1 The design of presentation slides Stephen Bostock

2 Summary 1. Purpose 2. Text, fonts and colour 3. Charts 4. Automate the style 5. Displaying slides 6. Handouts 7. Web versions

3 The purpose of slides Slides should n Augment a presentation not dominate it n Be easy to see, read and understand n Illustrate ideas clearly But not n Distract the audience from the speaker or message n Get in the way

4 Text on slides Use slides to focus attention on key points n one concept per slide n one point per line but n dont distort the natural information structure

5 Reading slides n Allow time for the audience to read n Unless you read all the slide, stop talking Ill suck my pencil for a bit A Achievement B Breadth C Capability

6 Amount of text per slide n Depending on the purpose and audience, guidelines are: About 6 bullets/points per slide About 6/8 words per line About 20 words per slide n No more than 75% of slide area n Exceptions …

7 Font size n The best size depends on typeface, projector, screen, and size of room Arial: 48pt 40pt 32pt 28pt 24pt 18pt 16pt and this is probably too small to read on the screen or handout at 16 pt n Body text size 24 point is the minimum (this is 24 point) Generally use 32 point or 28 point n Maximum of three sizes per slide n Should sub-bullets be smaller?

8 Legible font faces and sizes (44 point Verdana) Some typefaces are best avoided (Beesknees face, 32 point) some font faces are best avoided! n Use a maximum of three font faces per slide (32 point Arial face)

9 Emphasis in text n Use mixed upper and lower case: CAPITALS SHOUT AND ARE LESS READABLE n For emphasis use italics or bold or colour but not all at once, and be consistent n Underlining is old fashioned, or a link n Start lines with a capital? (be consistent)

10 Colours n Colour can add meaning & interest n Keep the main colour scheme simple n Extra colours add visual complexity n No more than about 6 colours n Consider the partially sighted Contrast is in colours and intensities How would it look in greys? Handouts?

11 Which colours? n Colours have their own meanings n Warm foreground stands out from cool background n Pure primary colours (red, green, blue) can get tiring n Try shades e.g. light & dark green

12 Backgrounds n Busy backgrounds may look fun when designing but reduce readability n Do not switch between dark and light backgrounds n Experiment

13 Backgrounds n Busy backgrounds may look fun when designing but reduce readability n Do not switch between dark and light backgrounds n Experiment But not on the audience!

14 Design clear charts n Charts are easier to understand than numbers n Bar charts are effective for tabular data n Pie charts should be large with distinguishing colours

15 Borders to focus attention

16 Automate the style n Use Master slides for consistency and numbering n The Design Templates – use with caution, and customise n PowerPoint 2000 resizes body text to fit body field Tools, Options, Style Options sets rules on number of fonts, case, punctuation, minimum text size, number of bullets, lines per bullet…

17 Slide presentation features n Slide transition effects for all or some slides use just one effect n With sound? n Slide building effects elements of a slide are added in sequence by bullet, line, character use with caution – it chains a speaker to the sequence and irritates the audience

18 Designing handouts n Add administration and contact information in headers and footers n Choice of format, per page 1, 2 slides is too bulky except for detailed slides 3 slides, with lined writing space 4 horizontal slides has writing space 6 slides, with no writing space

19 Versions for printing n Always end with a blank slide But dont print it PowerPoint 2000 does it for you n You may have to keep a different version to print and to display, without some details Hidden slides Remove features before printing Custom shows

20 Web options n Put the.ppt file on the web n Make an Acrobat.pdf file Can protect it Printer-ready handout n Save As web pages. Options for: different browsers with or without animation with or without speakers notes screen sizes ……

21 Summary n Purpose n Fonts and colour n Charts n Displaying slides n Speakers Notes n Handouts n Web versions

22 Reading slides n Allow time for the audience to read n Unless you read all the slide, stop talking