Inspiration + talent ≠ good design
Good design is driven by constraints,
considerations,and consistency.
CONFIDENTIAL & PROPRIETARY
Please don’t write out everything you’re going to
say on a slide. The odds are the people you’re
giving the presentation to are going to be reading
and not listening to a thing you’re saying. Although
this eliminates the need to memorize your talk, it
makes the slides crowded, wordy and boring. 

Plus, your audience reads slides faster than you
can talk, so you’ll lose your audience’s attention
before you even reach the bottom of your first…
(continued)…slide
CONFIDENTIAL & PROPRIETARY
CONFIDENTIAL & PROPRIETARY
world hunger
• In the Asian, African and Latin American countries, well over 500 million people are living in what
the World Bank has called "absolute poverty"
• Every year 15 million children die of hunger
• For the price of one missile, a school full of hungry children could eat lunch every day for 5 years
• Throughout the 1990's more than 100 million children will die from illness and starvation. Those
100 million deaths could be prevented for the price of ten Stealth bombers, or what the world
spends on its military in two days!
• The World Health Organization estimates that one-third of the world is well-fed, one-third is
under-fed one-third is starving- Since you've entered this site at least 200 people have died of
starvation. Over 4 million will die this year.
world hunger
• In the Asian, African and Latin American countries, well over 500 million people are living in what
the World Bank has called "absolute poverty"
• Every year 15 million children die of hunger
• For the price of one missile, a school full of hungry children could eat lunch every day for 5 years
• Throughout the 1990's more than 100 million children will die from illness and starvation. Those
100 million deaths could be prevented for the price of ten Stealth bombers, or what the world
spends on its military in two days!
• The World Health Organization estimates that one-third of the world is well-fed, one-third is
under-fed one-third is starving- Since you've entered this site at least 200 people have died of
starvation. Over 4 million will die this year.
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3 SECONDS
People should get your message in
CONFIDENTIAL & PROPRIETARY
DON’T FORGET:
People remember 

10% of what 

they hear…
DON’T FORGET:
…but up to 

65% of what they
hear and see
CONFIDENTIAL & PROPRIETARY
• Contrary
• To
• Popular
• Belief
• Having
• A
• Bunch
• Of
• Bullet
• Points
• Isn’t
• Making
• Your
• Slide
• Any
• Shorter.
• Avoid
• Excessive
• Bullet-
• Pointing,
• Only
• Bullet
• Key
• Points.
• Too
• Many
• Bullet-Points
• And
• Your
• Key
• Messages
• Get
• Lost
some animation
is fine…
But too much is distracting
and can get REALLY
annoying (and give the
people in the room a seizure)
notallfonts
arecreated
equal
Comic Sans
Papyrus
Impact
Calibri
Copperplate
Zapfino
notallfonts
arecreated
equal
Comic Sans
Papyrus
Impact
Calibri
Copperplate
Zapfino
CONFIDENTIAL & PROPRIETARY
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CONFIDENTIAL & PROPRIETARY
CONFIDENTIAL & PROPRIETARY
STOP IT. NOBODY LOOKS LIKE THIS
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CONFIDENTIAL & PROPRIETARY
Look for stock photos with natural lighting and people who aren’t looking at the
camera. Try to find a visual twist on whatever you’re talking about
DISOWN YOU
if you use clipart, we will
CONFIDENTIAL & PROPRIETARY
CONFIDENTIAL & PROPRIETARY
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C
R
A
P
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Contrast
R
A
P
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Contrast
R
A
P
epetition
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Contrast
R
A
P
epetition
lignment
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Contrast
R
A
P
epetition
lignment
roximity
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CONTRAST EXAMPLES
Contrast makes slides look
slick and organized
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REPETITION EXAMPLES
Repeat colors, fonts and
images styles
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ALIGNMENT EXAMPLES
Line up text, images and
watch your margins
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PROXIMITY EXAMPLES
Group similar or related
elements together
CONFIDENTIAL & PROPRIETARY
build a story
around your
audience
No context or meaning?You’re
giving a boring presentation.
Make your audience the main
characters (and heroes) of your
story.
cut your intro
and ‘about us’
section
People only care who you are
AFTER they hear what you have
to say.Don’t waste precious time
on intros.
keep the
presentation
short and sweet
When was the last time you heard
someone complain a
presentation was too short? 

Cut,cut,cut.
customize your
presentation for
every audience
Every audience is different,your
presentation should be too.One-
size-fits-all presentations are like
one-size-fits-all clothes; they
never fit right and usually make
you look bad.
simplify your
graphics,
drawings and
tables
People shut off their brains when
they see complicated drawings
and tables.Highlight what’s
important.
use readable
fonts,and don’t
emphasize
everything
Don’t make people strain to read
your words.And remember:
when you emphasize everything,
you emphasize nothing.
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don’t read from
your slides
Newsflash: your audience can read.
If there are words in front of people,
they’re going to read that and stop
listening to what you’re saying.
39 www.solstice-mobile.com
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HOW DOES LADY GAGA LIKE HER STEAK?
Well Done
Medium
Rare
Raw, Raw, Raw, Raw, Raw
BAD
www.solstice-mobile.com
Well Done
Medium
Rare
Raw, Raw, Raw, Raw, Raw
HOW DOES LADY GAGA LIKE HER STEAK?
BETTER
www.solstice-mobile.com
HOW DOES LADY GAGA LIKE HER STEAK?
57%
14%
14%
14%
Well Done
Medium
Rare
Raw, Raw, Raw, Raw, Raw
EVEN BETTER
www.solstice-mobile.com
HOW DOES LADY GAGA LIKE HER STEAK?
57%
14%
14%
14%
Well Done
Medium
Rare
Raw, Raw, Raw, Raw, Raw
MUCH BETTER
WHAT THEY MEAN
remember: it’s not about the numbers. It’s about
RECAP
finally, always remember to
47 www.solstice-mobile.com
THANKS!ginaholder.com

Learning to Design PowerPoints like a Badass