Planning Your Slides Bobby Wan

Design Goals Every design is/was created to serve a specific goal, or with a specific end in mind. It is important to remember that each design has a specific purpose and reason why there a need to communicate to the audience was there. Information Identifies and/or informs the audience of a topic, an idea or a product. Editorial Publications such as newspapers and magazines. Promotion Promotes the use of a product, an idea or a concept. Commercial Advertises the sale of a product or item. It is likely the design will not fall squarely into any one category. An event advertisement can both promote the event as well as promote it (an “infomercial”); a commercial can be published in a high-end glossy magazine (an “advertorial”) and so on.

Planning ! MESSSAGE Here's a great idea for an infographic. These are the points we want to make. DATA Let's examine the data and see if the data supports it. AUDIENCE These are the people and/or the target demographic we want to reach. GOALS This is what we want to happen after the graphic is viewed. Plan carefully and well! Even the best infographic designs will be undermined without good planning, good team dynamics and a firm understanding of your message, audience, goals and data.

What are the audience needs? Gender Age Ethnicity Profession Locale Religion Special interests For example, a young audience needs to be enthralled by vibrant colours, interesting pictures and funky typefaces; but creating a perfume advertisement targeted at a certain strata of women will require a different stimulus to achieve the right response – see the two concert posters below.

Setting Goals SPECIFIC clear about what, where, when, and how the situation will be changed MEASURABLE able to quantify the targets and benefits ATTAINABLE able to attain the stated objectives (being aware of available resources and capacities) REALISTIC able to obtain the level of change reflected in the objective TIME-BOUND stating the time period in which they will each be accomplished

SEVEN Do’s and Don’t’s of Slide design 1. Show, don’t tell You don’t want your infographic to feel like a novel; after all, it’s all about presenting information visually. Keep your use of text to a minimum and use illustrations as much as possible

Do’s and Don’t’s of slide design 2. Focus on the story Stories usually have a protagonist. They also have a beginning, a middle, and an end. While the medium is different, infographics also need to have these elements. Frame your infographic so it’s clear what issue or challenge it addresses and what the audience needs to do after viewing it

Do’s and Don’t’s of slide design 3. Think beyond the traditional Bar and pie charts will always have their place, but the most successful design tell the story differently. Besides, If the client wanted an bunch of charts that could just as easily be created in Excel, they not need to the services of great designers. Sad and harsh, but true. Of course not all data is suitable to be creatively depicted. Nevertheless, always consider ways to dress up a traditional graph

Do’s and Don’t’s of slide design The best design minimize the use of traditional charts, opting to use photos, illustrations, and other visually compelling elements instead. In the above example, which do you think is better for the client?

Do’s and Don’t’s of slide design 4. Use a colour palette that complements each other The last thing you want is slide with clashing colours, with people scratching their eyes out or scurrying for the door! Try to stay with three to four colours at most, and try to use harmonious colours. You don’t have to reinvent the wheel when it comes to picking colours! Paletton.com Colorhunter.com design-seeds.com

Do’s and Don’t’s of slide design 5. Avoid a white background Most websites have white backgrounds, so using that same colour as your background will make it difficult for people to decipher where your infographics begin and where it ends.

Do’s and Don’t’s of slide design 6. Keep it clean and simple People will find it easier to digest and retain information if you’re not cramming too much information and too many design details in one infographic. The Chinese have a saying – 一目了然 (yī mù liăo rán, “at a glance”) – which is very applicable in this context. If your design cannot convey its message within the first few minutes of viewing, you have lost the plot

Do’s and Don’t’s of slide design 7. Edit and edit and edit some more Use very minimal copy