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THE PRESENTATION DESIGN CRASH COURSE

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Joseph Gelman
Joseph Gelman

Ever see great presentations on this site and wonder "How can I make slides like those?" This quick, insight-packed course will distill many of the major lessons I've learned designing presentations (20 or so of which have been featured on the Slideshare homepage for clients like Honigman Media and Group 8A) over the past half decade. The major areas of discussion include STORYTELLING | RHETORIC | DESIGN Each of these are rigorously examined using easy to understand examples and practical, actionable takeaways. Click through these slides and come out the other side a better presentation designer, guaranteed! I currently teach Digital Marketing at General Assembly and have given this lecture to nearly unanimous positive feedback. If you'd like to get access to this PDF or pick my brain about presentation design, marketing, etc... shoot me a line! EMAIL: Jig813@gmail.com TWITTER: twitter.com/JoeandTell LINKEDIN: linkedin.com/in/josephgelman

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PRESENTATION DESIGN CRASH COURSEthe beginner’s guide to creating beautiful, impactful and thoughtful presentations.
HI! I WRITE ABOUT MARKETING/BRANDING FOR HONIGMAN MEDIA AND IDEON AND TEACH DIGITAL MARKETING AT GENERAL ASSEMBLY I’M JOE GELMAN
STORYTELLING RHETORIC DESIGN 1 2 3 3 ELEMENTS OF GREAT PRESENTATIONS
STORYTELLING 1
STORIES HUMAN BEINGS ARE NATURALLY RECEPTIVE TO
GREAT STORY FROM A YOUNG AGE, WE LOVE A
HARDWIRED THE HUMAN BRAIN IS TO CRAVE STORIES read the article →
“SHARED FICTIONS “HUMANITY’S ASTOUNDING ABILITY TO COOPERATE IS DUE TO OUR ABILITY TO BELIEVE IN watch the talk → – Dr. Yuval Harari
IN THE REAL-WORLD THERE ARE NO SUCH THINGS AS… MONEY BORDERS LAWS
IN THE REAL-WORLD THERE ARE NO SUCH THINGS AS… MONEY BORDERS LAWS THE STORIES WE TELL OURSELVES LIE AT THE HEART OF OUR SHARED IDENTITIES
IF IDEAS ARE LIKE VIRUSES STORIES ARE HOW WE MAKE THEM CONTAGIOUS
ALL MARKETERS ARE STORYTELLERS buy the book → … IT ONLY MAKES SENSE THEN THAT
ALL GREAT BRANDS ARE NOTHING MORE THAN GREAT STORIES
GREAT PRESENTATION SKILLS CAN HELP TELL YOUR STORY
HOW CAN YOU MAKE YOUR STORIES MORE EFFECTIVE?
YOU PAY ATTENTION TO THEIR SHAPE
“BASIC SHAPES “ALL GREAT STORIES THROUGHOUT THE HISTORY OF WRITING HAVE ALL SHARED ROUGHLY THE SAME watch the talk → –Kurt Vonnegut
START END GOOD BAD Recognize this story?
SIMILARLY, GREAT PRESENTATIONS ARE MADE BY JUXTAPOSING GOOD vs. BAD
“ALL GREAT PRESENTATIONS SHARE “AFTER LOOKING AT HUNDREDS OF PRESENTATIONS I FOUND THE SAME BASIC SHAPE watch the talk → –Nancy Duarte
PROGRESS IS RELATIVE…
COMPARE THE WORLD AS IT IS WITH WHAT IT COULD BE
I LOOKED AT A LIST OF THE MOST FAMOUS FIRST LINES IN LITERATURE AND FOUND THAT GREAT AUTHORS DO THIS TOO!
“All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.” – ANNA KARENINA leo tolstoy
“It was a bright, cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen.” – 1984 george orwell
THIS CONTRAST WILL MAKE YOUR MISSION CONVINCING
2RHETORIC
“The purpose of design is to Inform and Delight” –Milton Glaser
“The purpose of presentation design is to Inform, Delight & Persuade”
RHETORICAL TRIANGLE ARISTOTLE DEVISED A SYSTEM CALLED THE
RHETORICAL TRIANGLE PATHOS LOGOSETHOS
RHETORICAL TRIANGLE EMOTION LOGICTRUST
GREAT PRESENTATIONS NEED ALL THREE OF THESE ELEMENTS TO BE THROUGHLY CONVINCING
Would this ad make you want a Big Mac?
LOGIC ALONE WILL NEVER CONVINCE ANYONE!
IF IT DID, NO ONE WOULD SMOKE
THE TRUTH OF THE RHETORICAL TRIANGLE IS WHY ANTI-SMOKE ADS LOOK LIKE THIS
• BULLETS
 • KILL • ATTENTION
NOT JUST BECAUSE THEY ARE VISUALLY UNEXCITING…
…BUT ALSO BECAUSE THEY MISS 2/3 KEY APPEALS
GREAT STORYTELLING WILL APPEAL TO EMOTION
AND GREAT DESIGN WILL CONVEY TRUST
3DESIGN
FIRST THINGS FIRST, LET’S COVER THE BASICS
COMPOSITION
NOTICE THE POINTS OF INTEREST WHERE THE LINES INTERSECT The Last Supper Leonardo DaVinci
THIS FRAMEWORK IS CALLED THE RULE OF THIRDS AND IT’S A GREAT WAY TO MAP OUT YOUR SLIDES
LOOK! I PRACTICE WHAT I PREACH!
MULTIPLY THE IMPACT OF YOUR POINTS OF INTEREST, BY GIVING THEM PLENTY OF BREATHING ROOM
MULTIPLY THE IMPACT OF YOUR POINTS OF INTEREST, BY GIVING THEM PLENTY OF BREATHING ROOM ALL THESE UNOCCUPIED SQUARES THIS IS REFERRED TO AS NEGATIVE SPACE
COLOR
THIS IS THE COLOR WHEEL. IT’S A CONVENIENT WAY FOR ARTISTS AND DESIGNERS TO DIAGRAM THE RELATIONSHIPS OF COLORS AND TO IDENTIFY HARMONIOUS PAIRINGS Fun Fact: The color wheel was first introduced by Isaac Newton in 1672 THE COLOR WHEEL
ANALOGOUS
THIS WORKS
COMPLEMENTARY
THIS WORKS
IN FACT, I USED A COMPLIMENTARY COLOR SCHEME FOR THIS PRESENTATION
CONTRAST
AS VISUAL CREATURES, HUMAN BEINGS ARE PATTERN-RECOGNITION MACHINES
SO WHEN A PATTERN IS BROKEN WE TAKE NOTICE: IT STANDS OUT BETTER
THE MORE WAYS YOU CAN CONTRAST THE BIGGER THE IMPACT WILL BE
THE DUTCH MASTER JOHANNES VERMEER INTUITIVELY UNDERSTOOD THE POWER OF CONTRAST. JUST LOOK AT THE DRAMA THE INTENSE LIGHTING OF THE FACE ACHIEVES BY BEING SET AGAINST A DARK BACKGROUND
I RAN A PHOTOSHOP FILTER THAT AVERAGED THE COLORS AND IT’S CLEAR JUST HOW BRIGHT THE FACE IS.
BUT LOOK AT HOW MUCH DARKER THIS COLOR LOOKS IN ISOLATION. 
 
