1. Tips for a good “Journal club” presentation
In a dark room, consider a dark background with pale pastel text.
Pale yellow and blue work well. White does not project well, particularly in large rooms with much magnification
If the room will be bright, a pale background with dark text works well
Overall, be careful with color. Use no more than 2 colors/slide for text and not many more for graphics.
Red should be reserved for creating emphasis as the eye is immediately drawn to red in a slide.
Always strive for large differences in contrast between text and background, otherwise the slide will be difficult to read
The “golden rule” is 5 lines with 5 words/line for text slides
large blocks of text are to be avoided

2. This color is not bad for the title
But as
You
Get
Farther
Down
The page
The contrast is getting less and less

3. Bad example
I saw a seminar recently by a very famous scientist from UCSF
It was astoundingly bad, primarily because the text was nearly completely unreadable due to the color scheme
I saw a seminar recently by a very famous scientist from UCSF
It was astoundingly bad, primarily because the text was nearly completely unreadable due to the color scheme

4. Fonts and Backgrounds are important
Simple black and white is very good for journal club presentations
Other high contrast combinations work well too
White on black sometimes has too much contrast and does not always project well
Pale pastels on a dark background project very nicely
Yellow and blue work well, white less so
Sans serif fonts are best. Mac people - no city names
Fonts make a big difference in clarity – Trebuchet
Fonts make a big difference in clarity – Arial
Fonts make a big difference in clarity – Helvetica
Fonts make a big difference in clarity – Times
Fonts make a big difference in clarity - Courier

5. Selecting fonts Fonts make a big difference in clarity – Trebuchet
Fonts make a big difference in clarity – Arial
Fonts make a big difference in clarity – Helvetica
Fonts make a big difference in clarity – Times
Fonts make a big difference in clarity – Courier
Red text is to be avoided except for emphasis as it draws the eye
Fluorescent colors are also to be avoided as they distract the audience
Bold text does not project well when blown up as in a large meeting hall
Bold white text is a complete disaster
Particularly with serif fonts like Times

6. Use animations with extreme care
Simple appears are ok
As are sliding in from one part of the slide or another
As are sliding in from one part of the slide or another
As are sliding in from one part of the slide or another
Getting too fancy is distracting to the audience
Getting too fancy is distracting to the audience
Getting too fancy is distracting to the audience
Getting too fancy is distracting to the audience
You get the idea, right?

7. Titles should be 28 to 32 point fonts (and summarize main point of slide)
Text should be either 24 point
Or 20 point
Or rarely 18 point but
Not smaller
Do not make images too small

8. Don’t put too many panels of figures on slides!
Cell Press journals are among the worst offenders

9. Use relevant panels of figures to make your point
Tip: many journals put high resolution figures on web sites that you
can download that are typically not in PDF versions

10. For more information
An excellent Powerpoint tutorial can be found here
Every person who has the need to convey information graphically, particularly quantitative information, should read
“The Visual Display of Quantitative Information” by Edward R. Tufte

11. Take home messages
Don’t use too many words per line or lines per slide
Remember 5 words, 5 lines guideline
Use color sparingly for emphasis only
Strive for high contrast text
Titles should be large and convey message of slide
Make figures large enough to easily see
Break figures into multiple slides if necessary