…to all of you clients out there who are always in a rush….
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Year after year, as a graphic designer who works on a Mac, I am asked if I have learned, or embraced KeyNote (the Mac equivalent of PowerPoint). Now believe me – I would LOVE to. I have tooled around in that program enough to know that it is very powerful, easy-to-use and has so many advanced features (are you listening Powerpoint creators??). But, alas, who out there in Corporate America is on a Mac? Let alone even knows what KeyNote is?? So the answer is still “No” but that is okay. Embracing PowerPoint and learning how to make it better, playful and interactive is what we are all striving to do. However, the clunkiness of the program does get a bit disturbing at times. Some of my favorite PowerPoints are via Corporate America, via their Marketeers. They love PowerPoint because it allows them to work with creatives, be creative themselves (I use that word loosely here), and there can be a document that can go back and forth between all departments with little ‘what program do you use’ drama. Keeping in mind a few thoughts though – What version of PowerPoint are you working in? I mention this because it is VERY important to know before you get started with a presentation. It can cause a lot of grief otherwise. The older versions, (2003 pc, 2004 mac) do not support multiple page templates but the newer ones do (2007 pc, 2008 mac). Imagine the mess if you were to set-up a PPT in a newer version and someone then opens it in an older version and cannot use it! I have run into this many times. KEY: Always KNOW what the end-result is to be: a one-time presentation-only, an emailable PPT, hand-outs only, something that will be used and passed around and updated? Then, set out to find out about the versions and explain the advantages and pit-falls of both. Believe me, it’ll save everyone a lot of grief to tackle these issues ahead of time. Learned that lesson the hard way throughout the years. Below are a few of my favorite Corporate America examples from one of the best companies I had the pleasure to work for, Qualcomm, Inc in San Diego. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Qualcomm, inc — When you work in a Marketing atmosphere, there are typically a lot of PowerPoints flying around. The nice part about the ones we created at Qualcomm, is that they had a designer-flare and were not boring or tacky in any way what-so-ever.
After an email exchange with a health corporation in NYC, and the request to help them “clean-up” a presentation, I said, “Just call me the maid-service for PowerPoints… sweeping and cleaning them up.” And that’s a lot of what I do on a daily basis for presentations. Cleaning them up. A lot of times a template has been created for a company and then all of the past presentations need to be placed within that new template. Sometimes easier said then done. Lots of small elements can shift and change, colors to be adjusted, fonts to be matched and animations to sync up. Sometimes it can take longer to “clean-up” a presentation than it is to create one!! Then, once you’ve cleaned it up, you notice that the old charts do not look as nice, so maybe those should be refreshed or redone. And that can open a whole can of worms right there. Cleaning up a PowerPoint presentation is a fun challenge. For me, it comes down to this: how can I shine this up? What will make this more exciting or appealing, but realizing, I cannot change the content, I cannot change the amount of pages (but come on, it has 90 pages!!), but I can change the template and the look and feel… wheee… good times! Just call me the maid-service provider for your PowerPoint. At your service. Oh! And some exciting news. There is an annual Presentation Summit that takes place so that you can learn and be taught more about your PowerPoint presentations. This year it is in San Diego, my old stomping grounds. Maybe I will see you there! Over the years, I have spend a many hours prepping bids and creating estimates for clients interested in a PowerPoint. Sometimes it’s a new, fresh design. Sometimes it’s a redesign or an “upgrade.” Either way, the time spent is still time spent but there are obviously varying degrees of energy exerted on projects based on need. Some of what to consider for a PowerPoint presentation bid are the following: With this check-list in mind, I have developed a rough per page price, plus design time for charts, and production of the entire piece. It helps for range estimates. Then the client sees it. Many times, the bids are received and we move into scheduling stages and into production. Other times, I may be questioned on my estimates. And then I talk to the client about their needs and why they came to me in the first place. Here is my reasoning as to why you should spend money on a PowerPoint (hence the above title…see, I was getting to it people, have some patience). A lot of companies use their PowerPoint as their brochure. They may be pitching to someone else who has perhaps seen some of their collateral, at least their web site and maybe talked to someone in person. But usually, a power point is emailed or presented in person by the company as their first — and last — impression. When a company goes to XYZ Ad Agency to get a brochure completed, the design time and the printing costs can get high. PowerPoints, in my book, are brochures with legs. They move. They morph. They can be adjusted. They jump off the screen or onto a page, into a PDF. They have some spirit and some zing. A recent company that contacted me, after finding me here I might add, respected the cost and understand the value incorporated into a good PowerPoint. Below is a sample of the presentation I worked up for their proposals. And they are a venture capital company, knowing where and how to move money for smart investments. And they just made a smart investment in themselves. Something I recommend all companies do from time to time – invest in your PowerPoints – I promise it will be worth it!! _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ True Venture — Based in San Francisco, True Ventures contacted me to liven up their existing presentation. They wanted to stay inline with their web site but add a level of slickness, high-tech and advanced feeling to their PowerPoint. By picking some gradations and updated colors (greens and bright blues), along with some layers for texture, we were able to create something fresh. There was even some soft animation added for some sophistication.
