Standing Out from the Crowd

Standing Out from the Crowd

Effective PowerPoint Design

Adapted from Designing Effective PowerPoint Presentations by Victor Chen

Effective Presentations

• Using Text

• Using Graphics

• Using Special Effects

• Introducing Subjects Gradually

Using Text Effectively

Make text BIG

Make Text Big

• This is Arial 12

• This is Arial 18

• This is Arial 24

• This is Arial 32

• This is Arial 36

• This is Arial 44

Too Small

How to Check Font Size

• Look at slides from 6 – 7 feet away

• If you can read it, you’re good-to-go

Photo by Jeff Bettens

Photo courtesy Stock.xchng

Headlines bigger than text

• Headlines should

be bigger than text

– Headlines: 40-44 pt.

– Text: 24-32 pt.

Photo courtesy of Stock.xchng

Using Font Styles

• Never use all caps

– ALL CAPITAL LETTERS ARE DIFFICULT TO READ

• Upper and lower case letters are easier

• Use san serif fonts

– Verdana– Arial

– Helvetica

Make Fonts Clear

T TSanserif font Serif font

Easy to read Hard to read

• Serif fonts are difficult to read on screen

– Sanserif fonts are clearer• Italics are difficult to read on screen

– Normal or bold fonts are clearer

• Underlining signifies hyperlinks

– Instead, use colours to emphasize

Use Easy-to-read Fonts

Make Lists Clear

Use numbers for lists with sequenceFor example:

How do you put an elephant into a fridge?

1. Open the door of the fridge2. Put the elephant in3. Close the door

From Chen, Victor. Effective PowerPoint Design.

Make Lists Clear

How do you put a giraffe into a fridge?

1. Open the door of the fridge

2. Take out the elephant

3. Put the giraffe in

4. Close the door

From Chen, Victor. Effective PowerPoint Design.

Use Bullets Effectively

Use bullets to show a list without

• Priority

• Sequence

• Hierarchy, …..

From Chen, Victor. Effective PowerPoint Design.

Keep Text Simple

• Follow the 666 rule

– No more than 6 lines per slide

– No more than 6 words per line

– No more than 6 text slides in a row

• Avoid TOO many colors

•AvoidAvoid Too Too Many Fonts and StylesStyles

Do Not Overdo Text

Lindstrom (2000) states that each of the optic nerves uses 1,000,000 nerve fibers to send information simultaneously to the cerebral cortex of the brain. In contrast, each auditory nerve consists of only 30,000 fibers. In the brain’s cortex, about 30 percent of the nerve cells are devoted to visual processing, whereas touch accounts for eight percent and hearing only three percent. Humans experience the world visually, reading five times faster than the average person speaks and registering a full-color image, a megabyte of data in a mere fraction of a second. In addition, seeing photos often triggers emotional responses in individuals.

Way too many details!

Use Bullets to Explain

• Eyes have 1,000,000 fibers to brain.

• Process visuals 60,000 times faster than text.

• Ears have 30,000 fibers to the brain.

• Words processed sequentially.

• Images processed simultaneously..

Much Simpler to follow

Keep Text Simple

• The most elegant design

– Uses same font throughout

– Emphasizes differences using style

»Bold, italic, bold italic, normal

• Or headlines one font, text another:

Headline Times New Roman»Text Arial

Use Contrasting Text

• Use contrasting colours

This is hard to read.

This is easy to read.

Use Contrasting Text

• Dark on light better than light on dark

This is easy to read.

This is even easier to read.

Use Differences

Differences draw attention

• Differences may imply importance

• Use surprises to attract not distract

The check draws attention

Do Not Use Too Many

Differences draw attention Differences may imply importance

Use surprises to attract not distract

Too many differences distract

Different Colors for Focus

• Differences draw attention• Differences may imply importance

• Use surprises to attract not distract

This implies importance

Too Much Color Distracts

• Differences draw attention• Differences may imply importance

• Use surprises to attract not distract

Too many differences Distract

Using Graphics

Do Not Overuse Graphics

• Graphics may distract your audience

• Artistry does not substitute for content

Be Consistent in Style

• Graphics have different looks

• Graphics and photos don’t mix well

Be Consistent in Style

• Graphics have different “looks”• Use graphics that have similar styles

This graphic doesn’t “fit”

