54 Most famous graphic designers of all time

Posted on September 15, 2022March 15, 2023 by admin_pr

Graphic design is an industry that has grown and evolved so much over time that it seems hard to believe that it has only been around since the 1950s. Although we typically associate graphic design with logos and websites, the contributions of several designers over the years have exemplified the importance and complexity of design as a factor that influences and inspires consumers.

In learning about the history of graphic design, there are names of famous graphic designers that you should know. These designers are thinkers and pioneers who adventured with the tools they had to push forward the field of graphic design.

Who is the most famous graphic designer?

Saul Bass is thought to be the most famous graphic designer. If you don’t recognize his name, you will certainly recognize his work. Saul Bass designed several iconic logos, such as the logos of Quaker Oats, Kleenex, Minolta, and AT&T, as well as the movie posters for many beloved films like Psycho and West Side Story.

Who was the first graphic designer?

Considered the father of graphic design, Paul Rand was the first to separate fine art from graphic design by emphasizing accessibility alongside aesthetics.

How do graphic designers become famous?

Simply put, it is networking and making connections. Putting yourself out there as a designer is the best way to create awareness about yourself and your work; build a portfolio, work on your interview skills, and take the first step to reach out to clients.

Other methods for getting exposure are building a strong website that showcases your work and getting your work published in relevant publications.

Who is the richest graphic designer?

It’s not clear who is the richest graphic designer since designs may vary in price depending on the commissioner. But looking at their net worths, Chipp Kidd and Michael Bierut have high net worths of $16 million and $1.4 million, respectively.

The importance of graphic designers

In our digital age, visuals have become an indispensable part of a brand. They make the necessary first impression on a consumer and need to grab their attention long enough for them to make a decision.

Taking ideas and translating them into reality, graphic designers use typography and illustration to breathe life into a client’s vision. They are an essential asset to any content creation team.

Most famous graphic designers & artists

Whether you’re a designer looking for inspiration or an amateur who wants to get started, these are 54 graphic designers you should know. These are designers who made an impact in the field of graphic design and inspired their successors.

1 – Saul Bass

Saul Bass got his start working in advertising, but after designing the film poster and film credits for Carmen Jones (1954), he became a graphic designer.

Bass distinguished himself by incorporating kinetic typography, or animated text, into title sequences and end credits of films; notable examples include his work for Psycho, Vertigo, West Side Story, The Man with the Golden Arm, and The Shining.

Aside from film posters and credits, he also designed logos for Quacker Oats, Kleenex, and several other brands. And though these logos have evolved since, they have retained their roots as Saul Bass designs.

2 – Stefan Sagmeister

One-half of the design partnership Sagmeister & Walsh, Austrian designer Stefan Sagmeister is known for his minimalist and neutral aesthetic for several acclaimed clients. He is most known for his work on album cover art for bands and musicians like Lou Reed, The Rolling Stones, Aerosmith, Jay-Z, and David Byrne.

3 – Chip Kidd

Currently, the art director for Random House, Chip Kidd started at Knopf Publishing House and has designed nearly 75 covers a year for over 30 years. He’s designed book covers for Haruki Murakami, Donna Tartt, Oliver Sacks, David Sedaris, and Bret Easton Ellis. He’s also a regular contributor to The New Yorker.

4 – Massimo Vignelli

When designing logos and assets for Bloomingdale’s, American Airlines, and Ford, Vignelli borrowed from modernist tradition to incorporate it into his designs for different industries.

As a self-proclaimed “information architect,” Vignelli aimed to condense big ideas into digestible bits for users. His philosophy and legacy are palpable in New York City, as evidenced by his work on the New York City subway map and signage he designed in 1972, which are still used daily by thousands of New Yorkers.

5 – Michael Bierut

A Pentagram partner since 1990, Michael Beirut designed pieces for clients across all disciplines. From the Hillary Clinton campaign logo, branding for Saks, The Atlantic Magazine, the New York Jets, and the Brooklyn Academy of Music, his work can be found all around New York City. He’s also a lecturer, critic, and writer for the New York Times.

6 – Milton Glaser

The mind behind the iconic “I Heart NY” logo, Milton Glaser knows what it takes to create a powerful, timeless design. Presented with the National Medal of Arts by the US Government in 2010, Glaser is also a lecturer and the founder of New York Magazine.

7 – Paula Scher

To grasp Paula Scher’s influence, you only need to take a look at some of her clients: Microsoft, New York City Ballet, the Museum of Modern Art, Shake Shack, the Sundance Institute, and New York City’s Public Theater, to name a few.

She is the first female principal at the Pentagram firm. Her innovative use of type as a visual image in her work is deemed to have a lasting impact on the world of design.

8 – Peter Saville

Responsible for one of the most reproduced designs ever, Peter Saville is behind the famous album art of Joy Division’s “Unknown Pleasures.” He has created album covers for artists such as New Order, Wham!, and Peter Gabriel. His vivid and expressive style set a new standard for album covers.

9 – Jessica Walsh

The other half of Sagmeister & Walsh and later the founder of &Walsh, Jessica Walsh’s colorful and retro vision made her a regular collaborator for clients like Jay-Z and Levi’s. She also teaches at the School of Visual Arts in New York.

10 – Aries Moross

Aries Moross (previously Kate Moross) founded their studio in 2012 working on branding and commercial projects for brands like Nike and Ray-Ban. Yet, with their starkly original, bright, and chaotic typography, the studio found itself focused on music-related projects. Notably, they have created designs and artwork for One Direction and the Spice Girls’ comeback tour.

11 – April Greiman

Greiman was among the first to use technology for graphic design in the 1980s, embracing digitization and even finding ways to incorporate glitches into her work. Influenced by Wolfgang Weingart, April Greiman also introduced his new wave style to the United States scene with her own colorful and acid-laced twist.

12 – David Carson

Largely self-taught, Carson’s style is unconventional, edgy, and grungy. His experimental techniques solidified him as a star in the design world in his role as the art director for the magazine ‘Ray Gun.’

13 – Herb Lubalin

Lubalin’s typographic design, or “typographics,” picked up where copywriting lacked and enhanced written text. His cleverness allowed him to adeptly visually convey language and know when to embellish the text. He is also the typographer behind the ITC Avant-Garde family of fonts.

14 – Paul Rand

In Paul Rand’s 1947 book Thoughts on Design, he wrote about his ideology on design, primarily his belief that design should be functional as well as aesthetic. His theories have shaped what we now know as graphic design.

He also pioneered the modernist Swiss Style of design, which focused on legibility and visual hierarchy.

15 – Max Miedinger

Miedinger’s contribution as a successor of Paul Rand’s Swiss Style movement was the Swiss typeface, a minimalist typeface otherwise known as Helvetica. It was a perfect reflection of the Swiss style captured in a font, clean and flexible, and it helped shape the movement later on.

16 – Wolfgang Weingart

Weingart offered an antithesis to clean, minimalist styles with his spontaneous and chaotic designs. His designs were experimental and chaotic, imagining a new-wave approach to graphic design that includes a more instinctive way of creating.

17 – Alex Trochut

Inspired by street fashion and pop culture, Alex Trochut uses a visual language that is extravagant and eye-catching, creating designs with overlapping styles and genres. His clientele includes brands and musicians like Nike, Vampire Weekend, Arcade Fire, Coco-Cola, Apple, Mac, and more.

18 – Dana Tanamachi

Tanamachi famously got her start through a chalk illustration at a housewarming party. Her intricate artworks then made their way into redesigned book covers for classics like Peter Pan and The Wizard of Oz and brand campaigns for Nike and Penguin. She specializes in typography, lettering, and detailed illustrations, both of which have contributed to her success.

Influenced by her work, Prezlab’s designers use her as an inspiration when creating book and report designs.

19 – Louise Fili

Louise Fili specializes in branding for food products and restaurants. Her work borrows from modernism and her Italian-American heritage and focuses on typography. She was also an art director for Pantheon Books and designed over 2,000 book covers.

20 – Morag Myerscough

Known as the queen of color, Myerscough is a designer whose studio and projects focus on environmental graphic design, creating large and lively 3D pieces for schools, offices, and exhibitions. She uses bright and vibrant colors to make spaces more exciting.

21 – Adrian Frutiger

Frutiger advanced and adapted typography for the digital realm by developing several digital typefaces, including popular typefaces such as Président, Univers, Frutiger, and Méridien. His work of legible and beautiful typefaces can be seen on signs in London and Disney World.

22 – Alan Fletcher

The British “father” of graphic design, Fletcher’s use of typography and visual language solidified graphic design as an essential element for businesses and not only a decorative embellishment. He is known for designing logos for the Victoria & Albert Museum and the Institute of Directors.

23 – Bradbury Thompson

Thompson was known for his incessant experimentation with styles and methods. By mixing surrealist, traditional, and postmodern styles by layering and incorporating photography, he created inspiring works that challenged tradition.

24 – Ivan Chermayeff

Using abstract shapes instead of letterforms for his logos, Chermayeff and his design firm are responsible for dozens of memorable and iconic logos, including those for National Geographic, the Smithsonian, PBS, and NBC.

25 – Jan Tschichold

Tschichold’s book Die Neue Typographie set new standards and guidelines for typography and typographical hierarchy that are still referenced today. He created many typefaces and is known for creating the classic orange Penguin covers, for which he designed over 500 covers.

26 – Neville Brody

Inspired by punk culture in the 1980s, Neville Brody created edgy and experimental designs for several album covers, magazine covers, and advertisements. Including his work as art director for The Face magazine.

27 – Otl Aicher

Otl Aicher is best known for creating the 1972 Summer Olympics logo, which is also a perfect representation of his minimalist approach, bold colors, and pictograms that he also adapted for several signage systems.

28 – Susan Kare

You might not recognize the name, but you certainly recognize her work. She is the designer behind many of the original Apple’s Mac interface elements like the trash, paint bucket, lasso, floppy disk, etc, that were the base for much of the designs we’re familiar with today. She is also behind the typefaces Geneva and Monaco.

29 – Alex Center

The mind behind several ad campaigns for Coca-Cola, Vitamin Water, and Smartwater. He eventually founded his own design company, CENTER, which focuses on packaging design.

30 – Carolyn Davidson

When the founder of Nike approached Davidson, he asked for a logo that could represent movement. The result was the ever-memorable and iconic Nike checkmark, for which she was paid $35. After Nike went public, she was compensated for the difference in 500 shares of stock.

