The Best Practices for Creating Mind-Blowing Custom Presentation Design

They say you never have a second chance to make the first impression, and this first impression is the one that decides whether you make it or not. However, is it still true in 2021, when visual overload and motely social media has drastically decreased people’s attention span? As it turned out, yes – this empirical truth is pretty much alive and well.

According to recent studies, you still have only 27 seconds to produce an excellent first impression in real life and less than a second to compel your visitors to stay and enjoy the experience in your website, digital resume, or presentation. That’s not all; some other statistics imply that

• More than 94% of respondents agree that first impression relates to design solely.
• Less than 3 seconds are needed for the user’s eyes to land and focus on critical features.
• The first thing that viewers see is color.
• Visual appeal always goes first before usability.

Numbers do not lie. The first impression is still critical, and this means that design that is the first-most significant driver of first-impression formation is crucial to achieving success.

However, what about the actual practice? Accomplished designers, brand strategists, and professional marketers put forward some convincing arguments in favor of creating good custom presentation design. Let’s consider them closely.

Benefits of Creating Good Custom Presentation Design

Creating a custom presentation design that is on-brand and tailored to your audience’s expectations is a massive leap towards success. It can do wonders, for instance:

• It can arrest and retain attention.
• It helps your audience to understand the main point without a long detailed explanation.
• It drives home the proper message.
• It turns report into an exciting storytelling experience.
• It leaves a strong imprint in the viewer’s mind.
• It cements credibility and inspires trust.
• It displays authority making the presenter look more professional and skilled.
• It increases brand impact.

In a word, good custom presentation design wins over clients, colleagues, bosses, or investors.

So, how to create one that not only delivers the message but also makes the first impression count for your next meeting or conference? Follow the best practices shared by experts in this field.

The Best Practices for Creating Mind-Blowing Custom Presentation Design

Creating a mind-blowing presentation can be a true challenge. If you do not have design and storytelling skills and experience, it can be even impossible. However, armed with the best practices provided by specialists who know a thing or two about framing and showcasing data appealingly, this task can be cracked. Below you can find some of the best tips and tricks on this matter.

• Do not get carried away and always remember your goal – slides should enhance learning and understanding of the material and not distract attention from the key points.
• Stick to a straightforward approach. Avoid walls of text that are hard to digest, complicated language, and terminology that may misinterpret meaning. Simplify content as much as possible: for example, round up or down numbers, use bullet points, replace wordy phrases, shun passive voice.
• Save whitespace – do not fill empty spaces with decorations or unrelated information. Just let fresh air in to create harmony.
• Use clean and neat background. Do not use patterns, textures, or images for the foundation.
• Provide optimal contrast between backdrop and foreground elements.
• Make sure your typography is easily discernable and readable. Use large font: the experts suggest sticking to a 24pt minimum. Stay consistent throughout the slides.
• Define a comfortable presentation slide ratio. As a rule, 16:9 is used for conference presentations, whereas 4:3 for desktops, tablets, and mobile devices.
• Invest into the title page because it produces the first impression. It should have a wow factor or at least give some food for thoughts to drive engagement.
• Use transitions and animations dexterously. On the one hand, they pleasantly enrich the storytelling experience and dish information, amplifying the overall impression. On the other hand, they destroy everything by overwhelming viewers and distracting their attention from key points when overdone. Therefore, play smart – do not animate every detail of the slide and use appropriate types of transitions.
• Convey emotions and set the proper atmosphere through coloring and psychological tricks.
• Use the inverted pyramid principle to get the most of reading patterns.
• Engage the audience with clever remarks and decorations.
• Use visual aids to support the message.
• Do not confuse, intimidate or distract the audience with too many images.
• Use only high-quality stocks. Do not use clip arts.
• Use charts and diagrams to present data. However, much like with transition effects, do not overdo. Use suitable options. For instance, horizontal bar charts are excellent for comparing quantities but useless for indicating changes in these quantities.
• Do not be afraid to use video or audio. However, bear in mind that this clip or tune needs to be to the point and as short as possible. Always avoid auto-play.
• Do not describe things if you can show them.
• Focus only on essential features and advantages of the product or solution.
• Tell a continuous story, thereby igniting interest and making your audience crave for the next slide each time.
• Maximize color theory. It can help to create a specific gamut of emotions and improve the understanding of the material. Also, do not overdo – do not use more than five tones. Designers suggest using 3 tones, no more.
• Adhere to the golden rule of email marketers: one slide-one idea.
• Go by 10-20-30 slideshow rule by Guy Kawasaki. It implies that you should have a maximum of 10 slides; they should last no longer than 20 minutes, and the font size should be 30pt.
• Break your slides into small chunks.
• Make sure your presentation deliver value without visual aid, animations, and all sorts of decorations.

Last but not least, avoid this faux pas: too many transitions, sound effects, pre-packaged molds, fancy decorations, content-heavy layouts, small font, and images with poor resolution.

If all those best practices make you sick or you lack skills that may help put them into action, you can always get help from professional platforms like Slidepeak. It has a team of gifted designers and marketers who can build incredible presentations for any concept within a day.

Fantastic Custom Presentation Designs to Get Inspiration

1. ALPHAWOOD Presentation

Minimal, refined, and sophisticated – slides of this incredible presentation exude professionalism on all fronts. The team alters between dark and light designs to make the storytelling experience enjoyable.

The presentation hits all the essentials:

• High-quality images support the content.
• The typography is discernable;
• The font is set in big size.
• Lots of fresh air accentuate crucial elements.
• Coloring reinforces overall impression.

2. BOUTIQUE HOTEL PROJECT

This marvelous custom presentation design was created for the architecture niche. Though it does not need any introduction since you can see it from the first seconds. The team has skillfully realized this theme in the project.

The key takeaways:

• A clever combination of textual and visual data.
• Visual aid not only supports the text but also enriches it.
• High-quality images win over the audience and make the presentation feel exclusive and expensive.
• The dark theme goes perfectly well with soft pictures and white text on the fore.
• Optimal readability is achieved through proper contrast and font size.

3. JLR Laos

The team behind JLR Laos presentation provides us with an excellent example that shows how design and message should correlate together to deliver the message and create an overall user experience that supports the concept and brings it closer to the audience. Everything is planned down to the last detail.

Note these things:

• The intelligent play with red color that gives zest to the design and atmosphere.
• The typography is regular; nevertheless, it makes the text stand out from the backdrop.
• Geometric shapes give the design a subtle brutal feeling that goes well with the automotive topic.
• Each slide is the artwork with fantastic overlaying techniques, high-quality photography, and an unusual layout.

Conclusion

Creating a good custom presentation design is not that easy. It is about mixing and matching data, visual aid, and dynamic elements like animations or transitions to create an enjoyable experience and continuous story as well as enhance learning and understanding of the material so that you can reach your goal.

Let’s be honest, to nail a good presentation, you need the skills of designer, storyteller, marketer, and animator. On top of that, you should overcome a creative block and get some inspiration to shape your idea and put it forward. Therefore, it is a true challenge. To face it with the music, you can delegate this task to professionals or try to do it by yourself by implementing the best practices that we have already highlighted. However, whatever way you choose, always remember that the first impression still counts, and design may speak volumes; therefore, prioritize them.