Use Big Pictures

• Big pictures imply importance

• Big pictures are easier to see

• Big pictures have greater impact

Photo by Jason Hochman

• Focal point directs attention

Use Focal Points

To here…

Photo from http://www.sxc.hu

Focal Points Emphasize

• Focal point lead the eye

Off the page…Photo from http://www.sxc.hu

Month BuyBest USA Comp City Circuit

February $ 12,652.446 $ 23,456,654 $ 3,123,456

Mar $ 11,234,456 $ 12,654,321 $ 16,678,910

April $ 14,321,444 $ 6,543,423 $ 12,123,543

May $ 16,188,888 $ 11,654,545 $ 9,944,444

June $ 4,736,799 $ 12,234,567 $ 10,876,678

July $ 9,234,345 $ 1,554,165 $ 1,123,456

August $ 8,732,355 $ 12,344,343 $ 12,123,456

July $ 7,654,244 $ 12,207,222 $ 12,234,567

August $ 16,678,910 $ 11,234,456 $ 6,543,423

Too much detail

RAM sales after Vista released

Make Simple Charts

RAM sales after Vista released Dollars in 103 BuyBest USA Comp City Circuit

February 12,652 13,457 14,123

Mar 11,234 12,654 16,679

April 14,321 11,543 12,124

May 16,189 11,655 12,944

June 9,737 12,234 10,877

July 9,234 11,554 11,123

August 10,732 12,344 12,123

July 14,654 12,207 12,235

August 16,679 14,234 15,543

Much easier to process

Simple is Easier to Read

02,000

4,0006,000

8,00010,000

12,00014,000

16,00018,000

BuyBest USA Comp City Circuit

Make Simple Graphs

Too much detail

RAM sales after Vista released

3,000

5,000

7,000

9,000

11,000

13,000

15,000

17,000

19,000

Febru

ary

Mar

April

May

June Ju

ly

Augus

tJu

ly

Augus

t

BuyBest USA Comp City Circuit

Graphs Should Be Simple

Much easier to process

RAM sales after Vista released

Use Special Effects Wisely

Use Transitions Carefully

• This transition is annoying, not enhancing

• So is this

• And this, too.

• "Appear" and "Disappear" are better• Fade can be used (sparingly)• Zoom can be used more sparingly

Use Animations for Effect

This is a photograph.

Photograph by Randy Aryanto.

This is clipart

Too distracting !

Keep Animation Simple

This is a photograph.

Photograph by Randy Aryanto.

This is clipart

Not distracting

Animated Gifs Distract

Surgery as a Career• Requires substantial school

after baccalaureate

• Allows you to work in hospital or private practice

• Can specialize in surgical area

• Pays well

Distracting

Animated gif from http://www.animationfactory.com

Focus is on Content

Surgery as a Career• Requires substantial school

after baccalaureate

• Allows you to work in hospital or private practice

• Can specialize in surgical area

• Pays well

Not Distracting

Photo from http://www.photos.com

Surprise Emphasizes

• Differences draw attention

• Differences may imply importance

• Use surprises to attract not distract

This surprise attracts

Do not Overdo “Surprise”

• Differences draw attention

• Differences may imply importance

• Use surprises to attract not distract

These distract

Use Sound Carefully

• Sound effects may distract too

• Narration or soft background music better

Introduce Content Gradually

Integrative Integrative Integrative Reconciliation Reconciliation Reconciliation

data data data data data data data Integrative Reconciliation

data

data data data data data data data data data data data data

data data data

data data data data data data

Advance Organizer

Too much at once

Slide courtesy of Dr. Howard Jones

Integrative Integrative Integrative Reconciliation Reconciliation Reconciliation

data data data data data data data Integrative Reconciliation

data

data data data data data data data data data data data data

data data data

data data data data data data

Advance Organizer

A bit easier to follow

Slide courtesy of Dr. Howard Jones

Integrative Reconciliation

G-E-O Triangle

Goal

Experienced Observed

satis

fact

ion

competence

realism

Both teacher and observer recognize a bad lesson

Teacher recalls a great lesson; observer recognizes a bad lesson

Teacher recalls a great lesson; observer recognizes a bad lesson

Teacher recalls a rotten lesson; observer recognizes a pretty good one lesson

G-E-O Triangle

Goal

Experienced Observed

satis

fact

ion

competence

realism

G-E-O Triangle

Goal

Experienced Observed

Both teacher and observer recognize a good lesson

G-E-O Triangle

Goal

Experienced Observed

Both teacher and observer recognize a bad lesson

G-E-O Triangle

Goal

Experienced

Observed

Teacher recalls a great lesson; observer recognizes a bad lesson

G-E-O Triangle

Goal

Experienced

Observed

Teacher recalls a rotten lesson; observer recognizes a pretty good one lesson

G-E-O Triangle Slides Courtesy of Dr. Howard Jones

Summarizing

• Use text effectively

• Use graphics effectively

• Use special effects carefully

• Introduce content gradually

Some Final Words

• Communication is the purpose

• Use text to support communication

• Use pictures to simplify complex concepts

• Use animations for complex relationships

• Use visuals to support, not to distract

• Use sounds only when absolutely necessary

From Chen, Victor. Effective PowerPoint Design.

References

Atkinson, C. (n.d.). Sociable media. Retrieved August 4, 2007 from http://www.sociablemedia.com/

Bajaj, B. (n.d.) Using text effectively in PowerPoint. Retrieved August 10, 2007 from

http://pubs.logicalexpressions.com/Pub0009/LPMArticle.asp?ID=543 Burmark, L. (2007). Visual literacy: Learn to see, see to learn.

Thornburg Center for Professional Development: http://www.tcpd.org/Burmark/Books/VisualBook.html

Chen, V. (n.d.). Designing effective PowerPoint presentations: http://www.uctl.canterbury.ac.nz/documents/presentation.ppt

Sommerville J. (n.d.). Peak communication performance. Retrieved August 6. 2007 from http://desktoppub.about.com/od/microsoft/bb/powerpointrules.htm

Using PowerPoint effectively (n.d.). Retrieved August 6, 2007 from http://www.worsleyschool.net/science/files/powerpoint/page.html