Have you ever had the privilege of sitting through a polished and highly captivating and memorable presentation? If so, there is a high chance that that presentation was created by someone within the presentation design industry.
What is a Presentation Designer?
A presentation designer is an expert in creating visual layouts and graphic design in presentations. Additionally, they can take any content or information and present it in a visually easy-to-digest manner.
Presentation designers are versatile. They have experience using various design platforms and they can craft on-point presentations for any industry.
We like to describe them as dedicated people who work efficiently in the background to produce presentations that you will feel proud and confident to present.
How is a Presentation Designer beneficial to your business?
If you would like to add immeasurable value to your business and brand, then using the services of a presentation designer will help you achieve this.
Not only do they save you time, but they ensure continuity in all your visual communications, which is important. Continuity allows you to distinguish yourself from your competitors and allows your customers to get to know your business and what you stand for.
Presenting polished, consistent and on-brand presentations establish brand recognition, which helps a business stand out from the crowd.
Presentations – Why we need them and how we use them
It’s widely reported that there are approximately 500 million PowerPoint users worldwide, and somewhere between 30 – 35 million PowerPoint presentations are created daily.
Presentations are a part of modern-day life and pivotal to business because they offer opportunities. They help to motivate, inform, persuade, and inspire.
The following is a list of reasons you may require a presentation.
1. To Educate
Educational presentations are a little different to other presentations in that they are less about persuasion and more about communication. This type of presentation should be presented by someone that is well-versed in the subject matter and the presentation deck should be visually engaging and simple to follow.
2. Report on Progress
Progress reports detail the progress of a project to team members, the management or clients. These presentations generally cover:
- project status
- milestones achieved
- issues faced
- responsibilities of each team member
Progress presentations provide meaningful insights and can prevent issues from occurring and ensure projects are completed on time because everyone is informed of the project’s progress.
3. Sell a Product or Service
Sales presentations are designed to initiate and close a sale for a product or service.
A successful sales presentation will:
- have lots of visual elements
- build trust with the audience
- engage an audience
- present features and benefits of a product or service
- close a sale
- gain contact information for a follow-up opportunity
4. Raise Capital
If you are looking to raise capital, an investor presentation will allow you to present to potential investors and appropriately showcase your venture.
These types of presentations typically include an overview of your business, the products and services you plan to provide, your market opportunity, financial information, forecasts and details of your funding requirements.
5. Pitch
Start-up pitch
A start-up pitch deck is used by start-up companies to showcase their business plan and metrics, and highlight the vision for the company to raise capital from investors.
Client pitch
A client pitch is a targeted pitch to a potential client to gain their business. A good client pitch presentation will clearly demonstrate how your product or service will suit and benefit that client.
Elevator pitch
An elevator pitch is a verbal presentation (not a slide deck). It’s a short and captivating description of the amazing work you do or the product you sell. This type of pitch is not used to close a deal, but rather to get your prospect’s attention by showing them how they can benefit from you. When you have their undivided attention, you can then hit them with your amazing start-up pitch deck or client pitch deck!
6. Motivate
A motivational presentation is used to inspire people to make a change. Motivational presentations have components within the slide deck that address the audience’s interests. They also include an inspiring personal story, and they end with a clear takeaway message.
7. Report on Market Research
A Market Research Report shares the results from specific market research conducted from research techniques such as surveys, interviews, focus groups, and customer observations.
A well-created Market Research report will include excellent data visualisation. It will also have creative storytelling, and it will outline the direction and actionable steps that need to be taken.
No matter what type of presentation you may require, a presentation designer has the knowledge and expertise to craft the right presentation for you.
Slidesho – The Presentation Design Experts
Slidesho was established in May 2008 in the midst of the Global Financial Crisis, initially operating from a spare room in Sydney, Australia. The business grew from day one, with several clients signing up for presentation design services that very month. The growth was organic, through recommendations and word of mouth which led to a fast-growing and loyal customer base.
