Fonts & Design

Key Principles:

• Fonts
  • Keep fonts consistent - no more than 1-2 different fonts per screen
  • Font size matters (titles - 44 points, body - 32 points)
  • Sans serif fonts (Arial, Comic Sans, etc.) are easier to read than serif fonts (Times, Courier, Georgia)
  • Titles and headings should be centered, main text left-justified
  • Both upper and lowercase letters should be used
• Design
  • Keep the screen as simple and uncluttered as possible
  • Chunk information into digestible bites - roughly 3 points per slide and no complete sentences
  • Animations should be used sparingly (when points on a slide are distinctly different) and kept consistent throughout presentation
  • Key content should be in the central part of the screen with prompts and navigation buttons at the bottom
  • Fonts and backgrounds should have high contrast
  • Backgrounds should be light pastel colors for easy readability

How do I?

• Use Microsoft's design templates
  handout | video demonstration
• Change font characteristics (style, color, size, etc.)
  handout | video demonstration
• Apply font characteristics to all text in a presentation
  handout | video demonstration
• Change the background color in a presentation
  handout | video demonstration
• Apply animation settings to text
  handout | video demonstration

Issues to Consider

• To judge the readability of text on a slide, print out one slide, drop the printout on the floor in front of you. If it can be easily read as you look down, the text is probably large enough
• If you use an unusual font (i.e. not Arial, Comic Sans, Times, etc.) it may not be available on the computer which you end up presenting on. In this case, it may substitute a different font, which may lead to problems of readability, formating, etc.