31 – George Lois

Over his 10 years at Esquire magazine, George Lois challenged the status quo with his memorable, and occasionally controversial, magazine covers. His 1968 Muhammad Ali cover, for example, depicted the boxer with arrows through him to evoke themes of martyrdom for his identity and beliefs.

32 – Jonathan Barnbrook

Barnbrook designed influential and contemporary typefaces such as Bastard and Tourette. Later on, he became David Bowie’s go-to designer in his later career, designing album covers for Heather, The Next Day, and Black Star.

33 – Lauren Hom

Creating work for Google and Starbucks, Lauren Hom’s career in graphic design was initially unplanned, but her whimsical and intricate typography gave her work a shareable quality that brands strive for.

34 – Leta Sobierajski

This designer is an eclectic in every sense of the word. Working with photography, art, graphic design, and fashion and working across disciplines, her quirky and colorful style has been useful for her wide range of clients, including Tate Britain and Gucci.

35 – Lindon Leader

His FedEx logo solidified him as a leader in graphic design, his subtly and cleverness made the logo the icon that it is. Alongside FedEx, he also designed assets for Hawaiian Airlines, DoubleTree Hotels, and CIGNA.

36 – Luke Choice

Hailing from Australia, Choice borrows from comic books and cartoons to create art that tells effective stories through visual design. His dreamy and colorful style can be seen in his work for Samsung and Adobe Max.

37 – Abram Games

Games was a WWII artist who created hundreds of political poster designs. Following his motto of “maximum meaning, maximum means,” his style is simple and direct to highlight core messages.

38 – Alexey Brodovich

His interdisciplinary and experimental approach to design during his term as an art director at Harper’s Bazaar made him an instrumental graphic designer. Constantly playing with trends, his modern and stylish taste informed his work in textiles, posters, magazine layouts, illustrations, and more.

39 – Alvin Lustig

Lustig’s approach suggested that instead of representing the content of the book, a cover should convey the tone and style. This approach to book cover design was an original method that has now become standard practice.

40 – Armin Hofman

A pioneer in Swiss design, Hofman’s clean and powerful designs represent the Swiss movement’s core ideals. He aimed for effective design with a meaningful purpose to create something timeless.

41 – Cipe Pineles

Cipe Pineles’ career is full of firsts: she was the first female designer member of the Art Director’s Club in New York, the first female art director for a magazine, and the first designer to hire fine artists to create mass-market covers. Her work is featured across diverse magazines, including Vogue, Seventeen, and Glamour.

42 – Claude Garamond

You might recognize the name Garamond from the font. Born in 1505, he was the first person to specialize in type design, paving the initial road to type design and graphic design as a whole. In addition to Garamond, he also created the fonts Sabon and Granjon.

43 – El Lissitzky

Lissitzky’s strong visual language in Russian propaganda posters used stylized shapes and bold colors. A pioneer of the Bauhaus movement, his work influenced the next generation of contemporary graphic designers.

44 – Erik Nitsche

Throughout his 60-year-long career in design, he added his modernist touch to everything he worked on. His emphasis on design being a tool extended beyond the commercial meaning to include an industrial one.

45 – Hermann Zapf

Hermann Zapf pioneered the move from press printing to computerized typography. And in addition to creating a typesetting program that offered a blueprint for many current softwares, he also created many typefaces such as Palatino, Optima, and Zapf Dingbats.

46 – Jacqueline Casey

Casey’s work introduced Swiss typography and design to the United States, a marriage of modes that shaped contemporary design. Her work featured Swiss-inspired cleanness with poignant messages.

47 – John Maeda

Maeda pushed boundaries in every medium he worked in, including digital and analog mediums. His exploratory use of computerized media helped develop motion graphics as we know them today.

48 – Josef Muller-Brockmann

Another proponent of the Swiss movement, Muller-Brockmann’s work emphasized what he called “radical minimalism,” which used geometric shapes and clean fonts with touches of bold color. His legacy in the Swiss movement lies in his use of grid systems, a widely useful tool for designers today.

49 – Ladislav Sutnar

Specializing in information design, Sutnar used design to make sense out of nonsense. To aid his aim of creating clarity, he used a notable technique of dialing back the color and type palettes.

50 – Lester Beall

Beall is remembered for his transformative attitude toward graphic design; he treated designers as problem solvers with the potential to add value to the marketing world. His avant-garde and uplifting work set a standard for designers to imagine timeless pieces.

51 – Lucian Bernhard

In the era of art nouveau, Bernhard embraced his own version of minimalism. As an art director for advertisements, he used flat colors and no slogans, relying instead on a plain illustration and a logo for a clean, dialed-back look.

52 – Muriel Cooper

Cooper was a graphic designer who started using computers in her work before they were commonplace. Her use of movement, visual depth, and 3D shapes was groundbreaking and pioneered the development of computerized graphic design.

53 – Seymour Chwast

Contrary to the Swiss movement, Chwast’s expressive style involved fusing design and illustration in original, playful ways. His novel approach was able to repurpose past design trends into fresh and interesting new iterations.

54 – William Golden

Golden was a pioneer in the post-WWII era who was to mold the field of graphic design. His spirited designs pushed design into new territory. His work helped define what graphic design is as a field and emphasized differentiating between artists and graphic designers.

Dozens of designers with unique visions have added to graphic design as a field and bettered it as a craft, so you can see how graphic design became the ever-expanding field we now know it to be. It is forever changing and evolving thanks to the fearless experimentation and relentless creativity of different designers. Overlapping personalities and clashing ideas have granted endless possibilities for the imagination to wander.

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How great PowerPoint design impacts your presentation

Posted on August 22, 2022March 16, 2023 by admin_pr

It’s super easy to underestimate the influence of PowerPoint design until you come across slides that instantly grab your attention. We’ve all sat through presentations of all kinds: the good, the dull, and the ones with visuals that make us sit up a little straighter.

This is when we recognize how the power of great presentation design has the potential to turn a simple PowerPoint presentation into a captivating experience for an audience. They make the message more compelling and enhance your business presentations by elevating your brand identity.

Why does PowerPoint design work?

01 It’s eye-catching.

In the digital age, visuals are often the first thing people notice. That makes delivering information more effective when conveyed visually. Using an engaging PowerPoint slide design evokes curiosity and turns quiet interest into an eagerness to learn more about your topic.

02 It’s effective.

Most people are visual learners, meaning that other than listening, your audience should be able to follow along through visual aids. Charts, graphs, timelines, images, and others are all excellent ways of incorporating visual elements, especially ones that serve both an aesthetic and functional purpose, into your presentation design.

03 It’s straightforward.

Your presentation will benefit from engaging PowerPoint designs that help communicate your ideas more clearly. We don’t pick up on information when it’s presented to us in a box of text. We do, however, remember when the material is represented in a cohesive visual representation that is easier to understand.

04 It helps the presenter.

Clear PowerPoint design cleans up the flow, allowing the presenter to follow a coherent narrative and presentation. When the presenter can respond accordingly to a visual cue in their presentation, it keeps them more focused and intentional as they speak.

What are the effects of a great PowerPoint presentation design?

01 It makes a good impression.

There’s no need to emphasize the effect a powerful first impression can have on a business. Having business presentation slides that look good presents a cohesive and credible brand identity. So, solidify your presence with a killer visual representation of your brand identity to leave a strong impression on decision-makers in the audience.

02 It shows that you respect your audience.

We know you have prepared for your presentation, but how can your audience? PowerPoint design gives the impression that you put in effort for your presentation and are therefore a trusted source of information in your field. Any audience member can recognize a clean slide design as a sign of someone who knows what they’re talking about

03 It benefits your audience.

One of the main purposes of presentation design is to communicate new information clearly. People retain information better when it is communicated in smaller pieces. When you design a PowerPoint with the audience in mind, you can tailor it based on their background and understanding. That way, you guarantee that they walk away having learned and understood your message.

Great, now where can we start?

So, where does one begin creating a smooth presentation slide design? Well, for starters, having a clear-cut outline of your content gives you a starting point on how to organize your information. Keep in mind details such as the color palette, images, and volume of text when creating your presentation slides.

From there, you can effectively build engaging presentation slide designs.

At Prezlab, we believe great presentation design should be accessible to everyone. That’s why we have loads of free and premium templates, free slide evaluations, and a team of presentation design enthusiasts ready to transform your ideas into sleek, beautiful designs.

Is communication more art than science?

Posted on February 1, 2022March 7, 2023 by admin_pr

If you believe communication is either one or the other, you are wrong. Here is why:

Every great communicator, regardless of whether they are a politician, a sales wizard, a marketeer, or a teacher at a high school, understands that there is more to great communication than just the structuring of words and sentences. It’s obvious that the left brain’s rationality is super important when it comes to communication, but numerous studies have shown us that what makes good communication great happens in our right brain. Aspects of communication such as spontaneity, authenticity, and intuition come from our right brain.

So is communication more art than science? It’s both. However, not only do great communicators have a firm grasp on the mechanics of communication (science), but they also tap into the reservoirs of creativity emerging from their right brains. When Martin Luther King gave his “I Have a Dream” speech, it was more of an artistic endeavor than a scientific one.

This is as true for marketing and design as it is for leadership. Think of any advertisement that still lingers in your memory. It will become clear that its artistic (creative) features are the reason you still remember it.

Having said that, successful marketing messages should consider the points below. Without them, even the most creative and ingenious touch will seem like an unsolved jigsaw puzzle.

One of the problems of marketing messages nowadays is that most of these focus on one or the other but very rarely do you come across an ad or a presentation that does both. The jaw-dropping Apple keynote presentations are not just brilliant from a creative point of view; they are also structured and delivered in a way that’s scientifically proven to be better. The Nike commercials are not just brilliant creative ideas, they are also an example of the perfect execution of well-known (and mostly ignored) scientific best practices.

Best Practices for Presentation Communication

1st best practice

Each slide should communicate just one thought or idea—this is proven good advice because the human brain can only focus on one idea or thought at a time.

2nd best practice

Declutter your slides—less is more. Resist the urge to stuff “as much as possible.” It’s proven that too many visual elements lead to the audience remembering none.

3rd best practice

Try to tell a story. Humans are wired to love stories—we all know that.

4th best practice

Build on your previous points one at a time while keeping the progression of the presentation systematic and logical.

5th best practice

Find the ideal emotion you would like to evoke and try to strike it. No presentation has to be dry and devoid of life. Even corporate presentations should have an element of emotion in them—after all, you are pitching/selling/persuading humans.

6th best practice

Keep it short and sweet.

