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.
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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.
