People always ask me “How much is will it cost to redesign my presentation?” Every design job is different so the costs vary from project to project. I’m not trying to hide a trade secret here, it’s just the way it is. Only after I’ve had a conversation with a potential client and reviewed his deck can I give an accurate estimate on the project cost. In designing PowerPoint presentations for the past twenty years I’ve had projects that have cost between $500–7,500 depending on a large number of variables.
The good news is there are many ways to help keep the costs down on your next PowerPoint redesign project.
It’s all about preparation
Time = money. The more time the designer has to devote to your project, the more it’s going to cost. Here are some things you can do to make sure the designer doesn’t have to spend a lot of extra time on your deck.
- Do your own copy editing. If you have 500 words on a slide, the designer has to read the slide, determine the main message, take away 99% of your text, then come up with a striking visual to convey your message. Multiply that by the number of text-heavy slides in your deck to get the number of extra billable hours.
- Have a script or an outline. It’s much easier to design visuals for a script than it is to design a script around visuals. A strong story is essential for a successful presentation.
- Have just one main idea per slide. Often, people will load tons of text onto a single slide (see above). The designer’s job is to clarify and simplify messages, so each text-heavy slide will need to be broken down into two or more new slides. Again, more copy editing equals higher cost.
- Give the designer a finished draft. Make sure you and your team have done all you can with your deck before giving it to the designer. If the designer works on slides that you later decide to cut, you’ll still be charged for the time it took to redesign them.
- Provide a single point of contact. You and your team should discuss edits with each other, not individually with the designer, which causes confusion if conflicting instructions are given.
- Give as much lead time as possible. If a designer has to work nights and weekends, hire extra staff, or cancel previously scheduled work to meet your tight deadline, it’s going to cost you.
Getting an accurate estimate
The more upfront you are about your needs and expectations, the easier it will be for the designer to provide an accurate time and cost estimate for completing your project. Let the designer review the deck you want redesigned so she can predict any additional costs like those outlined above. And if you are able to provide a cost range that’s within your budget, it will help the designer to figure out how many resources to allocate to each part of the project.