Convenience, reach and user friendliness can be fostered even more by reaching your audience through modern and multiple display formats.

Trend 3: Wider screens

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‘16:9 screen’ is a widely-favored buzzword since 2009 and would remain a popular display ratio option. The enormous screens empower the images and create an immersive visual imagery for the viewers. That’s why the wider screen is atop the check-list of today’s presenter.

Trend 4: Multi-device format

Your target audience is more connected with their mobile phone, compared to digital screens, videoconference, and the web. The 4G and Mobile App revolution vouch how popular websites are fast turning into interactive, handy apps which a user can always carry in his mobile and operate on the go. Why should the presentations be left out from this wave? Today, the presenters can find many online tools to create mobile browser-friendly, interactive presentations with tons of other useful features. This is a new trend predicted by the industry leaders for the year 2016 and onwards.

CONTENT:

Who could deny that content is the king and will remain so forever? Forecasts are pretty clear that going forward, the past year trends would continue in terms of precise, clutter-free content as well as creativity quotient. However, overall purpose/usage of content might witness some radical changes

Trend 5: A Story with Minimalistic Content

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The story is more appealing than the facts and therefore, in 2016, we are likely to see the continuation of the storytelling approach. The presenters would have to learn how to create and weave an effective story around the message to reach the ‘hearts’ of their audience.

A story + relevant, oversized images + the “minimalistic” content – would remain a sizzling style this year too. Minimalistic content is meant to be perfectly precise. Only THE useful words or phrases; NO fluffs. Less and less text, more and more engaging visuals! We anticipate this trend would survive for long as it makes it simpler for the audience to comprehend the message, and it also creates lasting impacts at emotional levels of the audience. At the same time, it helps the presenter to focus on the key message and leave out other background details. Big screen display and digital photography together create an immersive messaging environment, and so they would certainly help this trend to keep away from fading.

Trend 6: Creativity in Style & Storytelling

Who uses PowerPoint clip arts and native animations today? They are totally replaced by the intelligent creative illustrations, catchy and bold typography as well as graphics and animated .GIFs. They are the new “cool”. The reason why these techniques are famous is that they help personify your message and so look more appealing and adorable, irrespective of divergent audience demographics. They are the business-as-usual and would continue being on trend for this year as well because of their brilliant and thoughtful appearances.

Infographics have their history dating back to 17th century when they were first used by a researcher who had written a book about the rotation of the sun! This is a reason enough to call it a real “timeless” style. We don’t feel it exaggerated to say that this year will also witness infographics sustaining its relative position.

Apart from all these, a trend of smartly carrying a story through an original way – is catching pace. This approach encourages the use of an indicative, common layout throughout the presentation which supports and drives the STORY in it.

Trend 7: Presentations – Marketing & Sales enablers

This year, experts are predicting that presentation designs would also be driven by its different uses in content marketing and other media channels. It’s just begun but the way content marketing is becoming popular amongst social media, it is very likely for this trend to become tomorrow’s norm.

Experts can’t ignore a completely new lookout wherein inbound marketing tactics can be synced with the presentation in coming time, to insert branding and rebranding ideas at the end of the presentation and creating one more means to connect with the potential prospects. In that case, it brings a sophisticated innovation in terms of generating a new branding avenue and/or creating a potential sales lead.

IMAGES:

100/100 to those who produce and feed themselves. Borrowing is a job anyone can do! And yes, size matters so don’t overlook on that part

Trend 8: Ditch the Stock photos; GO for original photography:

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Viewers are increasing realizing that stock images look artificial and a too rosy option to be used in the presentations. And so the experts are increasingly advising to maximize the use of original subject images rather than relying on stock photos. Facebook and Instagram have made your target audience crazy about the real-time images, and so the audience brings the same attitude while viewing your presentation too. To catch up with this pulse, these days more and more presenters are leaning towards using images from a professional photo shoot of the original subject. Apart from being highly impactful and totally connecting approach, it also goes easily with your wallets.