7th best practice

Use design best practices (right fonts, colors, sizes, spacing, etc.) to create maximum visual impact. Yes, the default PowerPoint templates are a surefire way to bore your audience.
We hope this settles the science vs art question when it comes to communication, and the next time you sit down to create a marketing campaign, make sure you get both the science and the art right.

Presentation design is at the very core of what we do, what we love doing, and what we are extremely good at. If you are struggling with your existing sales presentation or need to spruce up an existing pitch deck to land that next round of funding, or maybe you need a presentation that hits home with a client, then feel free to talk to us about it.

Check out our presentation design solutions!

Get your PowerPoint blackbelt with these hidden features

Posted on August 22, 2022March 19, 2023 by admin_pr

There is more to PowerPoint than text boxes and “image insertion”; this blog pulls back the curtain on some of the best ones we love to use as a professional presentation design agency in Dubai!

If you’re like most people, you probably use PowerPoint for work or school presentations. But did you know that there are features in PowerPoint that can help you design better presentations? Here are a few presentation design features in PowerPoint that you may not have known about.

There are three stages to designing a presentation: planning, designing, and delivering.

Each stage requires its own set of skills and knowledge. Presentation designers must be able to understand the needs of the audience and communicate with them. They also need to have a strong understanding of the latest PowerPoint features and how to use them effectively. PPT designers must be able to create visually appealing presentations that engage the audience and deliver the desired message.

There are a few PowerPoint presentation features that can help you create better presentations, no matter your skill level in design.

Here are six features you can use to improve your PowerPoint presentations:

01 Presenter View

This view allows you to see your presentation on one screen while your audience sees something different on another. This is handy if you want to include notes or additional information that you don’t want your audience to see. To enable Presenter View, go to the Slide Show tab and click on Set Up Slide Show. Under Show Type, select Presenter View and click OK.

02 Custom Shows

This feature allows you to create a presentation within a presentation. For example, if you’re giving a presentation on marketing tips, you could create a custom show that contains only the marketing slides. To create a custom show, go to the Slide Show tab and click on Custom Shows. Now click New, give your custom show a name, and select the slides you want to include. When you’re finished, click OK.

03 Action Buttons

You can add action buttons to your slides to allow your audience to take action during your presentation. For example, you could add a button to allow the audience to send an email or visit your website.

To add an action button, go to the Insert tab and click on the Action Button. Choose the button type, and then click OK. Add whatever text or image you want to appear on the button, and then position it where you want it on your slide. Then click on Apply when you’re finished.

04 Built-in themes and templates

PowerPoint comes with a variety of built-in themes and templates that you can use to create professional-looking presentations. To access them, click on the “Design” tab at the top of the PowerPoint window.

05 Use custom fonts

If you want to add a bit of personality to your presentation, try using a custom font. To do this, click on the “Format” tab and select “Fonts.” From there, you can browse through the different fonts and choose the one that you want to use.

06 Add multimedia

Adding multimedia elements such as images, videos, and audio can help make your presentation more engaging. To add multimedia elements, click on the “Insert” tab and select the appropriate option.

All in all, PowerPoint is a powerful presentation tool that can help you create presentations that are both professional and engaging. There is a range of other features that liven up a dull presentation, such as slideshows with text, images, and videos, and you can also add interactive elements like quizzes and polls. You can also create slideshows that are responsive to changes in the screen size, so they will look great no matter what device they’re being viewed on.

And finally – your delivery is key. Make eye contact with your audience and speak clearly and confidently. Pace yourself so that you do not lose your audience’s attention.

If you want Prezlab’s PowerPoint experts to work on your next presentation, then hit us up!

How to choose the best presentation color schemes & combinations

Posted on September 12, 2022March 7, 2023 by admin_pr

Selecting a color scheme that stirs the desired reaction in your audience is a tricky and challenging process. Unfortunately, picking out an appropriate color scheme isn’t as simple as putting together the colors you like. The color choices used in a PowerPoint presentation reflect the character and personality of your business. When the color wheel offers itself to your imagination, how do you know how to use it correctly?

We cannot underestimate the power of color. It’s a language of its own, influencing emotions and setting the mood for your presentation before you even begin to speak. Presentation slides can convey a relaxed, professional, or confident persona based on the color scheme alone.

What do colors mean?

Starting off with the tough question: what is color?

All that color comes down to is perception. When an object reflects light, it reflects different combinations of wavelengths that our brains interpret as color. And once we begin to understand color theory, we start to have a better understanding of how we perceive colors.

What is color theory?

Color theory offers a foundation for understanding the rules around color and color schemes. It is a basic guideline for mixing colors and analyzes the visual effects of how colors mix or contrast with each other.

Once you understand the logic of color, you can create and use color palettes more effectively and confidently.

Primary colors

Primary colors are colors that cannot be created by mixing colors and they are yellow, red, and blue. When it comes to creating a color palette, the primary colors anchor the color scheme. Meaning that using any one or any combination of the primary colors will place limits on your color scheme when you decide to select other colors.

Secondary colors

The secondary colors are created by mixing the purest form of any two primary colors. The three secondary colors are orange, purple, and green.

Tertiary colors

Tertiary colors take things a step further. They are created by mixing a primary color with a secondary color, making them a mix of several colors. But unlike secondary colors, they are not mixed in equal amounts.

For example, red-purple, or magenta, is a mix of red and purple, meaning it is two parts red and one part blue.

The six tertiary colors are red-purple (magenta), red-orange (vermillion), blue-purple (violet), blue-green (teal), yellow-orange (amber), and yellow-green (chartreuse).

The color theory wheel

The color wheel is a chart that organizes colors in a circle to showcase the relationships between the primary, secondary, and tertiary colors. From the mind of Isaac Newton, a color wheel is a tool used to visualize colors to help facilitate the creation of color schemes.

What are the additive and subtractive color theories?

The additive and subtractive color models are systems of color reproduction related to how the eye receives light to produce colors.

The additive colors are red, green, and blue, or RGB. The RGB color models are for electronic screens like computers or TVs. It begins with black and then adds red, green, and blue light to convey a spectrum of colors. When more colors are added, the result is lighter and closer to white. With the three colors combined in equal amounts, you get white light.

Meanwhile, the subtractive color model applies to any color typically seen on a physical surface, namely paper. In this model, you subtract colors to get closer to white. The subtractive colors are cyan, magenta, yellow, and key/black (CYMK), and these are usually the colors listed on printer cartridges. When these colors are printed, they absorb the light and appear black.

How to combine colors?

Using the color wheel, we can experiment with color combinations to create original and effective color schemes. There are seven major color schemes in graphic design that designers regularly use and return to.

Warm colors

If you draw a line through the color wheel, it cleanly separates the warm and cool colors. The warm colors are reds, yellows, and oranges, and they are hues associated with energy, brightness, and action.

Cool colors

Cool colors are blues, greens, and purples, and they often connote feelings of peace, calm, and serenity.

Complementary colors

A complementary color scheme comes from combining colors that stand directly opposite each other on the color wheel (such as purple and green, orange and blue) and their respective tints.

Since this color scheme offers a strong contrast, it’s best to use one color as a dominant color and use the second color as an accent in designs. Use contrast to highlight important points in your presentation.

Split complementary colors

A split complementary color scheme features a selected base color and the two colors that neighbor that base color’s complement. The result is a versatile and nuanced color palette that is more diverse than a complementary color scheme while still maintaining a healthy and interesting contrast.

Although this color scheme is easy to achieve, it can be tricky to maintain. A split complementary scheme offers more color combinations, but it takes a bit of experimenting to find a good balance.

Triads and tetradic color combinations

A triadic color combination creates a balanced contrast by featuring three colors at an equal distance from each other on the color wheel, forming a triangle. However, it can feel overwhelming when the colors selected are bold. This can be handled by choosing one color to be the dominant one and using the others sparingly or by selecting a softer tint.

A tetradic color scheme is achieved by drawing a rectangle on the color wheel, resulting in a vibrant color scheme.

Analogous colors

Analogous colors sit next to each other on the color wheel and together create a soothing color scheme. When using analogous colors like red, yellow, and orange together, it’s best to have one color dominate, the second color support, and a third color accent.

Monochromatic colors

With a monochromatic color scheme, you choose one color and support it with its varying shades and tints. The result is a calm and consistent feel that looks polished and professional. This type of color scheme is easy to use since you only need to select one color and then use black, white, or grey to change it.

How to choose a color scheme?

These formulas for putting together color combinations are easy to pick up with enough practice. Yet, the challenge lies in the other factors you must consider when choosing colors for your color palette, which affect the impact and effectiveness of your color scheme.

Consider the user experience

When creating a presentation, consider the audience and the purpose. For example, using a monochromatic color palette is appropriate for a professional presentation, while complementary palettes are versatile for different types of occasions.

But also remember the details; for example, a bright background could be distracting and make it hard to read the text.

Set a mood for your color scheme

What is the mood you want to convey? If you want an energetic presentation, you’re better off using brighter colors like reds and yellows. While shades of blue are great for creating a peaceful and serene mood. Or you could tone down the clutter by creating negative space in black or white.

Working with high contrast

Be clever with your use of contrast. If you’re using a dark background, use light text that your audience can read, and vice versa. It’s important to use high contrast in more professional presentations to draw the audience’s attention to the contents. Draw attention to your important points with accent colors.

Follow the 60-30-10 rule

Originally an interior design rule, the 60-30-10 principle has proved to be a great tip for graphic design. It adheres to a balance of 60% of the main color (for backgrounds), 30% of the secondary color (filling in shapes or images), and 10% for the accent colors in outlines and text.

Refer to your color wheel

Use the color wheel to your advantage. Refer to it constantly to select color combinations of different color schemes. Sometimes, a color scheme that may look good in theory might not work with your presentation. It takes several tests to find a scheme that resonates with your personality and serves your presentation.

Draft multiple designs

As with any creative endeavor, there is no way to find out how your ideas will work without drafting and experimenting. In your quest of finding the appropriate color scheme, you need to create multiple drafts with your palette suggestions and see which works best. It’s good to step away from your work and sleep on it to refresh your perspective.

Keep it simple

Don’t overthink it. Keep your color scheme simple. A monochromatic palette is a great starting point for beginners since you’d only be working with one color. For more advanced users, try not to work with more than four colors; anchor your design in one dominant color and use the others for support.

Avoid unnecessary usage of color

Exercise restraint. Not every instance will need an explosion of color. For example, in a chart with only two variables, heights, and length suffice as differentiating factors. But when a third or fourth variable is introduced, then the color becomes necessary to emphasize or highlight differences.