Now why would a PowerPoint Queen (who is also well versed in InDesign, Illustrator, Photoshop), be taking the time to talk about creating Word templates? Or (gasp!) actually designing in Word?? Perhaps it is because this has become a new passion of mine. ‘No way!’ you say. ‘How can that be? Who is passionate about Word?’ (Raising hand) — Me!! Me!! What an odd concept, right? But it makes sense if you think about it. Both are Microsoft programs, so therefore, they have similar menus and abilities. And yes, both can also be equally frustrating. But that is where I come in. Knowing that we can stretch a PowerPoint to look and feel like a Flash piece and beyond, we can make a Word document look more, well, “designed.” What a concept! Granted, we are not talking about a program that is set-up to work just like one of the fancy Adobe programs (that I confess to love dearly of course), but you can push and stretch Word to have some high design, hold style sheets, place photos, text boxes, links, and maintain the document as one would in any other type of layout program. Word templates and designs that I have worked on allow the client the ability to fill with their content, or change, or make edits on the fly. And they love that. So why fight it? Stay tuned and more Word template designs will appear here. But, if you are in the need of a project, I do have some I can show you right now. One-stop shop right here — Let’s get started! Do not use clip art in your PowerPoint, please. Wait. Not strong enough. Do NOT use clip art in your PowerPoint, OKAY?! I am not sure what happens when someone is putting together a presentation. Do YOU like to look at those dinky, poorly drawn drawings? No? Well then, why would you think that someone else would want to do so? Clipart immediately brings down the professional level of your presentation. There are a ton of wonderful illustrations out there, for sale, that are not that pricey, but add a much better level of understanding. And they are not that hard to find – or that expensive! (iStock is one that comes to mind). And then there is custom designed icons or illustrations that help convey your theme exactly. When I bring that level of detail to a presentation, it transcends the minutia and brings class and excitement to your piece. Here are a few examples of some lovely illustrations within a PowerPoint. Some purchased, some hand-drawn. This first one shows how a doctor’s office works for a local Corporation. Some of the icons are purchased, but the overall house and buildings were hand-drawn.
Custom-drawn icons that explain what the concept of this presentation is all about.
Photography is a whole different animal. Typically, companies have their “type” of photography style delineated and put together in some form of guidelines for external contractors to follow. The most important element to consider is resolution and size. If you are presenting to a group and no one will be receiving this presentation, keep your resolution around 150-DPI. But, if you are emailing this file, keep them at 72-DPI so that your over-all file size is smaller. Below are some successful images that have impact and tell a story.
