When briefing a PowerPoint designer, you could send them your slide deck and let them get on with it. That can work well. But you can also ensure a better outcome by providing context about what the slides are for, who the audience is and other information. Being clear up front can mean fewer revisions, faster turnaround, and design choices that are more appropriate to the message and the audience.
Here are the context areas you can discuss with your slide designer. It may seem like a long list, especially if you have a short deck that you need designed quickly, but you can decide which of these items are important to you.
Basic context
- Purpose of the slides (e.g. investor pitch, sales, conference keynote, internal training, board pack)
- Audience (seniority, size, in-person or remote)
- Delivery date and venue
- Time available for the presentation (e.g. 20 minutes, 1 hour)
- Approximate slide count
- Format needed (PowerPoint, Google Slides, PDF)
- Screen aspect ratio (16:9 standard, 4:3 for some venues, custom for ultrawide)
Content considerations
- Content status: final, draft or still being written
- Who writes the words
- Who will sign off, and whether there is more than one person
- Any legal or compliance requirements
Brand considerations
- Whether there is a brand guidelines document that needs to be followed
- Logo files e.g. in SVG or PNG
- Approved colour palette with hex codes
- Approved typefaces, and whether they are licensed for your users’ machines
- Approved stock image library, if any
- One or two slide decks that you like
- One or two slide decks that you dislike
Technical considerations
- Whether the slide deck will be edited by non-designers afterwards
- Whether it will be printed, projected or screen-shared
- Accessibility requirements (contrast, alt text, screen reader)
- Any animations or embedded video
- Whether your IT allows external links
Commercial considerations
- Budget range
- Turnaround time required
- Expected number of revision rounds
- NDA requirement
Addressing these factors can help create a seamless delivery process, reducing the design time and the likelihood of unanticipated issues.
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