Be consistent with color across charts

When using multiple charts and graphs, make sure to be consistent throughout the presentation when referring to the same groups. It keeps the document neat and organized and helps the reader follow along.

Leverage the meaningfulness of color

Different colors hold different meanings and symbolism. If you’re using color in graphs to represent certain groups, then keep in mind the colors they are typically associated with to make it easier for a reader to follow.

A general rule to follow is avoiding high color brightness and saturation or at least keeping them to highlight a particular element.

Attend to color blindness

Be inclusive of those with color blindness. The most common form of color blindness causes those afflicted to confuse red and green, and less commonly the confusion between yellow and blue. So use variety in the lightness and saturation to differentiate between colors rather than relying only on hue.

Sites like Coblis have color blindness simulators to help you get an idea of how your visuals will look and if there are potential ambiguities.

Types of color palettes

When it comes to data visualization, color is a necessary component in visual aids such as charts and elements. Misusing color could be distracting or confusing, but using color productively helps you tell the story you want to tell. Depending on the data you want to convey, there are different types of color palettes to consider.

Qualitative palette

A qualitative palette is used when the information presented deals with categorical variables such as age groups, countries, race, etc. In a qualitative palette, a distinct color is assigned to each variable or group.

A qualitative palette relies on the colors to differentiate between several variables, so try to limit the palette to no more than ten colors. Any more would create confusion in distinguishing between groups. Play around with hues, lightness, and saturation to create distinctiveness between colors.

It’s also important to maintain overall cohesion to not create unintentional bias by highlighting certain variables more than others.

Sequential palette

A sequential palette is used when the variables are numeric and typically portrayed sequentially. Often in a sequential palette, the lightness or hues are the distinguishing factors between variables.

The use of lightness is the most recognizable form of a sequential palette, which is why a single hue could be used. Low values are connoted with lighter colors, while darker colors are used for higher values. Otherwise, it is recommended to use two adjacent colors from a warm or cool palette.

Diverging palette

A diverging palette is applied when numeric variables have a central value (like zero). It’s useful to think of a diverging palette as two sequential palettes meeting at a middle point. The two sides are assigned two distinctive colors, and as with sequential palettes, lightness is used to portray distance from the central value.

Discrete vs. continuous palette

Sequential and diverging color palettes interact with data values with either discrete colors akin to a numerical value or through a continuous fading function between the variable and color.

Often, the process of creating color palettes follows the first method of using discrete or distinct colors, even though it would make sense to use a continuous color function to communicate the relationship between values.

However, people distinguish details such as length or position more quickly than they do color differences. So discrete palettes highlight patterns in the data, and we can set a clearer range within a discrete palette. While on a continuous palette, data would be pushed into a narrower range.

How to create a color scheme for your presentation

With the variety of color schemes and color palettes possible, where do you even begin creating your own? There are many variables involved in building a color scheme for your presentation, so start at the root and select colors appropriate for your goal. You can also reach out to our team for their presentation design (and palette-making) expertise.

Our presentation design services

Pick your colors

Building a color scheme begins with selecting colors that fit your purpose and mood. The process of picking colors is simplified once you can select a base color to build on.

The dominant color

Visual language is very effective in creating a subconscious connection and resonating with your audience. So begin by selecting a dominant color that encapsulates your beliefs and best represents your topic and niche to create the base for your color palette.

The secondary color

A secondary color supports your scheme’s dominant color and makes it stand out more.

The accent color

Accent colors are used to contrast and emphasize points in a presentation. Complementary colors make for perfect accent colors as they offer a bold contrast that attracts the eye. Accent colors are meant to be used sparingly to not overwhelm the viewer.

Keep colors in balance

Maintain a balance with your color palette and diversify the use of colors in highlighting text or brightening slides. Apply the 60-30-10 rule to your dominant, secondary, and accent colors.

Use the theme color palette

When creating your presentation, take advantage of the theme palette feature in PowerPoint and Google Slides. This tool allows you easy access to your color palette and lets you quickly change the colors of text and elements in your presentation at once without having to do them individually.

Use the tools at your disposal

There are several tools available for building a color scheme and using color palettes in presentation and design software. Use them to create a cohesive and engaging color scheme to be used in your presentations.

Tools and resources for using colors

By now, you should have a pretty good idea of color theory and how to build a color scheme. However, that shouldn’t discourage you from using tools and resources that help you speed up the process of selecting the perfect color scheme for your presentation.

Data Color Picker

Data Color Picker is a great tool for generating color schemes for sequential and diverging palettes. Often, some hues are left out between the two endpoints of a sequential palette, but Data Color Picker has a default tab for palettes that is perfect for generating multi-hued palettes.

Chroma.js Color Palette Helper

This tool has detailed options for crafting a color palette, with options for the type of palette desired (sequential, diverging), correcting lightness, and a color blindness simulator. These features of the chroma.js Color Palette Helper allow for more refined and cohesive palettes.

Color Thief

Since there aren’t many tools for creating qualitative palettes, you could extract potential color palettes from images with colors that resemble your intended mood. Color Thief is a tool that lets you generate a color palette from your own uploaded pictures. Although you would need to tweak your options to create an appropriate palette, Color Thief is a great starting point.

Viz Palette

Similar to Coblis, Viz Palette is a color palette tool that allows you to see how your palettes are perceived by individuals with different color perception deficiencies and color contexts. Furthermore, you can alter the color palette instantly in the tool.

Adobe Color

Adobe Color is a free Adobe tool for building color palettes based on different schemes and combinations. Moreover, it offers premade color schemes to play around with, use in your presentation, and even save if you’re an Adobe user.

Illustrator Color Guide

In the Illustrator Color Guide, you could generate a 5-color scheme along with its tints and shades based on the one color you select. And with preset modes, you could select the type of color scheme you want to create. You can save your color palettes to return to them in future presentations.

Preset Color Guides

Chances are, you’re familiar with Microsoft Office products. Well, did you know that all of the Office softwares have preset color schemes that you can use for your projects? In PowerPoint, you can find the color schemes in the Colors menu in the Slide Master view. You could select an option or customize your own.

5 Foolproof presentation design styles that always impress

Posted on October 23, 2022March 19, 2023 by admin_pr

Stop making those oh-so-nineties slides and indulge in these new presentation design trends.

We all know that presentation design plays a vital role in any business presentation, which is why it is important to be aware of the current design trends for presentations. Since great sales presentations or pitch decks can win and retain clients and help get that much-needed round of funding, all the details will matter.

In this blog, we will cover some of the most popular presentation design trends you can use for your next presentation.

So let’s jump right into it.

Flat Design

Flat design is one of the most popular trends in modern presentation design. It has been around for some time now and it has become increasingly popular over the years. This trend is characterized by its simplicity and minimalism, making it very appealing to designers who are looking for something clean and fresh with a minimalistic approach to content layout.

Minimalist Design

The minimalist trend is also very popular among designers these days, as it offers a similar approach to flat design but with a more modern twist. This trend focuses on simplicity, cleanliness, and ease of use all of which are qualities that have made this style so popular among users today.

Colorful, Bright, and Bold Design

Presentation designers are looking at more creative ways to attract audiences. A popular trend in presentation design is using colorful and bold colors to make presentations more engaging and eye-catching.

Infographic-Style Slides in Presentations

Infographics are a great way to present data in an interesting and engaging way. They are a type of visual representation designed to be both informative and interactive.

Some of the best infographics have been made by designers who have not only mastered their skills, but also understand how to make their designs as user-friendly as possible. This means that they need to know how to use color, font size, layout, and other design elements to create an infographic that will be easy for the audience to read and understand.

Bold Typography Design

Designers are increasingly paying attention to typography as a focal point of their work. We are seeing more designs where typography is at the center stage of presentations.

Custom typography fonts are very beneficial when the goal is to create a professional and unique presentation. They allow for the customization of layouts, text formatting, layering, and line spacing to accurately control the content.

Bonus Tip

Shorter Presentations

With the prevalence of Tiktok, Twitter, Instagram Reels, Stories, etc., audiences are now accustomed to content that is short, sweet, and packed with value. This also means that attention spans are extremely short nowadays and this also applies to presentations. If you can eliminate redundant slides and join different points into one slide then definitely do it. A short presentation with around ten slides is, by no means, something unusual.

Look at each slide in your presentation and ask yourself, “Can this slide be merged into other slides?” or “Is this really required?”

In conclusion, you could merge your company’s guidelines with current presentation design styles to create eye-catching and trendy slides. If you need help with building great presentations without losing control of your brand identity, then speak to our presentation design experts at Prezlab.

If you enjoyed this blog, you might also like to read:

Present stories, not just slides

How to choose the best presentation color schemes & combinations

How to effectively structure a “big idea” pitch for maximum impact

Coca Cola: The branding strategy that made a difference

Posted on August 24, 2021March 7, 2023 by admin_pr

Introduction

Whether you are just daydreaming of one day creating your own brand or are just starting to get your brand out there, or maybe you have already reached your goal with your brand and want to build on your success. Regardless of what level you are at, going back to the basics is always best.

Do You Really Know What Branding Is?

Our definition is: “Your brand is your promise to your customer.”

In a general sense, your brand is derived from who you are, who you want to be, and who people perceive you to be. All these factors fulfill a certain promise that your ideal customer can understand, like, and trust. The best brands trigger emotion; it’s not always about the product or service.

If you think about it, Nike doesn’t market its product. They market the emotion you get when you purchase their product. You feel empowered, energetic, unstoppable, etc.

So, what’s your emotion?

However, let’s make one thing clear.

A BRAND IS NOT ONLY A LOGO.

The logo represents the brand. The brand creates the experience.

Unlike services or products that have a shelf life, a brand can last forever. A brand is a promise. They are either something to aspire to or something we can outgrow.

Consumers do not just buy products and services from a brand; they buy the brand’s image to create better versions of themselves. And at that point, the brand identity becomes part of theirs.

3 Proven Ways Coca-Cola Mastered Its Branding Strategy

Coca-Cola didn’t become a global brand overnight, and they have made their share of marketing mistakes. However, its success offers a lot of insight into businesses looking to build a solid and successful brand.

1. Consistency is King

Coming up with fresh marketing campaigns is of vital importance. However, within these different marketing campaigns, one clear, consistent message is always apparent. In the case of Coca-Cola, their brand is built on the idea of “enjoying a coke.” It is the one emotion you can count on to appear in any marketing material, even as the product range changes and adapts to emerging trends. The company has maintained this script for branding by featuring happy people smiling throughout their content marketing efforts.