Slidesho bridges a very much-needed gap that lies between graphic design and desktop publishing.
As of the date of writing this post, we are celebrating our 15th year anniversary!
What we do
Slidesho is a full-service presentation studio, and we offer a full suite of professional presentation design services as detailed below:
Presentation Design
Our presentation design service covers a wide range of work and includes the following –
- Formatting of existing presentations.
- Makeover of existing presentations. (These are ideal if you have a tight turnaround).
- Creating and designing presentations from scratch.
- Assisting with content development and copywriting.
- Creating professional visual communications that include sourcing images, videos and audio files. Production of diagrams, illustrations and graphs.
- Where required, we can also incorporate hyperlinks, voiceovers, videos, 2D and 3D animations.
Template Design
Working from a presentation template is important because it ensures you will have output consistency, and it will save you time. Slidesho design presentation templates with your business and brand guidelines in mind. We incorporate your colours, fonts, styles, library images and logos
Infographics and Visual Communications
We know that humans respond to and remember visual data a lot better than text. We, therefore, take complex messages and simplify them through the use of impactful visuals that will clearly communicate your message.
We can take your data and metrics, your ideas, project flows, and customer journeys and present them using bespoke infographics, icons and illustrations to enhance the impact on your audience.
Social Media Graphics
Social media is important for all forms of business because it provides a way to promote your brand and messaging to the right audience at the right time. If your content is on point and visually impactful you will pique your audience’s attention and get them interested. This can drive traffic, increase subscribers, and sales and help grow a loyal following.
Slidesho creates social media content and graphics for all mainstream social platforms such as LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest.
Explainer Videos
Explainer videos
Explainer videos are short videos used widely by businesses to introduce themselves, their services and products, and to explain what they do.
Slidesho offers a fantastic bundle that includes:
- Scriptwriting
- Storyboarding
- Voiceover
- Music
- Video animation
PowerPoint Training
We understand each business has different needs. We, therefore, provide customised PowerPoint training sessions to meet your specific requirements.
Our training sessions are carried out via Zoom, and we:
- Offer One-on-one or small group training.
- Cover all levels, from the basics through to advanced training (depending on your requirements.
- Show you the basic rules and principles of design and how you can apply them to PowerPoint layouts in everyday situations.
- Show you how to visualise content-heavy slides.
- Share our screen and do a live demo formatting some slides based on your template and brand guidelines.
- Incorporate a Q&A session at the end.
We invite you to read the case studies of Rest Super and Metrix Consulting to see how our clients have benefited from our targeted PowerPoint training sessions.
Digital Signage
We create the content and visuals for your digital signage which can be used for:
- Menu boards – for cafes and restaurants).
- Real Estate signs.
- Information boards – for waiting rooms, gyms, schools, clubs, store windows, in-store signage and more.
The Importance of Understanding Presentation Best Practices
When you embark on creating a presentation, it’s important to not only understand current design trends but also presentation best practices. Below are some best practice tips when creating a PowerPoint presentation. Incorporating all of these will ensure your presentation stands out for all the right reasons.
Screen and Slide Size
Before creating your presentation, keep in mind what screen you will ultimately be presenting on i.e. will it be on a laptop, a projection screen, or a monitor in a boardroom? Wherever possible, test your presentation on the screen you will be presenting on to ascertain how it will look. We recommend creating your presentation in widescreen format or converting it from the old standard size to the new standard widescreen size.
Text Limit Per Slide
Limit how much text you include on each slide. This will make the content easier for your audience to follow and digest. As a guideline, each PowerPoint slide should contain one main idea (or key message), and if you have to use bullet points (which we do not recommend), use a maximum of six bullet points, with no more than six words per point. We also suggest moving as much of the copy into the speaker notes section (which was designed to assist with the delivery of your presentation) and using that as a prompt when presenting. Remember that these are your cues and are not meant to be read by your audience.
Fonts
We recommend keeping to a safe font for your presentations. The best font is one that is visually appealing but also will display properly on all Mac and PC versions of Microsoft Office.