E.g. while anchoring a corporate presentation at a university to recruit the fresh pass-outs, real images of the corporate offices can visually orient the prospective employees in terms of the levels of cultural diversity, technology, organizational systems, and an overall corporate esteem offered by your organization. Original photos greatly help in building up an ever-engaging perspective and therefore create lasting impacts in the minds of the audience. With the help of your in-house design studio team, you can also bring more customization in the images

Trend 9: Use of impressive and oversized images:

Images have an ability to encapsulate and present the key message with the hint of personalization. They make the conversation more immersive and help create a mutually cohesive messaging environment. Oversized images are apt and immensely useful to connect the viewers especially when accompanied with one or two points of information. Doing this will bring THE catch of the story and keep the message clean and precise. Image collage is another style we foresee coming up faster because of the ease of use, availability of wider display screens and “variety of flavors” in a single slide.

D.E.S.I.G.N = DIY + Economic + Smart + Interactive + Graduating + Neutral:

Trend 10: Flat design is widely used as an interface design in most of our digital gadgets. Its journey had started with the mobile touch screens. Since then it is rocking the design world and would undoubtedly carry on its status throughout the year. Why: Because it is a real D.E.S.I.G.N. It needs no rocket science; someone with literally minimal graphic designing skills can create it, so simply it’s DIY. It is definitely economic and flexible. It goes smart with all formats – images, videos, and animations. Flat designs foster reality and elegance due to which they remain neither plain simple nor graphically complex. Our subconscious minds have long been familiar with this style and user interface associated with it. Yes, this design is graduating and neutral too. In our opinion, just blindly go with the flat design and make it catchier with bright & pastel color palettes.

Trend 11: Continued Scrolling or auto-scrolling format is a new helpful trend in certain situations wherein you need to:

  1. Create a presentation-cum-webpage which is easy to share via a simple link. No more large attachments and bouncing emails;
  2. Ensure a non-disturbing, continuous flow of message delivery;
  3. Support your message with interactive features such as graphics, online forms, polls, surveys etc.
  4. Endure a flawless storytelling and better attention and engagement from the viewers and
  5. Adjust formats and displays based on different platforms.

FONTS:

Originality is once again buzzing its big role for this part of the presentation. Experts are looking forward to finding more and more use of the relaxing and easy-going tone, to complement with storytelling approach and creative styles, which are largely in-trend, as mentioned before…

Trend 12: Flat & Bold fonts 

Goes without saying. An increased use of flat design confirms an increase in the use of the most complementing flat fonts. Increase the use of boldness as much as you can. This is encouraged because of better display technologies, which in turn compels an increased attention to aesthetics, readability and impact.

Trend 13: Variety & handwritten fonts

Mixing and matching fonts in a single slide or a scrolling page – the trend would go on this year due to an added beauty and finesse they provide. Be cautious, though, to not bring clashing fonts together. Choose fonts, icons, graphics and other features created by Hand-written style, due to a rare and unbeatable timeliness it carries. They look informal and relaxing so their use in certain industries would usefully personalize the messaging tone.

We hope you found the article useful.  Do share your feedback & comments.  Thank you!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: RIDHDHI PAREKH

As a Marketing and Communications professional, I have 6+ years of combined corporate & freelance work experience in content development, product marketing, promotion and business communications. During initial career years, I found myself naturally inclined towards writing. That’s when I dug deeper and today, I have developed a capability for creating SEO-driven, well-researched and compelling content for print/online resources. I enjoy exploring and writing about: business, travel, gardening, cooking, feminism, startup/tech news.

Writing apart, I love getting absorbed in diverse creative activities. I am especially interested in quick DIY waste-utilization projects, gardening, cooking, and traveling. I am passionate about sustainability and human services. Research, detailing, exploration, knowledge – all of them attract me at once.

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