Color is a huge part of design and communication, but it's often ignored by people banging out PowerPoint presentations at the last minute. This can be a big mistake for several reasons. Colors are part of your brand. A company's brand is much more than just a logo; colors play a large part in … [Read more...] about Why PowerPoint colors are important
Why does PowerPoint suck?
It's easy to hate PowerPoint because it's so awful, right? I mean, how many ugly presentations should you have to sit through in your life? Don't people know that PowerPoint saps your will and makes you into a drooling zombie? It's just terrible and it should be outlawed. PowerPoint sucks! I … [Read more...] about Why does PowerPoint suck?
How to customize PowerPoint themes: The down-and-dirty method
You've just been told that you're responsible for your company's next big presentation. Due tomorrow. And you have no corporate PowerPoint template or theme. Uh-oh! How are you going to get in front of your prospects without a well-designed presentation? By using one of the built-in PowerPoint … [Read more...] about How to customize PowerPoint themes: The down-and-dirty method
How be a better presenter by manipulating data
There are ways to show data to make them more compelling and there are ways to use data to put an audience to sleep. Unfortunately, since it's much easier to present data as a bullet-pointed outline or a table, many presenters opt for the latter. In PowerPoint as in life, the easy route is often not … [Read more...] about How be a better presenter by manipulating data
How to steal from Steve Jobs and make millions of dollars
When Steve Jobs returned to Apple in 1997, the company was unfocused and sliding into bankruptcy. It had close to 300 products, none of which was doing exceptionally well in the marketplace. You could pick up Apple shares for about $22 back then. Jobs streamlined Apple's product offerings to just … [Read more...] about How to steal from Steve Jobs and make millions of dollars
What is a PowerPoint presentation?
According to Kurt DelBene, president of the Microsoft Office Division, as of July 2012 1 billion people worldwide use Microsoft Office (which, of course, includes PowerPoint). With such market penetration, it is no wonder that PowerPoint has become the lingua franca of business communication. But … [Read more...] about What is a PowerPoint presentation?
Do you need header and footer blocks on PowerPoint slides? No.
We see it all the time—a slide that has a large, colored bar along the top for the title and another one along the bottom for a logo, page number, and various other footer items. Why has this become the norm? It's true that many of the templates that come standard with PowerPoint use this … [Read more...] about Do you need header and footer blocks on PowerPoint slides? No.
How to royally screw up a PowerPoint presentation
Here is a transcript from a horrible presentation made by rookie presenter, Joe Fumbler. In August 2012, I conducted a contest exclusively for Design Dispatch readers to find all the flubs made by Joe Fumbler during his presentation, and reader Robbie Kularski came up with eighteen mistakes! … [Read more...] about How to royally screw up a PowerPoint presentation