3C: Slide Redesign Activity

It’s time to rethink your approach to slide presentations. The primary purpose of slides is to display inspiring visual images with a few, large titles, rather than to provide talking points for the speaker.

Study the example below. Which would you rather look at? The first “Bad” slide breaks many of the Rules for Inspiring Slide Design (Accessible PDF). Things get “Better” in the next slide. But the “Best” approach is to separate the main ideas into four different slides with inspiring images and one simple message.

Preparation

  1. Reading: Study Rules for Inspiring Slide Design
    Study Color Schemes in chapter 5 of Visual FOCUS, especially page 154.
    Study p.119  of Visual FOCUS for examples of Multi-weighted Sans Serif.
  2. Tools: Microsoft PowerPoint.
  3. Review:  Guide to Finding Quality Images. (Transcript)
  4. Other Resources: Install new Sans Serif typefaces, as needed from www.dafont.com or www.fontsquirrel.com
    Prepare and look over the upcoming Prezi Presentation project found in Week 4 >  4A: Prezi Presentation Project.

Instructions: Create a 3-Slide Presentation

 1. LIST OF ERRORS

Based on the Rules for Inspiring Slide Design, make a list of the eight broken rules in the text-heavy “BAD” slide, shown above. Open Microsoft PowerPoint add this list to the first slide. Choose a multi-weighted Sans Serif to use for all three slides in this activity.

2. PRESENTATION OUTLINE

On slide two of your presentation, create a summary slide like the “Better” example from above, (you’ll use three bullets or numbers, rather than four seen in the example). Choose one of the text-heavy slides below. Simplify the information into an outline, by extracting a shorter title and the three most important ideas. Arrange these lines of text tastefully on a slide.

Note: this type of outline slide should not be used in a real-world presentation due to its excessive text. However, this step serves helps shorten the material to its most vital points and creates a speaking outline for the presenter.

3StepsSlide
Classification of Waterfalls
Origin of The Term

3. INSPIRING SLIDE

Create one slide to illustrate one of the three main points from the outline you created. Be sure to use only one idea on this slide. Choose one inspiring, high quality image: at least 1024 on the long side. Choose a few words (1-5) that best illustrate the main idea. If multiple words are used on a slide, use contrast to feature one or two words larger. A second typeface may be used sparingly. Keep all type larger than 24 pt. font size. Remember, “less is more” when it comes to words.

4. PROTECT FONTS

Fonts will change when viewed on other computers, so always export your slides as JPEGs and reinsert them in a new slides show to be certain they will be viewed correctly elsewhere. Choose File>Save as JPEG>All slides (On PowerPoint 2011 for Mac choose “OPTIONS…” and change the width to 2048px). Find the folder of JPEGs and reinsert each one in a new presentation. Save as a .pptx. Different versions of PowerPoint may have different methods of exporting your files. Look for tutorials if the above directions don’t apply to your version.

5. SUBMISSION

Click “Open” below and upload your three-slide .pptx file that has the JPEGS before the deadline

Tutorial

(Transcript)