Summary

In this chapter, we covered how to choose font styles and sizes to help you make your content readable, and how to make sure your background versus text contrast is good. We also discussed how to remove unnecessary content on slides and how to make them look more consistent.

I have not discussed every design best practice in this chapter. But you have learned about the most important elements that can be quickly used to greatly improve your content. As I mentioned in the previous chapter on planning and structuring your content, the most important thing is not to let fear get in the way. Making better presentations is an ongoing process. For existing presentations, start by changing one or two design elements every time you are reviewing your content before an event or meeting. For new presentations, plan more time so you can use what you have learned when you are creating the content; you might as well do it better the first time!

In the next chapter, we are getting hands-on with PowerPoint. You will be learning about layouts, placeholders, theme fonts and colors, and configuring your layouts. By getting to know the Slide Master, you will be able to automate most of the design parts of your slides.