2. Brand Over Product

“One of the most successful ways in which Coca-Cola has marketed itself is that it puts the focus on the brand rather than its product. Coke is described as something that brings family and friends together, encourages sharing, and brings happiness, rather than just a soda.”

Research highlights how beneficial this brand strategy is for global brands that have a variety of products (and services) and use different packaging for different countries. Instead of going for a complicated marketing plan that focuses on each product, Coca-Cola sells the lifestyle, the emotion, and the association of the brand that people can relate to. It ensures that the brand is universal and understood across all cultures and languages. What better concept to translate than the concept of happiness?

We understand that not all companies operate on a global scale like Coke, but they can still consider selling their brand as an experience rather than a product. Not only will this make your content creation and marketing efforts more focused, but it also ties into consistency.

3. Remain Relevant

Consistency does not walk this road alone; relevance is its companion. Both go hand in hand. Otherwise, Coca-Cola wouldn’t have been able to keep it up for over 100 years.

“While Coke is built around the same positive experience as it was upon conception, it also remains modern and topical, making the most of popular culture to remain relevant.”

This is the best explanation of what Coca-Cola does to ensure consistency and relevance throughout its marketing:

“However, the brand doesn’t simply take a popular subject and replicate it; Coke’s success comes from putting its own spin on a topic while still maintaining the idea that it’s all about sharing and happiness. Not only this, but it uses relevant trends from each of the countries it is present in, understanding that what is relevant for one culture may not be for others.”

The Importance of Branding in the 21st Century

This quote sums up our approach when it comes to branding in today’s world:

“No one cares about your brand. It is not loved. It is not important. It is not invited anywhere but to your company picnic. That is, unless you can make the brand relevant to people’s lives. To the way they understand things… No one cares about your brand unless you find a way to speak to why you care about it.”

Scott Goodson, Author of Uprising and Forbes Columnist

Over time, the concept of branding and the perception held by marketers have changed. Earlier, it was used solely to differentiate the product or service from others in the market. While that remains one of the most important pillars in today’s oversaturated markets, branding adds a set of personality traits to the products that are automatically positioned in the marketing according to what position the brand occupies in the minds of the target audience.

Again, it’s no longer just about the product. It’s about the experience, the identity, and the association.

Prezlab’s Promise When it Comes to Branding

Prezlab is not your usual design agency. We care about telling your story through visual content. Your brand is your story. What better way to tell a story than visually?

From logo design to visual identity development, we help businesses elevate their visual identities and brand strategies to help them achieve their business goals while effectively speaking to their audiences.

Kicking this subject off with the basics, we decided to use this opportunity to explain to you how each service that we provide can help elevate your brand, one design element at a time.

Let’s begin with a short preview of what we offer, and then throughout the article, we will take you deeper into our design world:

1. PPT Design:

Presentations are our core specialty, and we have been creating visually stunning presentations for our clients for their top conferences, achievements, product reveals, and deliverables for their clients and partners.

2. Books and Report design:

Inline. Online. Bottom line. We craft your brand’s books and reports from cover to cover and ensure 100% smooth flow and coverage of key information.

3. Social Media Management:

Strategies, content, and designs that are up-to-date and result-driven will make your social media stand out and deliver your marketing results.

We understand the pressure of standing out when it comes to an online presence. Whether your business is offline, online, B2B, or B2C, our visual production capabilities keep your brand up-to-date with the latest trends and developments.

4. Digital Marketing:

Finding the right tactic to help your business grow and excel depends on the kind of approach we take.

We encompass a wide range of digital marketing strategies that form the backbone of a comprehensive digital approach to generating more leads for your business

5. Infographics Design:

Visualizing data that converts and content that leaves an impact while getting the right message across is the basis of infographic design. That is what we do.

6. Motion Graphics

We don’t just tell your story. We show it by creating an easier connection between your business and users.

We create videos that drive results and boost your ROI.

Our video services help marketers and businesses cut through the noise and boost marketing results and strategies.

In a matter of minutes or even seconds, we help you highlight your services and products, drive awareness, and educate your audience with our top-class animations and experienced voice-over artists.

7. Web and App Development:

We develop high-performing and intuitive web and app solutions that support business processes and serve users globally.

At Prezlab, we’re all about incorporating creative storytelling into several forms, whether in presentation design, digital web design, or branding. You can learn more through the button below, and reach out to us to discuss any inspiring ideas you want to see brought to life!

Learn more about Prezlab’s branding services in Dubai and across the GCC.

The only SEO checklist you need to crack Google’s first page

Posted on October 24, 2021March 7, 2023 by admin_pr

Leave your competitors in the dust and grab those prized page-one positions with near-perfect on-page SEO

Most businesses can feel daunted and overwhelmed by SEO, and there is a good reason too. There are thousands of factors that impact rankings and they are constantly changing. To make things easier, we put together this checklist to help you nail your on-page SEO. And in some low-competition industries, taking these steps could be all that you need to rank on Google’s first page. Alternatively, you can hire an SEO and Digital Marketing agency in Dubai.

A Foolproof SEO Checklist

01 Setup Google Search Console – it’s a powerful tool by Google and is very handy in spotting and fixing SEO issues on a website. Plus, it’s free and super easy to set up.

02 What you do not track, you cannot improve. Set up Google Analytics and configure your conversion goals according to the most important actions you want users to take on the site. This tool is free and incredibly easy to set up and configure.

03 Go a step further and set up Google Tag Manager and set up more conversion-related events like clicks on phone numbers, emails, and other actions that are meaningful to you.

04 If your site is on WordPress, install the Yoast SEO plugin. This plugin makes it super easy to perform several SEO-related tasks such as optimizing meta tags and creating a robots.txt file and sitemap.

05 Keywords research – use the Google keywords tool and Google suggestions in search to find the best keywords to optimize your pages. You can also use tools like Keyword Tool to make your keyword research process easier.

06 Try to include your best keywords in your URLs. There is a lot of data out there that proves that having keywords in the URLs helps pages rank better and have a higher CTR.

07 Map out your keywords so that you have 2-4 keywords that would be used on each of your main pages (such as services pages or category pages for eCommerce websites). Use your toughest keywords with the highest search volume on your homepage.

08 Use your most important keyword (for a given page) as high up on the page as possible – ideally within the first 150 words of that page.

09 Use your most important keyword (on a given page) in the H1 tag of that page. Use only one H1 per page.

10 Use your second most important keyword in the H2 tags of that page. Have up to 3-5 H2 tags on each page.

11 Write well-thought-out meta titles for each page by starting your meta title with the page’s most important keyword. Try to keep your meta titles under 60 characters. Meta titles are a huge factor for on-range factors, so you really want to get this right.

12 Write well-thought-out meta descriptions. Pro tip: treat your meta descriptions as ad text. One way to do it is to take inspiration from the ads on Google. Meta descriptions are not a direct ranking factor, but they can improve your CTR that then impact your rankings.

13 Optimize your images – name your images with your keywords and include your keywords in the ALT tags of each image. Don’t forget to compress your images before uploading.

14 Log into Google Search Console and check for any 404 pages – 301 redirects the 404 pages to the most relevant pages. If you can not figure out the most relevant page to redirect users to, redirect them to the homepage.

15 Internally link to your most important pages. Make sure each of your most important pages is internally linked to all the other pages. Crosslink your strong pages with other strong pages.

16 Set up an XML sitemap.

17 Set up a robots.txt page and other no-index pages that should not be on Google – such as login pages, thank you pages, pages behind a paywall or a password, and pages such as privacy policy and terms and conditions, etc.

18 Make sure all of the external links on your site are tagged “no-index.”

19 Make sure your pages are mobile-friendly. We can’t stress the importance of this enough. Use this mobile-friendliness testing tool.

20 Check for broken links on the site using this tool. The 301 redirects any 404 pages to the most relevant page.

21 Use HTTPS instead of HTTP. And ensure all your pages are redirecting to the HTTPS versions. HTTPS is a definite ranking factor in 2021 and it’s pretty easy to set up. Here is a guide to help you along your way.

22 Optimize your page speed. Check your page speed with the Google Pagespeed Insights tool. This tool will tell you what your page speed score is and what elements on your pages need to be optimized to move the needle in the right direction. Sometimes it can be challenging to bump up the page speed, and if that’s the case, we recommend using a tool such as this one.

23 Use schema markup wherever possible on your site’s pages. Use the schema testing tool to make sure your schema is implemented correctly. Implementing schema can be tricky so make sure you understand how it works.

24 Research and write great content before sharing it on social media.

Keep in mind you can always hire a professional SEO company to take care of your on-page and off-page SEO. Prezlab specializes in SEO, social media management, and digital marketing, specializing in presentation design, branding, and video production.

Ride the digital marketing singularity with these insights

Posted on October 24, 2021February 20, 2023 by admin_pr

We are at the very center of a massive turning point in the marketing industry. Here are some basic ideas to help you navigate and be more effective.

It’s easy to get caught up in the digital marketing strategies from a few years back. In 2021, every tactic you use has probably been updated or abandoned. In this blog, we want to share some of our experience, knowledge, and understanding of modern digital marketing.

Digital marketing strategies to use:

Leverage the power of short-form videos

Millennials prefer Facebook and Instagram, while Gen Z prefers Snapchat and TikTok. The increased demand for short-form video content makes it more lucrative for brands to employ social media influencers. The marketing teams of many companies realize that people are spending more time on social media, and they have started to focus their budgets on social media channels. Quick and catchy videos are currently loved by marketers, especially for their ability to target younger customers.

TikTok for Business recently launched new advertising options, so marketers should take advantage and get started on TikTok and Snapchat. When it comes to short-form videos, you need to strike a balance between brand messaging and the casual tone of the format, which will require research into your target demographic, strategy, creativity, and an understanding of their attention span – which is around 8 seconds.

Looking for a social media agency in Dubai? Look no further.

Content is (still) king in 2021

Content marketing connects you with your audience and helps you build trust. It is one of the best ways to engage and convert your audience. Content marketing costs 62% less but generates 3x more leads than outbound marketing. One way to get the most out of your content is to write about topics relevant to your company’s brand. A study found that companies with business blogs generate leads at an incredible rate of 126%. However, content marketing to sell your products and services is relevant for more than just blogs. There are also e-books, whitepapers, infographics, listicles, and email marketing campaigns.

“Word of mouth is the primary factor behind 20 percent to 50 percent of all purchasing decisions.”

