Less words, more (and better) images

I’ve been witness to some truly terrible Crimes Against Powerpoint in the last couple of months, mostly when one of my agency clients send me old qual research reports as background to projects.

I still can’t believe quite how appalling some of them are, from the over-use of dodgy clipart and cheesy stock photography (blurry low res of course) to the slides with 238 words (yes, I counted) AND four random images crammed on.

These researchers seem to think if you are talking about mindset you need a stock image of a woman thinking (as demonstrated by looking upwards and placing one finger contemplatively on her chin).  Or that an ‘umbrella branding’ insight requires an actual umbrella to ram the point home.

Not to mention the presentations that fail to come to come to any kind of conclusion or bury their key insight halfway down slide 23.

I suppose that’s one of the reasons why I’m all for researchers being part of an integrated agency offering – at least they might pick up a few design tips by osmosis.

My ex-agency’s Research/Insight Team hosted an Infographics Showcase at the recent MRS Conference, which went some way to showing what is possible with a little time and ingenuity.  The winning entry was by Keen as Mustard:

Anyone who thinks their ppt might not be up to scratch should also check out:

Russell Davies ‘5 things about powerpoint’ video tutorial from 2006 (his top tip: when you think you’ve finished, cut it in half, ‘cos it’s always too long)

Guy Kawasaki’s 10/20/30 Rule of Powerpoint (which says that a PowerPoint presentation should have ten slides, last no more than twenty minutes, and contain no font smaller than thirty points)