The Magic and Versatility of PowerPoint

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Explore the Capabilities of PowerPoint!

I realise that when it comes to PowerPoint, we presentation designers have a soft spot and bias for the program. Can you blame us?! Given that we use it every single day to produce all sorts of collateral (not just presentations) you too would be in awe with its versatility.

What many people don’t realise is that PowerPoint offers flexibility and endless creative potential, whether you’re designing for print, video or interactivity, PowerPoint is a powerful tool that is available to the masses and is just as beautiful as Keynote.

It is particularly handy for people who either don’t have the budget to purchase the Creative Suite or the time to learn the individual programs such as PhotoShop, InDesign, and Illustrator. I should add that as a presentation design specialist I couldn’t live without all of the above but in this blog I’d like to specifically highlight the versatility of PowerPoint as it may assist the general public in their day to day work.

Here are just a few examples of other uses, other than the traditional presentation:

  1. Portrait A4 reports
  2. Infographics
  3. Vector iconography
  4. Social media graphics
  5. Animations (eg. our Xmas card)
  6. eBooks
  7. Webinars

1. Portrait A4 reports

Most of us wouldn’t think of a presentation design program when considering the layout of a report, however, we often recommend using PowerPoint to create A4 reports as opposed to the Creative Suite because it can be easily shared and contributors can go into the document and make changes if required. And as opposed to Word, things don’t move around the page, what you see is what you get, and it allows for creativity without limitations. Once the report is ready, you can PDF it for ease of distribution – the end result is the same as if it had been produced in InDesign.

2. Infographics

Often people think of the standard slide layout or widescreen layout, but the canvas in PowerPoint can be stretched or minimised to any size, just go into the Slide Size and re-size it to suit your needs. You may be looking to produce a very long and narrow infographic for easy scrolling on a phone’s browser for example. This can be done at the click of a button!

3. Vector iconography

A while back Microsoft introduced some very handy vector creation tools to PowerPoint which means we can create icons within PowerPoint rather than going into a specialised program such as Illustrator. It’s very easy to use and incredibly handy being able to quickly create the icons you need without leaving PowerPoint.

4. Social media graphics

Many of our clients ask us to help out with their social media graphics so we recently wrote an article about how we use PowerPoint to create the graphics for their social media campaigns… you’ll find the full blog here.

5. Animations

Most of us tend to associate the words ‘PowerPoint animations’ with something that is often cringe-worthy. However, when used correctly and with subtlety it can be both sleek and effective. Here is an example that illustrates the CSIRO’s message about enabling a digital transformation within the agricultural industry. Click here to view the video

6. eBooks

We have found that using PowerPoint to create eBooks over using Word can be advantageous particularly if the eBook contains a lot of graphics, tables, charts, images, etc. You can also easily add page turning effects if desired as well as navigation buttons.

7. Webinars

And last, but certainly not least, webinars! Preparing for a webinar is no different to preparing for a face to face presentation, focus on the message and the visuals and ensure your script is ready before you get started. Depending on what platform you decide to use and whether or not you’d like to have a video of you going through the presentation, make sure you’re able to share your screen with your audience. If you’re camera shy you may just want to record your voice as opposed to using video. Adding some transitions and subtle builds and animations will also help tell the story but remember to keep it simple.

This is not an exhaustive list by any means but it does highlight some of the more common (but still not necessarily well known) uses of our very much-loved PowerPoint.

 

Do you need assistance or recommendations with your

presentations? Contact the PowerPoint presentation design

experts at Slidesho today!

Partner with us, and together, we will bring your vision to life and transform your presentations into unforgettable experiences.

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