The document provides guidance for educators on improving visual aids in presentations by emphasizing design principles such as contrast, repetition, alignment, and proximity. It advises against common pitfalls like using bullets, overcrowding slides, and neglecting the visual hierarchy, while encouraging the use of high-quality images and creating original templates. The key takeaway is to enhance communication effectiveness by thoughtfully crafting visual elements that maintain audience engagement.

1. Image: ‘PixelPlacebo’
HELP PRE VENT TOXIC SLI DE SYNDROME

2. T W AES
ELID K!
YO UR S design princi ples for educ ators.
Ten visual
Presented by: Chiara Ojeda
cojeda@fullsail.com
tweakyourslides.wordpress.com
Image: KimberlyFordPhotography

3. Image: Pink Poppy Photography
TWEAKING MY CLASS

4. 1
THING YOU
WANT TO
IMPROVE
ABOUT YOUR
VISUAL AIDS

5. #1 THINK LIKE A DESIGNER
Make each decision deliberate.

6. DESIGN IS...
Utility Significance
Image: DimitraTzanos

7. relevant
meaningful
new
truth easiness
consistency usefulness
honesty useability
accuracy fit
beauty
structure
appearance

8. C-R-A-P-ify your slide design.

9. Contrast increases understanding.
Making elements different
Repetition
Repeat visual elements to create strong unity.
Alignment
Nothing should be placed arbitrarily. Placement illustrates
relationships between elements.
Proximity
Related items should be placed together.

10. #2: DO NOT...
USE BULLETS

11. WHYNOT?

12. BULLETS
USE TEXT ALONE TO
CONVEY IDEAS
& CONSTRAIN
CREATIVITY.

13. use text
Do... purposely

14. Choosing Fonts
Use
1 Title, body, serif vs. multiple
emphasis
font/weight sans serif text
boxes
Pair text Font must be
with Dafont.com installed to
visual work

15. #3: DO NOT...
OVERUSE
TEMPLATES
Image: theilr

16. Classical Canons of
Rhetoric
Invention (P.A.S.S.S.)
Arrangement
Style
Memory
Delivery

17. Persuasive
Presentations

18. WHY NOT?
Image: slimmer_jimmer

19. BE A REBEL,
CREATE YOUR OWN
TEMPLATE
Consider:
Consistency and flexibility
Grids and layout
Color
Image: Thuany Gabriela

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24. GRIDS CREATE UNITY
} Turn on master
gridlines, alignment
guides and object
spacing/sizing.

25. View/show on guides; drag
cursor down from ruler to
create static guides

26. #4: DO NOT...
CONFUSE
YOUR AUDIENCE
VIA UNCLEAR
HIERARCHY &
PROXIMITY.
Image: unisono

27. Strong hierarchy helps
audiences understand
relationships.

29. PROXIMITY MATTERS
Near
Far

30. Proximity Conveys Relationship
unite/fragment order/chaos equal/unequal

31. Coherence in a Paragraph
Stick to the point: The ideas have a clear and logical relation to each
¨
other.
Put details or examples or incidents in logical
¨
order.
chronological
in relation to each other
in order of importance

32. Ensure your
paragraphs are
coherent.
stick to
Put details t he point
in logical
order:
Consider
a. chronology hierarchy
b. relationship
c. importance

33. #5: DO NOT...
FORGET TO HELP
YOUR AUDIENCE SEE
WHAT YOU ARE SAYING

34. ž Symbols are used in conjunction with the other elements of
short stories…
ž Symbolic settings
› call attention to theme
› Reveal the personality of the characters
› Create unity
› Consider Oates’s use of the suburbia in “Where Are
You Going…”. How does the setting affect how the
characters are developed/how they interact?

35. DO...
APPLY THE
PICTURE
SUPERIORITY
EFFECT

36. W hat information am I
repr esenting with the
writt en word that I could
r eplace with an image?

37. Symbolic Settings

38. Symbolic setting:
Story themes
Character personalities
Unified style and plot

39. Oates’ Setting--1960s suburbia
Image: x-ray delta one

40. #6: DO NOT...
MAKE VISUALS
SECONDARY
Image: Gianmaria

41. Character Development and Analysis
} Theway a character is developed in a
story is what often times makes fiction so
enjoyable. Readers can identify with
characters and can associate with their
own personal struggles. Even in
extraordinary circumstances, characters
will act and react in generally traditional
human ways. If we are able to relate to a
character in some way, then the author has
done his or her job.

42. Visual Cliche

43. Image: Taking it Global
Stretched or pixelated images = no bueno

44. Actual Size

45. EXTRA EMPTY SPACE
Unnecessary framing

47. Common Problems
Aren’t gnomes neat! This picture has no space
for text, but it’s really neat and I have lots to say
and put on the slide, so I don’t really care if
there isn’t enough space. Gnomes rule!
Background and content
competing

48. Gnomes rule!

49. Gnomes rule!

50. Image: colodio
DO USE QUALITY VISUALS

51. Think concrete, large, high res.
Compfight and Flickr are your friends.
Choose creative commons, commercial use.
Show attribution.
Image: cucumber!

