Design Tips for Effective PowerPoint

Use

Presented by:Susan DobbsKrissy MaloneSue Sikora

CAT 520 Fall 2005

FONTS (TYPEFACES)

Legibility and Clarity — Use Sans Serif fonts for titles or headings

Readability — May use Serif or San Serif fonts for text

Examples of each on next slide

Font Size & 7 Rule

Titles – at least 36 ptText – at least 24 pt

No more than 7 lines on a slide (including the title)

Examples of each on next slide

7 Lines Max

Shape

Simple Shapes – effective, functional, and versatile

Common Shapes – provide direction, organize and unify, and make connections

Complex Shapes – realistic images

Examples of each on next slide

Simple Shapes - Circles, rectangles, etc.

Common Shapes – Arrows, triangles, stars, etc.

Complex Shapes – Clip Art and digital images

Color

• Used for separating information, showing quantity, representing reality, decorating

• Edit color schemes & font colors for effective use of color

Depth

• Used to show size, dimension, texture; important to good figure/ground

• Use tabs under “Fill Effects” to create various backgrounds for slides

Space

• Usually ignored; the element between the visual elements; creates balance & symmetry

• Use “Slide Layout” to design balanced slides in presentations

Alignment

• Lining things up along an imaginary path

• Left, right, top, bottom, centered, & shape are kinds

• Each can convey a different message

Repetition, Repetition, Repetition

• Using an element of a visual over again to create sense of harmony & unity

• Colors, shape, fonts, & patterns can be repeated to effectively convey information

Consistent Font

Consistent Color

Consistent Layout

P R O X I M I T Y• How close elements

are to each other• Shows relationships

between elements

• Closer together = closely related info.

• Farther apart = unrelated info.

Figure/Ground• Enhance figure/ ground

distinctions using contrast.

• This slide looks washed out. Important data is not emphasized.

• Increasing contrast made the important information in this slide easier to distinguish.

Tables

• What do I want emphasized?

• In this table, data is distracted by the “data container” of the chart.

• Make the data stand out.

Hierarchy

• Deals with communicating relative importance between elements in a display

• Cluster information into related groups (chunking)

Hierarchy

• Use tools to create levels of importance

• A navigational structure can help learners keep track of where they are at in the total presentation.

Bottom Line

Combining all of these elements

Equals

Good Gestalt

References

• Lohr, L.L., (2003). Creating Graphics for Learning and Performance: Lessons in Visual Literacy. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Merrill Prentice Hall.