Looking your best ensures that you start your day with great confidence. Putting on your best outfit, nails trimmed, hair jelled builds confidence.
We have always groomed ourselves for success, but why not our presentation slides? Adding graphic elements to our slides can enhance the visual impact and make our slides interesting. Knowing how to treat those graphic elements will make our slides insanely great.
With the Internet readily accessible, it is not difficult to google for images to use on our slides. However, images found on the Internet are not always suitable. Almost all of these images are rectangular in shape and have white or unsightly backgrounds. Let's explore how we can make a raw imported image look more professional.
Import image. Here we have a raw imported image taken against a white background. Our slide background is unfortunately not white. Having this image on our slide looks unpolished and amateurish.
Add border and shadow. Applying an appropriate border to the image and adding a shadow creates a more professional look. This can be easily done as it is a common feature available in Powerpoint and Keynote.
Rotate image. To create a more interesting visual, we rotate selected images, in the above example about 5 degrees anti-clockwise. This usually adds a different perspective to the overall appearance of our slide.
Following the few simple guidelines above can quickly enhance imported images, giving it a more exciting and professional look.
Another method that can enhance images is cropping. We don't always have to display the entire imported image. Cropping removes unwanted areas of the image and give it more focus.
In the example above, the original image was cropped to remove excess areas. The cropped image was then enlarged and further enhanced by adding a border and shadow. The cropping tool is available in both Powerpoint and Keynote. In Keynote this technique is referred to as "Masking".
To have insanely great slides we need to position text and graphic elements differently. Some images might need to be prepared outside of the presentation software before they are imported into Powerpoint or Keynote. This is usually done using specialised graphic software such as Adobe Photoshop.
Applying the final touches to our slide on the right, image of the gentleman was specially enhanced with Adobe Photoshop. The white background were removed prior to importing. The image was then enlarged to fill almost one third of the slide area. The other two elements were repositioned appropriately. Removing the white background from the image of the gentleman creates a three dimensional effect and makes the overall slide comes alive.
There are no limits on how we can manipulate and position graphic elements on our slides. Knowing the correct techniques will make a great difference in grooming our presentation slides for success.
Examples
