Good Design Techniques

Good Design Techniques
Keys to Creating Effective PowerPoint Presentations
Presentation by Jason Rhode, Ph.D. | jason.rhode@cuchicago.edu | drjasonrhode.com

What PowerPoint Should Be
Spoken word speaks to audience’s left brain
Slideshow speaks emotionally to audience’s right brain
Slides should illustrate speech
Slides should not replace hand-outs
Jason Rhode, Ph.D. | jason.rhode@cuchicago.edu

Purpose of PowerPoint
Take advantage most people learn best visually
Help us:
Add interest to presentation
Stay organized
Persuade our audience
Easy to use
Also easy to misuse

Effective PowerPoint Slides
Start with content first, not design
Use design templates
Standardize position, colors and styles
Include only necessary information
Limit the information to essentials

Design Tips
Content should be self-evident
Use colors that contrast
Be consistent
Effects
Transitions
Animation
Too many slides can bore your audience

Text Guidelines
Generally no more than 5 words per line
Generally no more than 5 lines per slide
(5 +/- 2 Rule!)
Fancy fonts can be hard to read
Words in all capital letters are hard to read
Avoid abbreviations and acronyms
Limit punctuation marks

Clip Art and Graphics
Should balance the slide
Should enhance and complement text
Should not overwhelm
No more than two graphics per slide

Discussion
What additional tips can you think of?
What annoys you about use of PowerPoint?