Berger, Jonah, Contagious: Why Things Catch On

Artificial Intelligence and automation – the new norm

As more companies recognize the benefit of applying AI to customer service, they are working to create chatbots to integrate into their existing website or systems. However, you can’t expect a chatbot to do everything that a human can. But if used correctly, it can seem like one of your employees is helping. It’s no wonder that more and more companies worldwide are starting to use AI in their sales process. Marketing automation is a digital marketing trend that is becoming the new norm.

Action items that are more relevant than ever:

01 Update your website with a new modern look that is responsive on all devices. It’s surprising how some websites still struggle with outdated web designs and slow loading speeds.

02 Set up tracking and analytics to get as much data as possible on website performance and user engagement. Apart from the usual suspects – Google Analytics and Google Search Console, we also highly recommend using tools such as Lucky Orange or Crazy Egg to gain deeper insights into user behavior with heatmaps and user session recordings.

03 Tie together all your marketing activities on all channels like Google Search Console, email, Facebook, Instagram, organic, and others to re-reach users on multiple channels regardless of where they came from initially.

And lastly, keep in mind that digital marketing is one half of the equation when it comes to winning online – the other half is getting people to talk about your brand. We wrote a blog on achieving that which you can read here.

If you wish to learn more about this subject and gain rich insights into why certain things “catch on” then we highly recommend the book Contagious: Why Things Catch On by Jonah Berger.

A perfect presentation, every time

Posted on September 26, 2021March 7, 2023 by admin_pr

How to Design Presentations for Maximum Attention and Impact

Designing presentations is a process that involves creating and arranging slides, text, images, audio, and video to communicate the main points of a presentation. But before designing your presentation, you should be clear about the purpose of the presentation. Ask yourself, “What is it really that you want to communicate?” The purpose of a presentation may be to persuade, inform, or entertain. To create a successful persuasive presentation, you need to know your audience well and understand their preferences. More on this later.

Here are some key ideas that would help you do it right.

In most cases and with some types of presentations, positioning yourself as an expert on the subject helps a lot in building trust

01 Prepare killer visuals
02 Providing relevant facts and statistics wherever necessary without overdoing it
03 Presenting clear and convincing arguments

A presentation should focus on making the information as clear and concise as possible. It’s not just a slideshow of words; it is a story, giving insight into your thinking.

What Makes a Great Presentation

A good or bad presentation design can make all the difference in most cases.

For starters, a good presentation should be clear and concise. It should draw in the audience with its visuals and help them stay focused on the core message being delivered. It should also be easy to understand and easy to read.

Essentially, the keys to a great presentation can be boiled down to four pillars:

01 Content
02 Audience
03 Structure
04 Consistency

A great presentation design should first and foremost provide support for your content. This content could include supporting graphics, charts, outlines, images or videos, diagrams, timelines, and so on.

Additionally, ensure the content is relevant to the audience and at the appropriate level of detail. This is where knowing your audience goes a long way and pays rich dividends in the world of presentation success.

Before you crack your fingers, roll up your sleeves, and start putting together your presentation, you need to draw out the outline or structure of the presentation. Ask yourself, “What is the best way to unfold your argument?” or “Should you start with a story or a statistic?” or “Should you go over the values behind the message first or cover that after you have given statistical evidence?”

A well-thought-out outline can make a world of difference. If you get this wrong, you run the risk of making the presentation messy and confusing.

Lastly, a well-designed presentation displays content effectively through consistent use of typography, color, imagery, illustration, and sequencing. A consistent design should make each element of the design work well and nicely tie everything together.

Parting Pro Tips…

Try to sum up your key point for the audience in one sentence. Remember just one key point, not two or three. This way, if the audience fails to remember anything about your presentation, they will at least remember the one central idea.

Now, think about what you actually need to show to drive that point home. Most people make the mistake of adding too much superfluous information – data, graphs, etc. However, what you really need is one stat or number that gets to the heart of the idea you are arguing for.

Use simpler graphics as much as possible to simplify the text. For instance, use overlapping circles to indicate a common ground between two options or side-by-side boxes to show options. These visual cues are registered in our brains at a deeper level compared to words.

If you found this interesting, then you will definitely love to read 5 Presentation Lessons You Can Learn from Steve Jobs.

Also, in case you haven’t noticed Prezlab specializes in engaging and persuasive presentation design along with video production and animation, and branding in Dubai and across the UAE and GCC.

5 Presentation lessons you can learn from Steve Jobs

Posted on August 15, 2021March 7, 2023 by admin_pr

Steve Jobs was one of the most innovative leaders of our time. Among other things, there is a lot that can be learned from him when it comes to presentation design and what aspects of his presentations made them so memorable and entertaining. Some would argue that he was the one person who completely changed our minds about what makes a presentation great—in a world of long, boring, and unimaginative slides, he used presentation techniques that followed a completely different approach.

In this piece, we thought it would be a good idea to go over the five principles that Steve Jobs followed when it came to presentation design and delivery. So let’s jump right into it.

How did Jobs give incredible presentations?

Steve Jobs was known for the friendly and open demeanor he had while presenting. He avoided technical vernacular and kept his ideas straightforward with quick, memorable titles. Jobs was a showman. He was enthusiastic and told stories, he had confident body language and told jokes, which made him appear more approachable. What can we learn from him as we practice and prepare our own presentations?

01 Use a compelling theme & title

Come up with a headline and general theme for your presentation that run through the entire deck as an underlying message. This headline should be short enough to be easily memorable and tweetable. Think back to Steve Jobs’ iPhone launch in 2007, when his headline was “Your life in Your Pocket.” This quick slogan summed up his whole message and was memorable enough for the audience to carry with them even after the presentation. Think about the theme of your presentation. What do you want the audience to walk away remembering? Now simplify it into one, all-encompassing catchphrase.

02 Engage the audience by telling a story

Tell a story that hits people at an emotional level. It’s a well-known fact that stories are one of the most powerful tools that leaders use to inspire, motivate, and educate. This is because stories are far easier to remember than facts and figures. And research, according to psychologist Jerome Bruner, points to the fact that facts are 20 times more likely to be remembered if they are embedded in or contextualized with a story.

Like Steve Jobs, you could frame your narrative around defeating an antagonist—the problem at hand. Introduce yourself or your company as the hero. Paint a picture of how your product or service defeated this problem and emerged victorious.

03 Simplify bigger numbers

Simplify large numbers. This ensures that people can grasp the facts better. For instance, Steve Jobs would say, “We sold 2 million iPods in the first 59 days.” And then he would give context by adding, “That’s nearly 34 thousand iPods sold every single day.” In February 2013, Apple reached 25 billion songs downloaded from iTunes, and he simplified the number so it was easier to understand. For instance, he’d say, “On average, that’s 15,000 songs every minute.” His whole approach was about simplifying big ideas. Don’t leave the audience confused, connect the dots and explain the relevance these numbers have to them.

04 Use compelling visuals

Studies find that using images boosts information retention. Since most people are visual learners, they can pick up on the information shared in a presentation when shared as an image.

Jobs used big, bold, and clear pictures and rarely used more than two images on a presentation slide. In the 2007 launch of the iPhone, he used three images to highlight that the iPhone could do all three things—be a phone, a music player, and give you internet access. Then he quickly moved on to his normal procedure of using one striking image.

05 When it comes to words, less is more

Use fewer words. If you want a presentation like Steve’s, you will have to edit and re-edit your words. Leave only the most important phrases and cut out everything else. The idea is to communicate your message in the most impactful and memorable way possible, rather than having your audience read slides full of text. So he would use words like “magic” instead of the full, grammatically correct sentence “it works like magic,” and similarly, he would use “no stylus” instead of “it has no stylus.” You get the idea!

Jeff Black, the founder of the leadership development company Black Sheep, says that Steve’s presentations boiled down to three key factors: powerful storytelling, emotional connection, and obsessive preparation. Black says the late Steve Jobs was a masterful storyteller. “He was the messenger, he was the star of the show — not the PowerPoint slide.”

And one more thing… the average PowerPoint slide has on average forty words. Steve Jobs would use an average of nineteen words across 10–12 slides. That’s the presentation zen.

If you are interested in learning more about designing a presentation like Steve Jobs, we recommend the book “The Presentation Secrets of Steve Jobs: How to Be Insanely Great in Front of Any Audience.” Or you can just reach out to professional presentation design services in Dubai and across the GCC—we specialize in not only delivering your message but also helping you tell your story and push your brand forward.

Let us design your presentation!

Present stories, not just slides

Posted on September 22, 2022March 22, 2023 by admin_pr

Keeping your audience engaged while trying to deliver your key messages can be difficult. A helpful way of doing this is by telling stories where you take your audience on a journey and appeal to their emotions. In this blog, we discuss storytelling components you can incorporate into your next presentation.

Every story-driven presentation has four main components. If any of these components are missing, your story will be incomplete and won’t have the impact you are hoping for.

The four components of presentation storytelling are:

Setting

This is where you build context and set the stage for everything that is about to happen in the story. The goal is to get the audience to really step into the character’s shoes and get on the same page with him/her/you. Try to describe the world you are painting for the audience as vividly as possible.

Characters

Just like you did with the first component of “setting,” it’s pivotal to develop the characters as well as you can. Describe them in detail—what their goals were, who they were, their backgrounds, their emotions, etc. The characters here are people who the audience can easily connect with and empathize with. It’s also extremely effective to give that character a name—or, if that character is you, make that crystal clear.

Conflict

The third component is “conflict.” And as the name suggests, this is the part where your story picks up momentum and gets interesting. It is also the part that can either make or break a story-driven presentation. The focus here is to build friction and tension. Explain the point of conflict in detail and highlight key aspects of the conflict. Make it as relevant as possible to your audience so they can feel the conflict themselves and begin to empathize with the characters.

Big idea

Now that you have established the setting, the characters, and the conflict, the next step is to unveil the “big idea” that will act as a bridge toward a miraculous resolution. Drum roll….

This “big idea” is the one you want your audience to remember and take away from the presentation if they forget everything else.

The big idea could be something like:

It was time for us to rethink our decades-old sales process because what we had was painfully flawed and ineffective.

We needed to find better ways of listening to our customers.

The industry was dying quickly, and so were we as a company. It was time for us to change direction and do it fast.

Structuring your presentation around one big idea is so important that we wrote a whole blog about it: How to effectively structure a “big idea” pitch for maximum impact.

Resolution

The resolution part is where you safely carry your audience through the conflict, using the bridge of the big idea and into the “resolution.” It is where you tell the audience how everything resolves with the help of that one big idea.