Many people are not aware that not all fonts will display correctly in PowerPoint and will instead be converted to something else that might not work well for the presentation. Some fonts that are safe across Mac and PC are – Arial, Georgia, Times New Roman, Trebuchet MS and Verdana.
The riskiest fonts to use are custom fonts that have been manually installed on your computer (Mac or PC). If you know you will be using a non-standard font ensure that anyone viewing or presenting has the font installed on their computer.
We recommend you keep your font size between the size range of 28 – 40 points where possible. Anything under the size of 24 points is too small to be comfortably read in most presentation situations.
Colours
Where possible, you should always refer to the branding guidelines and use the company’s corporate colours when creating a presentation. In cases where there are no corporate colours, then select colours with good contrast e.g. light text on dark background and vice-versa.
Images and Pictures
90% of the information processed by the brain is visual. Therefore, we recommend reading through your text on each slide [link] and extracting your keywords or key message and developing that into a visual. This can be done by using any of the following:
- Creating a diagram
- Using a graph
- Including infographics
- Using photography
- Adding icons
- Using a hero image with a statement, quote or idea
Video or Audio
Including a video or audio clip is a great way of engaging your audience and piquing their interest. Not all presentations require a video or audio, but in cases where they are being used; ensure they are relevant to the presentation content and only play as much of the clip or audio as necessary.
White Space
To avoid over-cluttering, don’t try to fill in white space unnecessarily. Ensure that you have sufficient white space between and around each asset on your slide this will assist with readability and comprehension.
Accessibility
There may be a time when you will be required to ensure that your presentation is accessible to people with disabilities. Before finalising your presentation, run the Accessibility Checker in PowerPoint to make sure your content is easy for people of all disabilities to read.
To use the accessibility checker in Windows, select; File > Info, then select the Check for Issues button and choose Check Accessibility. The Accessibility Checker will appear to the right of your screen in a sidebar and list any accessibility errors. When you select an item in the report, it will highlight the issue within the slide. Information about the issue and instructions on how to repair it will also appear at the bottom of the sidebar. Samples of some common Accessibility Principles are:
- Ensure images have alternative text
- Make sure your text is not too small to read
- Don’t rely on colour as the only way to convey your message or information
- Ensure transitions and animations are kept simple
- Use clear and simple language
- If you have embedded audio, make sure you include a transcript
To assist you further, we have created a printout-friendly version of our PowerPoint Best Practices.
Brand Guidelines
In business, every time you send out a piece of communication (via email, social media, newsletter or brochure etc.), it’s important that all your communication is unified. This ensures your audience will gain the same experience from you at all times. The way to ensure all your communication is consistent is through the use of Branding.
Branding promotes recognition and most importantly, sets you apart from your competitors. It helps you build a relationship with your audience and convert them into loyal customers.
Many people think of branding as just a logo. Branding is much more than that. It promotes your business through the use of a distinctive design and incorporates assets like fonts, colours, tone of voice, and imagery.
Being experts in presentations, Slidesho understands the importance of branding and how to incorporate it into visual communications. Before embarking on creating a presentation for a new client, we always ask for their Brand Guidelines as this is essentially the rule book that will dictate the look and feel of the presentation.
Additional ways Slidesho can save you time and money
At Slidesho, we are always looking for ways to help our clients save time and money. We think outside the box and offer services that help our clients get the outcomes they desire. Here are two of our most popular services:
Slidesho Slide Clinic
Get a glimpse without the cost or obligation!
We offer a unique, no-obligation service to help you see what is possible to achieve with your slide deck. We invite you to email us your slides and we’ll deliver pointers on where you can improve your story, design and message. We’ll then revive one slide to show you what your deck might look like with our recommendations.
This is a fantastic “try before you buy” way of seeing the positive contribution and input Slidesho can make to your slide deck.
Here is a visual sample below:
Slidesho Retainer Packages
A retainer provides you, your organisation and/ or team members access to the services of a dedicated presentation designer for a specified number of hours per month.