52. MASKING/CROPPING AN IMAGE

53. USING THE ALPHA TOOL

54. Is there room for text?

55. Be creative.

57. #7: DO NOT...CROWD YOUR SLIDES
Image:Alex Kess

58. Rising Action and One could argue that the entirety of Books/Films I and II (The
Fellowship, The Two Towers) is all rising action and false summits.
False Summits Frodo does not confront his climax until Book/Film III.
Once having traversed
Gollum brings tension
the threshold, the hero … between Sam and Frodo
must survive a succession
of trials.
--Campbell
Frodo Confronts the
Ringwraiths at
Weathertop (fear) Gandalf is lost in Moria (grief) Faramir detains Frodo (hope in
humanity is restored
After a series of trials, Frodo and Sam move
Frodo becomes the ring bearer towards Mount Doom (emotional exhaustion;
(trepidation; uncertainty about the hopelessness)
future)

59. Falling Action and Resolution
In LOTR, the parallel story lines converge
He [must] re-enter … where and the conflict of the story is resolved. At
men who are fractions imagine the end of the story, Frodo’s emotional
balance is restored, but he cannot return to
themselves to be complete. -- the carefree hobbit of the beginning of the
Campbell story and leaves Middle Earth for the Grey
Havens.
The Scouring of the Shire (Frodo’s final
test)
Rescued by the eagles (relief; a return
to certainty)
Aragorn is King (happiness; jubilation)
Frodo leaves Middle Earth

60. USE EMPTY SPACE TO
PROVIDE VISUAL
BREATHING
ROOM
Image:NazliG.

61. #8: DO NOT...
CREATE
dissonance
Image: x-ray delta one

62. Climax: Frodo Destroys the Ring
The Climax of LOTR comes with the
destruction of the Ring. In the text,
Frodo is not directly involved in the
destruction of the ring. Gollum’s joy
at retrieving his “precious” is what
begins the resolution of the plot.
This resolution is not entirely positive
The hero-quest requires that the hero for Frodo, as he has to struggle with
return. The responsibility has been
being corrupted by the Ring.
frequently refused.
--Joseph Campbell

63. DO AMP
CON UP T
HE
T RAS
T
Image: Tiago Daniel

64. Contrast: Understanding through
difference
size shape shade color proximity

65. STRONG CONTRAST MEANS
Image: oliverchesler
LOW NOISE
HIGH SIGNAL

66. #10: DO NOT...
FORGET
AN EXTRA SLIDE
COSTS NOTHING

67. ¡ P
–
Purpose
–
Why
am
I
wri)ng?
§ Informa)on?
Persuasion?
Personal?
Entertainment?
etc.
¡ A-­‐Audience
–
Who
am
I
wri)ng
to?
§ Rela)onship
to
writer,
age,
)tle,
beliefs/preconceived
ideas,
needs,
knowledge/educa)onal
level,
etc.
¡ S-­‐Subject
–
What
am
I
wri)ng
about?
§ Topic,
content,
what
to
include/leave
out
¡ S-­‐Self
–
How
do
I
want
to
portray
myself
to
my
reader?
§ Tone
–
not
what
you
say,
but
how
you
say
it.
¡ S-­‐Special
Requirements
–
How
should
my
paper
“look”?
What
limits
do
I
have?
§ Format,
length,
)me/due
date,
etc.

68. H T
DO... C E
A G D
T D
E E
e r”
nt
D N K
e
r es
P
A A
k ed
Na
he
N
T
s ,“
o ld
e yn
r rR
a
--G
www.desktopography.net
www.thisiscross.com

69. Purpose
Why am I writing?
Consider necessity.
Why is this an issue worth
discussing?

70. Target Audience
For whom am I writing?
Consider: Relationship to writer, demographics,
beliefs, needs, etc.

71. Subject
What am I writing about?
topic
content
what to include/exclude

72. Self
How do I want to
portray myself?

73. Special Requirements
What are the
parameters of the
assignment?
Challenges
Format
Be Proactive!

74. So, let’s recap!
THINK LIKE A USE CONTRAST
DESIGNER
DO USE TEXT
PURPOSELY
CREATE YOUR OWN
TEMPLATES

75. So, let’s recap!
USE HIERARCHY
AND PROXIMITY
USE THE PICTURE
SUPERIORTY EFFECT
ALWAYS CHOOSE
QUALITY VISUALS

76. So, let’s recap!
PROVIDE VISUAL
BREATHING ROOM
USE CONTRAST
USE ANIMATION
RESPONSIBLY
DETACH AND
GET NAKED

77. THANKS
QUESTIONS?
I love this stuff...chat with me any time..really!
Download “Tweak Your Slides @
Slideshare.net”

78. All images courtesy of Flickr
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.0/