 THE CONTRAST OF THE BACKGROUND IS WHAT MADE IT IMPACTFUL. Looks much darker now, no?
TYPOGRAPHY
Serif
Sans Serif
QUALITY SERIFS Times New Roman Bodoni Georgia Garamond
QUALITY SANS SERIFS Avenir Futura Helvetica Gill Sans
Garamond 60pt goes great with Helvetica. Since Helvetica is very rigid and Garamond is calligraphic the contrast works nicely. Notice how neither one distracts from the other; instead the two fonts complement each other wonderfully. HELVETICA 120pt
Once you’ve set your type using a harmonious grouping of timeless fonts, accentuating this contrast with a nice complimentary color scheme simply sets your work over the top. HELVETICA 120pt
YOU MIGHT HAVE NOTICED THAT I DIDN’T USE THE TYPEFACES I RECOMMENDED
NEUE HAAS UNICA Iowan Old Style IN CASE YOU WERE CURIOUS, HERE ARE THE TYPEFACES I ACTUALLY USED
“Learn the rules like a professional, so you can break them like an artist.” –Pablo Picasso
SIMPLICITYSIMPLICITYSIMPLICITY
MOST CRAPPY SLIDES SUCCUMB TO DATA OVERLOAD
ESPECIALLY WHEN IT COMES TO DATA VISUALIZATION STRIP ALL UNNECESSARY DETAIL
“The best design is as little design as possible.” –Dieter Rams
FOR TEXT, FOLLOW GUY KAWASAKI’S 6/60 RULE
NO MORE THAN SIX WORDS PER SLIDE NO LOWER THAN 60 POINT FONT* *I only broke this rule because I’m not giving the talk in person. Again, break rules only once you know ‘em well.
WHEN IN DOUBT TAKE IT OUT!
LOOK AT HOW DRAMATICALLY IMPROVED THIS SLIDE WAS ONCE IT WAS SIMPLIFIED SOURCE: Presentation Zen Garr Reynolds
Follow Write Me Connect THANKS FOR READING! KEEP IN TOUCH! JoeGelman.com

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