In the last few weeks, the PowerPoint Queen has received many contacts from some interesting marketing characters (yes, it takes lots of wonderful charm and character to be in marketing!) Many of them are asked to spiffy up their client’s PowerPoints. And many of them can do just that, but also have come to the conclusion that hiring that added level of professional help is a wise investment. After all, if you exceed your client’s expectations on a “simple” PowerPoint, image what you can do on that next “_______” (trade show, ad campaign, you-get-the-picture). Marketing is in my background and I get it and see it’s opportunity. But some marketeers forget to focus on what they do best and move into the designer-phase alone. Smart ones hire the right professionals to get the job done. And it doesn’t have to break the bank or go over budget. Believe me, I’ve seen it before – tempt a client with a fabulous comp and educate them on just WHAT PowerPoint can accomplish and the right budget is agreed upon by all involved and no one feels shorted AND it leads to happy clients. Happy Clients = More Work. More Work = More Paychecks. More Paychecks = Confidence and More Clients. Did you know that you can have internal links within a PowerPoint and can click on that link and get to another page within that same PowerPoint?? That they do not have to be viewed LINEARLY, page-by-page, click-by-click? Wait? You didn’t know that? Well come on in… let’s talk some more… Many times, PowerPoints can be more than 20 pages or more, with some averaging about 40-60 pages. My largest PowerPoint was 180 pages. Now let’s think about this for a moment. There are two ways this will possibly be viewed: 1) Showing the presentation If you are showing the presentation, and you’d like to hop around the presentation in a super-slick manner, having internal links to specific categories or sections is the best way to navigate a large PowerPoint. Think of it like a localized web site. If you pass it along to an end-user to view, they can click around, just like a web site. How cool! Let’s look at some examples. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Horizons Media — San Diego, CA. Not only is this PowerPoint very bold in style and color, it has many pages and needed to be organized in an easy-to-use manner.
Each “title” section had it’s own sub-sections. In the above example, the Expertise shows four links that you can click onto to get to that page, instead of using the mouse or clicker.
The “Case Study” section has three main categories to show-off: web, branding and print support. The clear, well-colored and large internal links are obvious to the user, remind the of a web link and makes it intuitive to click on. When they click on “branding” they suddenly are brought to another page, about 6 pages into the presentation, and they can look at that section. And if they want to go back to the previous section, they simple click that link and they go back. But they do not know what page they are on — they are just moving about. Enjoying the ride. With a PowerPoint? Really? YES!
Once you are within a sub-category, you can go even more specific. In this slide, you can see those small golden/green links under the words “Case Studies.” Those are links to even more detail. See where this is going? Now look at this next slide…
Oh no wait! This IS the actual web site for Horizons Media. My mistake. But hey, with the things you can do with internal linking within PowerPoints, you would never know the difference, would you? There are many PowerPoints that require a map. Sometimes showing where your company has locations. It can be a US map, or the span the entire world. Having a simple static map can be a little ho-hum, so one idea is to add some simple animation to jazz it up and perhaps even get your viewer to look at where you are located! _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ MVTS Technologies — Located in Carlsbad, CA, MVTS has many locations. In order to focus the attention, each of the golden boxes “wipes” either left, right, up or down, as the end-user clicks, so you can stop, read the location and absorb the vastness of their company expansion.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Pioneer Pacific Community College — Wilsonville, OR. Pioneer Pacific Community College (PPCC) was in need of a Admissions presentation that they could show to incoming students. They also have multiple locations, but wanted to keep it clear and simple. Using the school’s color palette, the dots and key animated by having each dot show up first, then the location, then the next dot, then the next location and so on. This was self-animated – happening once the end-user clicked onto that slide.
Each year, the Portland Creative Conference comes to town. Last year (2008), I had the honor of working with Steve Gehlen on the main presenter presentation and actually received a few calls from the event from those who saw my name in the program and enjoyed the show. That was very exciting! It was rewarding to see it so well-received.  Portland Creative Conference '08 This year’s event will be equally exciting. It takes place on September 12th and has a long list of exceptional creatives who will be speaking and teaching us all day long. And the evening wrap-up party always rocks! Hope to see you there!  PowerPoint for the Portland Creative Conference '08  PowerPoint for the Portland Creative Conference '08 (Photos courtesy of Steve Gehlen creator of the Portland Creative Conference – thanks Steve!) |
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