What are the benefits of a retainer?
- Discounted fees: Our rates for retainers are lower than the standard hourly rate so you automatically enjoy cost advantages.
- Tailored packages: The retainer is tailored to your specific requirements. If you only need 5 hours of support per month then that’s what we’ll give you, on the other hand, if you require 20 hours a week, we’re also here for you.
- Efficiency and focus: By outsourcing your presentations you have more time to focus your energy and productivity on other areas.
- Time-saving: How long would you say it takes you to design a 20-slide presentation from scratch? Ensuring that everything is absolutely spot on, on brand, nothing out of alignment, with the best visuals, and custom diagrams? A day, two days, maybe more. What if an expert could do it in a fraction of that time?
- Savings on infrastructure and technology: Picture eliminating the need to recruit, hire, train and purchase the required hardware and software.
- Better support and fast turn-arounds: We prioritise your job and provide outstanding presentations each and every time.
- Businesses, large and small: Whether you’re a sole trader, an SME, or large corporate we have the expertise to support all your presentation needs.
- We know you and your requirements: Over time we get to know your brand, your likes and dislikes, and your individual quirks when it comes to your presentations and design specifications.
- And there’s more… Peace of mind… Quality and consistent style … Queue jumping! … Simpler budgeting … Less paperwork. Have we convinced you yet?
The Conditions
We make it as simple as possible.
- We tailor the number of hours to your specific needs
- There are no locked-in contracts, cancel at any time
- We roll over unused hours once
- You don’t pay a thing until the end of the month
What Industries and Businesses use Presentation Design Services
A question we get asked often by new clients is, “Do you have any experience working on presentations within our industry?” Our answer is always yes!
As we mentioned earlier, we have been creating presentations for over 15 years and in that time, we have proudly created in the vicinity of approximately 7000 presentations for our valued clients.
Our clients come from a wide range of industries, including but not limited to Consulting, Education, Energy and Utilities, Finance & Insurance, Government, Healthcare, Heavy Industry & Mining, IT & Technology, Legal, Marketing & Design Agencies, Market Research, Not-For-Profit, Property & Construction, Security, Fashion, Automotive, Telecommunications and more.
Essentially, there are some key fundamentals that remain the same when working on any corporate PowerPoint presentation (no matter what industry).
They are –
- Understanding the purpose of the presentation we are working on (i.e. Is it to inform, instruct, persuade, report, or aid in decision making?)
- Understanding your audience.
- Knowing the significance of brand identity and how to incorporate it into a presentation.
- Having a thorough knowledge of the best practices for PowerPoint.
- Knowing how to successfully collaborate with a client (i.e. Understanding their needs, business goals, and communication style.)
- Always meeting a client’s deadline.
- Maintaining and understanding the importance of privacy and confidentiality.
A great representation of our comprehensive work within various industries are our Portfolio and Case Studies pages.
Conclusion
Presentations (of all kinds) are here to stay, and they will evolve with time. No matter what type of presentation you may require, Slidesho is here to support all your presentation design needs.
At Slidesho, we are driven by our purpose to deliver more than what is expected. Our client testimonials speak for themselves and below are just a small handful:
“What an amazing bunch of creative individuals, there’s nothing like standing in front of a crowd knowing Slidesho has created our PowerPoint presentation. I highly recommend them.”
– FCMG, Area Manager, Sydney
“I have commissioned Slidesho on a number of occasions to assist with our corporate presentations and found their work and professionalism outstanding. I have no hesitation in recommending or using their services again.”
– Insights Manager, Banking Services, Sydney
“This template has already saved me time. Such a worthwhile investment, and such a smooth and easy process.”
– Head of Research and Strategy
“Thank you! The production quality is SO good it puts me on par with any organisation regardless of their size or budget.”
– Financial Advisor
You can view more testimonials on the Clients and Case Studies pages on our website.
Are you ready to add immeasurable value to your business?
Contact the presentation design experts at Slidesho today!
