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18 February 2024
The mission of Prezlab and Presentation Zen is to rid the world of bad presentations and improve presentation design.
Key learnings from the bestseller Presentation Zen:
People who give presentations have a lot of things to worry about. They need to think about what they are going to say, how they are going to say it, and what tools they are going to use.
In this blog, we will try to cover some of the lessons on presentation design from the bestseller and timeless classic Presentation Zen. The book provides designers with several guidelines for presenting their work in a way that is both compelling and easy to understand.
About the Author:
Garr Reynolds is a presentation design expert and the author of Presentation Zen: Simple Ideas on Presentation Design and Delivery. The book was published in 2008 but it still remains relevant to this day. It’s an excellent resource for designers who want to learn about the basics of creating presentations.
01 The idea of “less is more.”
The author of this book feels that less information on the screen will make it easier for the presenter to focus on what they are trying to say, and helps them be more concise.
If you think about it, a presentation is a visual representation of your ideas and thoughts. It is not just about the content you are presenting but also how you present it. The design of your presentation can be the difference between an audience that is engaged and one that is bored.
Garr recommends keeping the design of your presentation simple and focused on only one idea. This will make it easier for people to truly comprehend what you are trying to convey.
02 The more visual the better.
A presentation should be designed with images in mind, not just words. Keep in mind that people remember visuals better than written content. So, the images you include in your presentation should support and complement the topic at hand and visually communicate the message.
03 White space is not your enemy.
White space can make your design stronger by providing a resting point for your eye between different elements. It makes your presentations more readable by making it easier to focus on what matters most.
As a professional presentation design agency, we use white space to organize information and make it super easy to read and understand. We at Prezlab also use white space as part of our design to create balance, contrast, and harmony between elements on a page or in a presentation.
If you are into presentation design as a profession or are just enthusiastic about learning more on the subject, we highly recommend reading the book. The book is a quick and easy read, with the text broken up into bite-sized pieces that are easy to digest. It can be used in conjunction with a presentation software program like Keynote or PowerPoint, but the author provides suggestions on how to use PowerPoint if you don’t have access to either of these programs. We highly recommend it.
If you liked this blog and found it to be of value then you will definitely also like to read How great PowerPoint design impacts your presentation and How to avoid the dreaded Death by PowerPoint.
