Even with a strong outline, visuals can make or break a presentation. The following design guidelines were written by Lana Johnson, Instructional Technology Project Manager at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln, and are included with her permission. Graphic Tips for Producing Slides, Computer Screen Shows, Video, and Transparencies by Lana K. Johnson Following are some guidelines to help you prepare professional-quality visuals. Keep presentation graphics as simple and clean as possible.
Legibility takes precedence over everything else in a presentation.
Your visuals are speaker support pieces only. Keep things consistent. Decide what typeface, color palette, size of graphics, and layout you will use for the entire presentation before you begin creating your visuals and stick with it. Poorly designed visuals interfere with the communication of your ideas. If you have to apologize for a visual, don't use it.