Style Guide for PPT Computer Projection Presentations?

  • Thread starter Thread starter wolf_tracks
  • Start date Start date
W

wolf_tracks

Is there some guide available as in Subject that talks to fonts, font size,
graphics, slide layout, and so on?
 
Not that I'm aware. But Geetesh Bajaj and I wrote the PowerPoint 2007
Complete Makeover Kit, and it discusses a number of these things. There's a
link to it in my signature.

I tend to apply page layout principles to PowerPoint slides -- avoiding
trapped white space, making sure things are aligned well, etc. -- and I
strive for consistency from slide to slide by bottom-aligning titles so they
don't jitter from slide to slide, placing references in the same place on
each slide, being consistent with chart colors, etc. I also try to apply
design principles to the presentations -- contrast, repetition, etc. If I
use clipart (rarely), I at least make sure it's in the same family so it
looks like it belongs together. I generally opt for photos instead of
clipart. And a good diagram is worth its weight in gold.

Here's some info about font size:

How big should text be? What's the ideal font size?
http://www.pptfaq.com/FAQ00125.htm
 
Echo said:
Not that I'm aware. But Geetesh Bajaj and I wrote the PowerPoint 2007
Complete Makeover Kit, and it discusses a number of these things.
There's a link to it in my signature.

I tend to apply page layout principles to PowerPoint slides -- avoiding
trapped white space, making sure things are aligned well, etc. -- and I
strive for consistency from slide to slide by bottom-aligning titles so
they don't jitter from slide to slide, placing references in the same
place on each slide, being consistent with chart colors, etc. I also try
to apply design principles to the presentations -- contrast, repetition,
etc. If I use clipart (rarely), I at least make sure it's in the same
family so it looks like it belongs together. I generally opt for photos
instead of clipart. And a good diagram is worth its weight in gold.

Here's some info about font size:

How big should text be? What's the ideal font size?
http://www.pptfaq.com/FAQ00125.htm
Click to expand...
Thanks for the tips and references. One of the things that bothers me is the
default slide. It has a title and a text box. The font size seems way to big
for presentations. I get about 4-5 bulleted items in the text box. Maybe I
can create my own similar slide for use. Usually, I just clear the two
items, and start into what I want.

My style is probably like one would see from overhead charts. No tricky
visual wipes or gimmicks. I do use a lot of my own photos. It would be good
to maintain the same size font through headers and text, but sometimes
things are just begging to be put on the same page, so I'll switch font
size. I guess it would pay to review the whole file when it's near
completion, then bring balance to it all. A potential problem with the file
I'm working on is that the audience will be 100 or so, and the room
something like 50 by 60'. I want the folks in the back to see my text. I
think the screen projection will be something like 10 by 12'. I should check
that out.

--
Wayne Watson (Watson Adventures, Prop., Nevada City, CA)

(121.015 Deg. W, 39.262 Deg. N) GMT-8 hr std. time)
Obz Site: 39° 15' 7" N, 121° 2' 32" W, 2700 feet

Solid waste produced to generate electricity per person
over a lifetime:
Nuclear power -- 2 pounds in a coke can
Fossil (coal) fuel -- 68.5 tons in six 12-ton RR cars

-- Power to Save the World, Gwyneth Cravens

Web Page: <www.speckledwithstars.net/>
 
Thanks for the tips and references. One of the things that bothers me is
the default slide. It has a title and a text box. The font size seems way
to big for presentations. I get about 4-5 bulleted items in the text box.
Maybe I can create my own similar slide for use. Usually, I just clear the
two items, and start into what I want.

My style is probably like one would see from overhead charts. No tricky
visual wipes or gimmicks. I do use a lot of my own photos. It would be
good to maintain the same size font through headers and text, but
sometimes things are just begging to be put on the same page, so I'll
switch font size. I guess it would pay to review the whole file when it's
near completion, then bring balance to it all. A potential problem with
the file I'm working on is that the audience will be 100 or so, and the
room something like 50 by 60'. I want the folks in the back to see my
text. I think the screen projection will be something like 10 by 12'. I
should check that out.
Click to expand...


You can change the default placeholder formatting on the slide master. And
in 2007, you can create your own layouts.

I don't usually do this, but I do recommend you get the makeover book. It
will teach you how to do these things. There's information about creating
masters and layouts on Office Online, too. http://office.microsoft.com

An audience of 100 isn't large, even if the room is fairly big. At least
it's fairly wide. I doubt the chairs will be set up super long and narrow.
But yeah, ask about it.
 
Echo said:
You can change the default placeholder formatting on the slide master.
And in 2007, you can create your own layouts.

I don't usually do this, but I do recommend you get the makeover book.
It will teach you how to do these things. There's information about
creating masters and layouts on Office Online, too.
http://office.microsoft.com

An audience of 100 isn't large, even if the room is fairly big. At least
it's fairly wide. I doubt the chairs will be set up super long and
narrow. But yeah, ask about it.
Click to expand...
I should have mentioned I use 2003. I'm on a tight deadline, so won't have
time to explore this topic deeply. Just looking for some general guidelines.
In the end, I do pretty well without them.

