episode 76: The Consequences of Good Presentation Design

Consequences: by definition “a result or effect of an action”. Presentation design has consequences. Everyone knows the “death by PowerPoint” mantra – which is really not about PowerPoint, but about bad information flow in any program or printed material – and it is a consequence of bad presentation design. Nolan, Sandy and myself formulated this conversation into 3 vantage points; Designer to Client, Designer to Designer, and of course, Client to Audience. So let’s talk about the consequences of GOOD design!

Designer-To-Client

Good design conveys a message better/faster/more memorably
Clients may not always know the impact of good design when they have it. But when someone does not have good design, I hope they know what they are missing.
PowerPoint is all about the ability to repurpose design as full slides, or elements within a slide – as editable content. Good design is good for a client as they can repurpose it easily!

Designer-To-Another Designer

Consistent design styling is better for seamless hand off to other designers.
A good PowerPoint template is a part of good design, and when handing off a presentation to another designer, having a true PowerPoint template is definitely noted as a good – or bad – consequence.
Note: many times the “other” designer is yourself when a project is revisited later.

Client-To-Audience

A good presentation has a logical flow of story. The client message is clear, they win business, we (the designer) gets repeat business – everyone wins!
The client hands off the design to a presentation expert and they get to focus on their real job (assuming the presenter is not a graphic designer) and focus on the presentation message – another win for everyone!

Key Takeaway