Most presentations make the mistake of stating their presentation design efforts with a resolution that makes the entire presentation boring and potentially could have the opposite effect since they already know that things will eventually end well. There is no conflict, therefore no interest, and therefore no impact.

We often see designers get carried away with visuals and graphics and completely neglect their stories. Remember that even the best-designed presentations will not have half the impact they could if there isn’t a solid story behind them. Don’t get us wrong. We are huge fans of presentation design ourselves, so much so that we wrote an entire blog on it How great PowerPoint design impacts your presentation.

If you are looking for a story-based presentation that cuts through the noise and delivers your message with nuclear-level impact then drop us a line. We are more than happy to help you define, outline, and present your story most effectively.

How to structure your “big idea” pitch for maximum impact

Posted on August 18, 2022March 7, 2023 by admin_pr

When pitching and presenting big ideas, it’s important to consider the structure of your presentation from the very beginning. In this blog post about presentation design, we will lay out a pitch structure you can use when presenting an idea for a new project. We’ll call this presentation approach “The Big Thing,” a six-step method for winning the hearts and minds of your audience.

The structure for a powerful pitch presentation includes the following:

Step 1: The Primer

Take your audience back to a time before a certain technology existed, one similar to yours but not quite what you are pitching. Here is where you set up the context of your “big pitch.” For instance, let’s go back to the beginning of cloud computing. Before the cloud existed, did you ever think that Dropbox could grow into a company with over 400 million users? The “big thing” in this scenario is pointing out the potential growth of cloud computing and how it will substantially change the business landscape.

Step 2: The Ups & Downs

Once you’ve established that the cloud is a big deal, use this section to talk about how some current companies are doing well by embracing it while others completely ignore it. Since your idea is to create a storage platform in the cloud, this section sets you up nicely for your next step: suggesting all the good things to come for those who have embraced the new technology. The key here is to try to drive your point home by indicating how things will improve even more in the future. The more you emphasize this idea, the better you will do in the rest of the presentation.

Step 3: The Benefits

Next, hint at the idea of a happy ending without going into details about your company yet (Dropbox). You’ll want to make sure that your audience is aware that happiness is not a guarantee unless they take part in or support your new project. This is where you capitalize on their FOMO (fear of missing out).

Step 4: The Specifics

Now that you have laid down a solid foundation, the next step is to get into the crude details of the project. The trick here is to package everything into 3 memorable talking points – no more, no less. These three talking points should address how the company will deal with current and future challenges and maximize the next great opportunity.

Step 5: The Proof

If you have proof of success, such as early customer beta data, customer testing that you have conducted, peer reviews, or anything else that would showcase your project as primed for success, then this is the step where you put it on display. The idea here is to show data-driven evidence to prove that success is just a matter of time.

Step 6: The Ask

Once you have gone through all the previous steps correctly and compellingly, the final step is almost natural – The Ask. Lay out your request clearly and concisely while briefly going over how you will use the money (or any other resource being requested) to take the project over the finish line.

And lastly, a quote from Albert Einstein which we think is fitting when it comes to pitching big ideas, “If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough.”

As a presentation design company in Dubai, we love sharing our knowledge of what works and what doesn’t. If you have enjoyed this post then you might also like to read:

Presentations for consultants

Presentations for Sales Reps

How not to make boring presentations

Infographic Design Guide: A picture worth a thousand words

Posted on November 1, 2022March 7, 2023 by admin_pr

With the abundance of data available online, there has been a rise in infographic design and information technology as communication tools. The way content is presented and created has transformed, people seek structured content that presents information efficiently and attractively.

What are infographics?

The word “infographics” itself sums it up pretty well; it is a medium that combines graphic design, information, and/or stats. They are the visually compelling communication medium that allows marketers specifically to present complex information that comes initially as ‘raw data’, and transforms it into captivating graphics that not only convey the right message but also tell a story while doing so. As a visual medium, infographics explain dense and complicated facts and figures for simple and transparent understanding.

Now, what makes a good story great? Emotion.

Infographics have an emotional power that presents an idea, or a relationship, or explains how something works more quickly and effectively.

5 Reasons to use infographics

They are appealing

Infographics share information in an engaging and interactive visual format. The motion and colors in an infographic make it an attractive and compelling vision that draws the eye.

They present ideas more clearly

Many people are visual learners, so infographics are perfect for condensing complex ideas into simpler terms for all types of audiences to understand.

They create interest

When you present information through an eye-catching and fluid design, viewers are more likely to be interested in what a visual is trying to say.

They are accessible

They make big chunks of data less intimidating and overwhelming so that all kinds of people can learn from them.

They are persuasive and memorable

Data and information are made more interesting with creative and narrative visuals, which make them more memorable in people’s minds.

Who can use infographics?

Infographics simplify and explain complex concepts for audiences of different ages and backgrounds, which makes them ideal for individuals and businesses across all fields. Marketers and consultants use infographics to build brand awareness and connect with clients by explaining industry-related concepts. While government agencies, nonprofits, and educators use infographics for purposes related to educating students or the general public on certain initiatives or to create awareness.

How does infographic design grab attention?

Infographics are a compelling format; they are sleek and informative, and they work for a variety of audiences and niches. When done well, infographic design can communicate valuable information in a purely visual manner. Of course, when it is created thoughtfully, it commits to a tone, provides a concise summary, and ensures a clear statement that is tailored to its target audience.

In short, infographics can:

1 – Grab the attention effortlessly

2 – Deliver the idea easily

3 – Make the concept more interesting

“If you invest in high-quality infographics, the traffic and links they generate may help you achieve bigger and better results as compared to other forms of content.”

Besides their ability to quickly get people’s attention, infographics are also highly effective in getting people to learn and retain what they know. Studies have shown that a lot of people learn better visually and have a hard time understanding concepts without seeing images. Businesses can leverage the power of infographics to communicate complex marketing messages, show product benefits, and visually show stats and other data to really drive a message home. Almost all businesses, regardless of their industry or size, can find creative ways to make infographics work for them.

How to use infographic design effectively in business

Infographics help simplify complex concepts easily and quickly. An infographic is effective when you think through what the underlying message is and how it could be best conveyed via an infographic. The idea is to just not use infographics for their own sake.

Here are some keys when designing infographics:

Outline your goals

Decide on your infographic’s main objectives. Think of the narrative you want the infographic design to depict. Depending on the purpose or goal you want to achieve, you can narrow down and choose the information you want to include. Afterward, you begin developing an outline for your infographic design that features the headers, data, and any design elements you intend to use.

Collect data

Once you’ve decided on your infographic’s goals, you should begin collecting all the relevant information about the details of your topic. That includes information about your target audience, their interests, hobbies, ages, or other demographic information and reliable sources that authenticate your research. Once you have all your research, you can decide how to arrange and highlight the data in the infographic, as well as what information is worth disposing of.

Create visuals

Making infographics uses compelling graphics that attract and engage the target audience while simultaneously communicating your message. The information’s layout is an essential component of infographic design, so it’s important to be thoughtful of the style used in showcasing your information. Again, depending on the goals of your infographic, your layout will determine how the data is perceived. The layout will differ based on the infographic’s goals. It could explore a concept, compare information, share information, visualize trends, or depict data.

Develop a template

A template is super helpful for deciding how you want to arrange and present your data and the elements you want to incorporate. Focus on the structure of your outline: how does it flow? Are there enough elements included or is it too crowded? Once you have a template, you can then customize it and manipulate it to serve your goals.

Incorporate style and design

When making infographics, there are several design elements to include, such as icons, shapes, lines, and others. The common elements used in infographic design include text, color, white space, and alignment. Design elements are used to provide context, highlight certain points, bring consistency, or make the design more readable. Your template might give you an idea of where and how to use elements, but the elements you decide on, however, must remain consistent throughout.

Share your infographic

Decide on the platform that can help you best reach your target audience. Then share it on the channels where your audience is most likely to find them.

What are the important things to consider when designing infographics?

Be simple

The point is to condense a lot of data and design a visual solution to interpret it in smaller pieces of content. The concept of ‘less is more’ could not be more vital. The design itself should allow the user to navigate the information easily and without being confused or overwhelmed.

Be universal

“Infographics can take on a language of their own by delivering information in an accessible way.” Creating designs that adapt to a universal language allows your message to resonate more with everyone.

Be original

Today, people, businesses, and ideas have reached the high potential of digital maturity and are still on the rise. Wanting to be a big fish in a small pond is the goal, but many question their ability to achieve it.

So, from a business standpoint, each infographic design should be original, whether you choose to create a sales report or marketing strategy. But how can you do that if you’re in a big pond? The answer is through your brand.

Your brand is your voice. It’s original. Through the creative use of color, proportion, fonts, images, and text, the design will speak for itself as you maintain a cohesive aesthetic with the subject matter and brand image of your organization.

Types of Infographics: Importance & Effectiveness

There are several types of infographic design styles, depending on the nature of the displayed information and the intended platform. The most common infographic designs are:

Static Infographics

The typical static infographic includes images and text that don’t necessarily require user input, so they serve as fixed resources. An emphasis on illustration is another common characteristic. Static infographics are appropriate for professional settings since you can use them in many different ways and across many platforms. They can be used in blogs, articles, advertising, brochures, etc.

Prezlab: Static Infographic Work Sample

Animated Infographics

With the popularity of video content online, animated infographics are effective for gaining views on social media and presenting complex data in a refreshing and entertaining way. But what was once a mostly static form of content has evolved dramatically to include animation and animated elements that help make ideas more easily interpretable and engaging. Using moving illustrations or motion graphics is ideal for articles and tutorials online to give a more visual aid. Whether they’re GIFs or videos, animated infographics are intense visual pieces of content that are easy to consume and easily linked to.

Prezlab: Animated Infographic Work Sample

Interactive Infographics

Interactive infographics invite the viewer to participate and learn about the data. The data-rich visuals allow for more innovative data visualization, greater dynamism, and greater user engagement with the presented information. This infographic design style lets the viewer explore the information at their own pace by allowing them to scroll, click, unfold, pan, and zoom over the infographic. In turn, these movements trigger the function within the design to display additional content. It is ideal for handling large data sets.

Prezlab: Interactive Infographic Work Sample

Statistical Infographics

Since statistics are based on studies, evidence, and experiments. They are great for reinforcing an argument. In a statistical infographic design, the charts and numbers are the main stars, with much less focus on text and narrative.

Informational Infographics

The topic is deeply explored in an informational infographic, using images and heavy text. These infographics thoroughly simplify the main ideas by making specific or niche subjects understandable.