--
Wayne Watson (Watson Adventures, Prop., Nevada City, CA)

(121.015 Deg. W, 39.262 Deg. N) GMT-8 hr std. time)
Obz Site: 39° 15' 7" N, 121° 2' 32" W, 2700 feet

Solid waste produced to generate electricity per person
over a lifetime:
Nuclear power -- 2 pounds in a coke can
Fossil (coal) fuel -- 68.5 tons in six 12-ton RR cars

-- Power to Save the World, Gwyneth Cravens

Web Page: <www.speckledwithstars.net/>
 
BTW, is there some way of printing several slides per page. There's a lot of
white space on full sized pages.
 
I should have mentioned I use 2003.
Click to expand...

Uh, yes, that's important.
I'm on a tight deadline, so won't have time to explore this topic deeply.
Just looking for some general guidelines. In the end, I do pretty well
without them.
Click to expand...

You can still at least set up the masters to your advantage. Taking a little
time to learn will save you a lot of time in the long run. Again, check
http://office.microsoft.com
 
Steve said:
And to tag along here ... you mentioned that you just delete the placeholders
PPT gives you for every new slide then create your own.

If you could ask 10 people who fix presentations for a living what they MOST
hate about the stuff they get in for repair, 12 of them would mention
presentations like yours. <g>

You may not believe it now, but trust us, you really REALLY don't want to do
that.


==============================
PPT Frequently Asked Questions
http://www.pptfaq.com/

PPTools add-ins for PowerPoint
http://www.pptools.com/
Click to expand...
Placeholders? When did that come up?

--
Wayne Watson (Watson Adventures, Prop., Nevada City, CA)

(121.015 Deg. W, 39.262 Deg. N) GMT-8 hr std. time)
Obz Site: 39° 15' 7" N, 121° 2' 32" W, 2700 feet

Solid waste produced to generate electricity per person
over a lifetime:
Nuclear power -- 2 pounds in a coke can
Fossil (coal) fuel -- 68.5 tons in six 12-ton RR cars

-- Power to Save the World, Gwyneth Cravens

Web Page: <www.speckledwithstars.net/>
 
Echo said:
File | Print, choose Handouts in the "print what" area. Then choose the
number per page.
Click to expand...
Very good. Thanks.

--
Wayne Watson (Watson Adventures, Prop., Nevada City, CA)

(121.015 Deg. W, 39.262 Deg. N) GMT-8 hr std. time)
Obz Site: 39° 15' 7" N, 121° 2' 32" W, 2700 feet

Solid waste produced to generate electricity per person
over a lifetime:
Nuclear power -- 2 pounds in a coke can
Fossil (coal) fuel -- 68.5 tons in six 12-ton RR cars

-- Power to Save the World, Gwyneth Cravens

Web Page: <www.speckledwithstars.net/>
 
OK, I'm going to stick my nose in too :-)

I *seriously* suggest you do this course before going any further:
Design efficiently with masters:
http://office.microsoft.com/training/training.aspx?AssetID=RC011536491033
It will take you about 30 minutes and it will save you more time than that
on the first presentation create, honestly.

The Placeholders Steve are referring to are the things that say 'click here
to add title' and 'click here to add text' that you said in an earlier post
you delete (don't worry, your not alone :-)). However, these are the
building blocks of a presentation so if you set them up how you want them,
rather then deleting them and creating what you want with freeform textboxes
there are some big advantages - consistency from slide to slide, the ability
to easily update all the slides (e.g. change text size, font, colour), less
manual formatting thus time saving, to name but a few. Do the course above
and you'll see :-)

Lucy

--
Lucy Thomson
PowerPoint MVP
MOS Master Instructor
www.aneasiertomorrow.com.au
 
Thanks, Lucy -- I didn't have time to dig up that link when I was posting
earlier. I'm so glad you did!
 
Well, you know it's my fav link so I had it to hand :-)

Lucy

--
Lucy Thomson
PowerPoint MVP
MOS Master Instructor
www.aneasiertomorrow.com.au



Echo S said:
Thanks, Lucy -- I didn't have time to dig up that link when I was posting
earlier. I'm so glad you did!

--
Echo [MS PPT MVP] http://www.echosvoice.com
What's new in PPT 2007? http://www.echosvoice.com/2007.htm
Fixing PowerPoint Annoyances http://tinyurl.com/36grcd
PowerPoint 2007 Complete Makeover Kit http://tinyurl.com/32a7nx


Lucy Thomson said:
OK, I'm going to stick my nose in too :-)

I *seriously* suggest you do this course before going any further:
Design efficiently with masters:
http://office.microsoft.com/training/training.aspx?AssetID=RC011536491033
It will take you about 30 minutes and it will save you more time than
that on the first presentation create, honestly.

The Placeholders Steve are referring to are the things that say 'click
here to add title' and 'click here to add text' that you said in an
earlier post you delete (don't worry, your not alone :-)). However, these
are the building blocks of a presentation so if you set them up how you
want them, rather then deleting them and creating what you want with
freeform textboxes there are some big advantages - consistency from slide
to slide, the ability to easily update all the slides (e.g. change text
size, font, colour), less manual formatting thus time saving, to name but
a few. Do the course above and you'll see :-)

Lucy

--
Lucy Thomson
PowerPoint MVP
MOS Master Instructor
www.aneasiertomorrow.com.au
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
 
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