Are you Formatting Your Presentation to the Right Level?

PowerPoint formatting is science too! All you need to know are answers to the “What”, “Why”, “When” and “Which” for a deck’s design.

Designing your presentation to the right level for the right slide brings in the much needed WOW factor. And, Bingo!! Your slide will do all the talking for you.

You could be a presentation designer or someone seeking/working with a presentation designer for a slide deck. A good understanding of the specific needs of a deck is all it takes to give it a classy professional look. In other words, the key is to understand the requirements of the scenario and the Levels of PowerPoint Presentation Design that it calls for. So, there is indeed a secret sauce here.

How to Pick a Level to Format Your PowerPoint Deck?

Here are some examples of real-life scenarios for the three Levels of PowerPoint Formatting that might just save your day when faced with the daunting task of formatting a slide deck.

Before that, we will talk a bit about basic clean-up.

Basic clean up or as most of our customers would refer to it as ‘basic formatting’, is the basic requirement before you can even go ahead and make your slides more visual. Just the way a makeup artist would add a base layer before putting on makeup.

Basic formatting is simple, straightforward and basic sprucing up to give the deck a cleaner and consistent look throughout. Here are some scenarios that you or your design partners might want to look out for:

• You have the design and format set. You even have a few sample slides. You only need the rest of the deck to be formatted consistent with the template.
• You have an internal meeting with your colleagues. You don’t really need a high-end presentation.
• Your decks are simple, McKinsey-style decks. There is no need to give it a “designer deck” look.
• You have a photo of a whiteboard or a page of a book or you have written your slides by hand on paper and you now need to convert them to PPT slides.

Check out this infographic for some lifesaver, PowerPoint Design Tips, and Ideas. You might even want to pin it up near your desk!

Scenarios for Design Repackaging of a PowerPoint Deck – Level 1

When just sprucing up is not enough. Some layouts need to be changed and you need to add that little extra something to give the slides a WOW factor. Any of these situations sound familiar?

• You need the slides to have a good clean-up, consistent look and also redo the layout on a few slides that you are not happy with.
• You need to add imagery and/or icons to specific slides to convey the message perfectly.
• You have the overall design as to how the PPT template should look like but you want a fully functional PPT template created.

Scenarios for Visual Makeover of a PowerPoint Deck – Level 2

 

Almost akin to a regular makeover for anything. Be it a wardrobe or your hairstyle or your living room. This version takes your deck to a whole new level. An entirely different look and feel. Here are some pointers you can use to identify whether your slides need a visual makeover:

• You have some design ideas but you also want to see some additional ideas for supporting visuals.
• You want your slides to have the look and feel of an infographic.
• You have a deck that tells a story using multiple steps of animations and/or transitions.

Scenarios for Creative Design of a PowerPoint Deck – Level 3

Creative design is akin to when you need more than just a new look; maybe you need to move to a new place or even a new country. You then adapt to a new lifestyle, make new friends and develop new habits.

Here are certain situations that can apply to creative design needs:

• You have an idea or a story but you are unsure how you can visualize that idea so that you can present it to the team or to your clients.
• You have a concept and you need to convert it into visual storytelling.
• You have some facts that need to be translated into an infographic.
• You don’t have a corporate PowerPoint template and you need a well-formed brand guide for your company to use for all their business presentations.

Check out this infographic for some lifesaver, PowerPoint Design Tips, and Ideas. You could use it as a ready reckoner for your design needs!

Still unsure how to choose a level for your deck? No worries. Pin-up the levels of presentation design infographic by your deck. Refer to it each time your presentation needs a design treatment!