Document Design

 

Valuable information is as good as how it is presented. Poorly designed information can be chaotic to the readers. Therefore PowerPoint presentations should be well thought and designed. As you can see from the above slide there is no heading thus it will not direct the reader to what the presenter is trying to communicate. According to Wendy Russell, audience expects to see the topic at the top of the slide. Furthermore the slide is not balanced with its space. “Balance the negative (white) space with the positive (text, title, visuals) space”, (Putnis, Peter and Petelin, Roslyn,1996, p.254).

 

As you can see from the second slide the use of graphic can enhance the message. According to Diana Reep (2006, p. 136), documents benefit from additional designing  features such as graphic aids. The use of the two pictures to enhance the text message is good: but one of the  problems in the slide is the content not being fitted to the margin. “Align the edges and borders of visuals  and text in an orderly fashion”, (Putnis, Peter and Petelin, Roslyn,1996, p. 254). The use of the arrow to point the picture is good, which will guide the reader. According to Diana Reep (2006,p. 136), “Readers usually begin reading a page at the top left corner and end at the bottom right corner”.

It is always important to choose a font which is simple and easy to read in a presentation design. Wendy Russell in her writing emphasizes to use a font size which is at least 24 pt or preferably 30pt,so the audience at the back can also read it. In the third slide by making the little font size bold make it  more difficult for the reader to see it.  There are lots of designing tips that we could have used in our presentation slides in order to deliver the maximum value of the information being used.

References:

• Russel,W,'10 Tips for Creating Successful Business Presentations', About.com , viewed 27 August 2010 http://presentationsoft.about.com/od/powerpointinbusiness/tp/bus_pres_tips.htm
• Putnis, Peter, Petelin & Roslyn , 1996, Professional communication : principles and applications,Writing to communicate, Prentice Hall ,Sydney.
•  Reep, DC 2006,Technical writing, Document design, Pearson/Longman, New York.
• Marquez L Z, 'How to make a good PowerPoint presentation', viewed 27 August 2010. http://ezinearticles.com/?id=4313178&How-to-Make-a-Good-PowerPoint-Presentation=
•  Rothman S, 18 September 2005, 'What makes good scientific and Technical Writing?', viewed 27 August 2010, http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/9447/error?cat=4