Presentation and slide design is tricky. Creating slides that support the message you want to portray is the core idea. Slides should be engaging and keep the audience’s attention but not distract them from what you say. What slides should not be is full of text and data that nobody can read and understand. We all have seen the “death by Power Point” approach and will probably not get away from this. However I see a change in this as people  improve and change their presentation design.

Garr Reynolds fromPresentation Zen gives an excellent overview of effective slide design in What is Good PowerPoint Design? His blog on all issues related to professional presentation design is an excellent source.  Garr talks about context, not to think in terms of right or wrong, but rather in terms of what is appropriate or inappropriate for the content and objectives of that particular presentation. “Simple but not simplistic” is a key theme in good presentations. The best visuals are often the ones designed with an eye toward simplicity and within the context of the presentation.

Louis Grey explains in a post very well that it is important to think about these three pillars: Technology, Community, Relevancy. If a site is meeting those needs, it should succeed – or if it is falling short, it might fail. Good lesson to be learned!