Show and Tell: Top 10 Design Tips

Below are 10 tips in basic design technique that will make your work more polished and professional:

1. Analyze your objective. Do you intend to teach, sell or review a problem? Your design should reflect your objectives and the audience's expectations.

2. K.I.S.S. - you've seen it before, remember it here- Keep It Short and Simple. Elaborate designs can impede the impact of the message. Design should enhance, not compete.

3. Create a master style to use for the whole presentation. Use the same fonts, colors and graphic styles for continuity and flow.

4. If you will be giving multiple presentations, standardize your style for immediate identification.

5. Develop your message in outline form - design and build on major points, then go back and emphasize or add special touches.

6. Leave lots of "white" space or blue space, whatever color you choose for a background. Don't overwhelm your audience with text or graphics.

7. Color requires careful consideration. Use no more than 3 or 4 colors for each presentation and rely on values (lightness or darkness of a color) for contrast while maintaining continuity.

8. Choose a background color that is soothing; use contrasting colors to emphasize a point. Remember the old color wheel from grade school? Get one, it still helps create good design.

9. When working with audio, choose music or narration that reflects and enhances your style not interfere with it.

10. As with everything else about presenting - PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE - try lots of designs and styles before making your final choice. Solicit opinions from objective outsiders.

Learn more about DESIGN with the following mediums:
Slides, Electronic Presentations, Overheads, Multimedia, Video, Print

ABOUT GREENSTAR, ASK THE EXPERT, HOME, SHOW & TELL, VIEW