Good Design for PowerPoint

A good PowerPoint design is essential in every presentation. Be it to inform or to persuade, our slides are the key to our goal. The question lies here, “How do I create a good and effective design for my PowerPoint slides?” Design features increase the usefulness of the document Reep(2006).

To answer this question, I am going to use my own assignment one presentation slides as an example to be criticized in term of design by applying principles of design. The aim here is to identify the absent of design principles so that improvement can be made. This critic will be based of Diana Reep explanation of Document Design

Balance
Page balance refers to having comparable visual "weight" on both sides of a page or on opposing pages in a longer document Reep(2006)



(Figure 1)

By looking at figure one we can see that the proportion of the text is not balance therefore feels heavy on one size. The circle that is pointed out shows that the bottom and side is much heavier where the text fails to balance the slide design.

Alignment
Alignment creates unity among the elements. Every image is connect via an invisible line Reynolds(2008)


(Figure 2)


The text alignment in figure 2 has moved which disrupts the unity of the slides. This however gives a sense of disorganized.

Consistency

Creating consistency is very important as it helps readers relate better to the similar information. Do not mistake consistent format for boring format. Consistency helps readers by emphasizing similar types of information and their similar importance Reep (2006).

(Figure 3)

The use of same fonts and headings and background will allow consistency which in the example of figure three there are certain elements of consistency but font size different.


Reference:
Reynolds, G. (2008). Presentation Zen.Simple ideas on presentation design and delivery. Berkely, CA: New Riders.

Reep, D. C.( 2006), ‘Chapter 6: Document design’ in Technical writing: Principles, strategies and readings, 6th ed., New York: Pearson