Making Powerful PowerPoints

Design Principles

Ratio of relevant to irrelevant information

The 1-1-7 rule Only one main idea per slide Insert only seven lines of text

maximum. Use only seven words per line

maximum. The question is thought: does this

work? Is this method really good advice? Is this really an appropriate, effective

“visual”? This slide has just seven bullet

points!

The Effect of an Image

Images are a powerful and

natural way for humans

to communicate.

Blogs are like sharks A shark must keep moving or die. A blog must be regularly updated or

it too will die How often should you update your

blog? Some successful blogs are updated

once a week, others several times a day.

The key is to be consistent.

Blogs are like sharks

Image Sites Morgue file (www.morguefile.com) Flickr Cretive Common Pool (

www.flickr.com/creativecommons) Image After (www.imageafter.com) Stock.xchng (www.sxc.hu) Everystockphoto serach engine (

www.everystockphoto.com) Pics 4 learning (

www.pics4learning.com)

Empty Space

Emptiness is a

powerful design

element

BalanceRule of thirds

PowerPoints

1/3

The Major Four Contrast Repetition

• Consistent background and type Alignment

• Connection of elements visually Proximity

• Group related items together

In Sum visuals that are simple with clear

design avoid tired, overused templates Limit bullets Use quality graphics Use complex graphics to support

narrative Maximum effect with minimum

means See empty space