Informational infographic about strokes — (2)

Timeline Infographics

Timeline infographics use a linear structure to portray information chronologically. Often this structure is used to present topics related to historical events, project milestones or timelines, the evolution of a product or business, plans, or biographical information regarding an influential person.

Graphic Design timeline infographic — (3)

Process Infographics

In a process infographic design, instructions or strategies are outlined in steps. A process infographic applies a balance of images and text to make it accessible to all types of learners. Usually used to convey information related to topics like product guides or digital marketing strategies.

Geographic Infographics

A geographical infographic handles regional data such as weather patterns, global trade patterns, population growth, or mapping the physical locations of a target market audience.

Hierarchical Infographics

Hierarchal infographic designs separate information based on categories or levels, creating a hierarchy. Typically, this type of infographic uses flow charts or pyramids to portray the information and uses elements such as lines and arrows to highlight connections. Hierarchical infographics are often used in showing family trees and management hierarchies.

List Infographics

List infographics summarize information and highlight the important takeaways through clever design. They are used to help remember information and use elements such as icons to list bullet points and summarize textual information.

Presentation checklist infographic — (7)

Conclusion:

When developing an infographic, you are making the bundles of data more accessible to an audience. We highly recommend that you make use of infographics to uplift your content marketing efforts and boost your business ROI. You’re able to create customized designs that tailor to your business objectives and you’ll notice their effectiveness and importance instantly.

If you are looking for a custom infographic design that drives the message home for your business then hit us up at PrezLab. We have done some great infographics for our clients and are more than happy to put our creative prowess to work for you as well which covers the subject of presentation design.

If you liked this blog, you might also like these:

5 Presentation Lessons You Can Learn from Steve Jobs

Presentation Designs: How To Give Power To Your Point

References:

Infographic (1): https://www.pinterest.com/pin/3025924741010342/?mt=login
Infographic (2): https://www.behance.net/gallery/5722533/Infographic-for-American-Stroke-Prevention-2012
Infographic (3): https://www.behance.net/gallery/71209893/History-of-Graphic-Design-Timeline-Infographic
Infographic (4): https://www.behance.net/gallery/51723765/Design-Process-Infographic
Infographic (5): https://www.visualistan.com/2018/12/a-literary-map-of-united-kingdom.html
Infographic (6): https://advisor.visualcapitalist.com/hierarchy-of-financial-needs/
Infographic (7): https://venngage.com/templates/infographics/how-to-summarize-information-for-presentations-infographic-6a1d022b-abd0-48d8-b64c-66ec74c92aa3

7 Presentation trends to watch out for in 2023

Posted on November 8, 2022March 19, 2023 by admin_pr

Who said that presentations can’t be on trend? Believe it or not, the world of presentation design is not immune to the styles and fads of the design world. You can prove that your brand is fresh and contemporary through the presentation design of your slides. But tastes change, and as we approach the new year, the trend cycle will change and bring new ideas to the forefront of graphic design.

However, there are presentation trends that will always be timeless. These elements will always make a presentation appeal to the audience, no matter what. They grab the audience’s attention right away and hold onto it throughout. So regardless of the trend cycle, these points consistently boost any presentation and are important to keep in mind.

Timeless presentation features:

Engaging and interactive content

The core of any presentation is the material and how it is shared. It is not enough to list facts; there needs to be room to breathe. By including icebreakers, games, polls, and activities, the listener can directly interact with the information and ideas shared. It bridges the gap between them and gives the audience a chance to connect with the content.

Use of data and visualizations

When data is visualized in charts, graphs, or infographics, is easier to understand. It is helpful for your audience to have a visual medium that they can follow that simplifies your data for them to understand. With the sheer volume of information available, data visualization helps guide the audience through your ideas and data in a way that doesn’t overwhelm them.

Storytelling

Stories have a universal appeal. People relate to them and they can never fail you. Spinning together a story draws the audience into your world, evokes empathy, and establishes a level of trust. Learning how to tell a story is more effective than learning how to persuade. A story can simplify a complex idea while moving your audience to action.

Creative and unique designs

A good presentation design relies on its creative use of design elements, colors, and images. Creative slide design maintains its impact the same way it maintains the audience’s attention. Using engaging design trends can also help explain your ideas more effectively and support your presentation’s flow.

7 Presentation Trends in 2023

The presentation trend cycle is similar to the regular design trend cycle, which makes it easier for our presentation experts to predict what presentation design trends will take over in 2023. There is an emphasis on connecting with your audience in a new way inspired by the Internet age and social media.

01 Dark mode

In interface design, the increasing preference for dark mode for mobile users has translated to incorporating the dark style into web design. For a long and extensive presentation, it is wise to go for a sleek and dim aesthetic that is easier on the eyes and can maintain focus for longer.

02 3D graphics

The rise of VR technology, the metaverse, and the love of all things Y2K have revived a strong interest in 3D graphics. Creating a visual experience that draws the viewer into the image has a powerful appeal across several mediums that could continue to rise. 3D backgrounds go beyond the clever use of shadows and now use texture and motion for a touch of attention-grabbing realism.

03 Experimental typography

Fun and experimental typography are having a moment this year, becoming more popular for film and TV posters. Playing around with different typefaces is a fun approach for your slides to illustrate your brand identity and mission. Serif fonts, in particular, are making a comeback as they are legible, bold, and graceful, achieving both a practical and aesthetic function.

04 Monochrome

Monochrome color palettes are made by selecting a single color and its various hues. Following the idea of a more comfortable aesthetic, the monochrome trend is simple, practical, and elegant. On another note, a simple color scheme helps brand recognition when creating a presentation design built around the brand’s primary color.

05 Inclusive visuals

Beyond the world of graphic design, there has been a surge in efforts to include individuals of different cultures, backgrounds, ages, disabilities, locations, and classes. In presentation design, this translates into an effort to showcase a variety of people in the illustrations and visuals used to celebrate diversity.

06 Branded memes

Memes are an essential part of the fabric of social media; they’re perfect for adding a touch of humor to your presentation. Adapting memes to fit your brand makes your slides more relatable, and adding humor to your presentation helps build a connection with your audience. The art of a tastefully utilized meme can be tricky, but all in all, the main rule is to avoid a controversial meme and stick to a lighthearted approach.

07 Bold and vibrant colors

In previous years, we’ve seen a rise in minimalist and muted styles. But now, designers and viewers alike yearn for a return to brighter and bolder colors. Vibrant colors create attractive and energetic designs, especially when contrasting the trend of geometric and clean shapes. This style doesn’t use these hues as an accent or emphasis, rather they are the design itself.

What should you do for a rich and trendy presentation?

Note that presentation trends go beyond quirky graphics and thoughtful color palettes. As technology evolves and progresses, we expect presentation design and graphic design to evolve alongside it. Slide design is an essential component of your presentation, but they are in no way the core, rather they are the starting point. These are factors to consider that will make your presentation stand out from your slides:

Going beyond PowerPoint

As we mentioned, PowerPoint is merely the starting point. But what comes after it? Earlier, we mentioned how interactive games and icebreakers allow your audience to connect with the material. They can also switch up the pace with a diverse approach. Another way to branch out of the typical presentation format is to add videos that can further simplify and explain your point. Hand out brochures as tactile souvenirs that summarize your presentation to leave your listeners with. Have a questions and answers session afterward to open up room for any further inquiries.

Making it mobile-compatible

It is not uncommon for presentation slides to become resources that are reused and revisited. When designing your presentation, make sure that whatever design trend you opt for can be adapted to different formats. The key to a mobile-friendly presentation is simplicity. Increasing the font size, creating cleaner visuals and charts, using mobile-friendly resolutions, and exporting the final product as a PDF.

Utilizing new technology

If you’re ready to truly go above and beyond for a presentation, utilizing new technologies is a surefire way to stand apart from the competition. New technologies now grant new ways for presenters and audiences to interact with and visualize the material. From holograms to augmented reality to real-time data visualization, these technologies offer exciting opportunities to explore ideas and concepts through an original and stimulating channel.

Incorporating presentation design trends into your slides ensures that your brand is as relevant as ever. As graphic design evolves as a field, there will be a trickle-down effect that reaches presentation design. Presenters and designers alike are constantly thinking of new and innovative ways to share ideas, so why not ride the wave?

References:

What can we learn from the World Cup 2022 opening ceremony?

Posted on November 23, 2022March 16, 2023 by admin_pr

Chances are, you’ve been hit with World Cup fever. This Sunday, the opening ceremony of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 stunned the audience with surprising cameos, nostalgic throwbacks, and beautiful visuals. It got us thinking. There is a lot to learn from the opening ceremony that we can apply to presentation storytelling.

Focus on what we have in common

The ceremony highlighted the importance of coming together over a shared passion. Presentations can be tedious when the content might not necessarily be relevant to your audience, which is why it’s important to bring attention to the common factors. Emphasize all the ways your material and data are related to your listeners and build bridges to reach them. Presentations are the perfect opportunity to make connections with an audience.

What can we learn from the World Cup 2022 opening ceremony? — (1)

Credit those who came before you

To get to where you are, there is a team that helped you, pioneers in your field who set the standard, and experts who provided a base you were able to work with. In any area you might be discussing, your efforts contribute to a larger scheme of development and innovation. Take the time to share the insights and successes that preceded you, and use them to build your data.

Celebrate your roots

Nothing says humility like remembering your roots. Origin stories are moving and audiences love being a part of your journey. This also gives you the space to elaborate on your process and progress. Start strong by setting the scene and discussing your beginnings; this grabs the audience’s attention and can be used to indicate what will follow. You can then end by circling back to the start to give the presentation a neat, thematic conclusion.

Traditional Performers at the World Cup — (3)

A little theatrics never hurt anyone

Of course, it wouldn’t be a World Cup ceremony if there wasn’t a little drama. From the powerful performances and stunning choreography, it was a memorable event. Storytelling takes you on a journey, and the visuals, sounds, and performances all add up to a powerful show. Sharing your ideas using several different mediums throughout the presentation keeps it interesting. The audience is constantly wondering what will happen next. Using emotional speech that varies in its inflection and emphasis helps establish the mood the speaker wants to convey.

There is no one way to present an idea. We can always find inspiration in unlikely places, and since the 2022 World Cup amasses a large global audience, there are elements of their displays that we can implement in our presentations. We can learn from understanding the enthusiasm and drama that captures us, and adopt what works to make our presentations stand out.

Sources:

Images (1), (2), (3), and (4): https://www.thesundaily.my/home/opening-ceremony-qatar-2022-world-cup-MH10245810