Presentations should capture the attention of viewers and compliment the overall message you are trying to communicate. Design eye-catching Google Slide decks with the help of these five key tips.
1 – Select a Unique Theme
Slick Slides design begins with choosing a great theme. In Google Slides, users can can select a Theme which is the overall design scheme of the slide deck including a specific color palette and font choices. Choose a theme that reflects your personality and style while providing the perfect backdrop to your topic. Instead of using the limited collection of native themes, check out these sites to search through hundreds of free, Creative Commons licensed options.
2 – Vary your Slide Layouts
Within a Theme users can choose from multiple Slide Layouts available which determine the arrangement of text, placeholders for images, titles and more. In a given file users can only select ONE Theme but can easily pivot between multiple Layouts for each slide. Using a variety of layouts helps to break up the monotony of your presentation and allows user to select the format that best fits the content of a given slide. Change the selected layout by navigating to “Slide” –> “Apply Layout”.
3 – Customize Colors
Color choices are important; but less is more. Limit yourself to no more than 5 colors and be sure they are consistent across your slideshow. Consider installing the Eye Dropper Chrome Extension to identify color codes to quickly and exactly match colors for a consistent look throughout your presentation. Trying to figure out how to compliment colors you’ve chosen? Check out the online Color Calculator to choose a beautiful color palette.
4 – Use Text Sparingly
When designing your presentations, remember to use minimal text. Make appropriate decisions about the font size and style so that the text you do use is easy to read. The following size recommendations are a good guideline to follow:
- San Serif Font – Choose fonts such as Arial, Calibri, Helvetica or Veranda.
- Font Size Recommendations
- Title Font – between 32 and 40 point
- Body Font – between 24 and 32 point
5 – Select Images to Enhance Meaning
Carefully select images that enhance, not distract viewers. Images should help tell the story you are trying to convey. Be consistent with the type of images you use throughout your presentation, whether it be photographs, clip art or icons. Consider these sources to find high quality images. Don’t forget to appropriately cite your sources!
- TheNounProject – Is the ideal location to find icons that can be custom colored and downloaded as transparent images for use. Free accounts are required to cite the source for all images used, but consider the low cost of a premium account which is only $19.99/year for educators.
- Unsplash Photos – This massive, searchable collection of beautiful images is available to the public for personal or commercial use. Though you are not required to cite images, it’s best to do so and model this practice for students. These photos are available to all because of the artistry of many people who deserve to be acknowledged.
- Pics4Learning – If you are looking for a safe, kid-focused collection of images, check out Pics4Learning. This site offers copy write friendly photos and is categorized by topic to make searching simple for young learners.
Working with images in Slides is simple once you understand how to add and edit them. Check out this previous post “Working with Images in Docs & Slides” for tips on how to effectively manage images in Slides.
