Presentation Design Messaging Proposal

Problem
Our agency had built a stellar reputation designing beautiful presentation decks, but it occurred to me that we needed to get involved earlier in the design process. I wanted our agency to formally address content issues before delving into visual design, ensuring clients were getting the best possible deliverables.

Solution
After getting approval to create a messaging strategy, I conducted my own independent research and built one out, including a questionnaire and outline template:

Questionnaire
A specific challenge of presentation design is that the user is two-fold: You need to make the presenter (your client) happy, and they in turn need to address their audience’s needs. In prior meetings, clients mostly talked about themselves, and not about their audience. I designed the questionnaire to get clients out of their own heads, to think about who their audience is, what their audience wants, and how that relates to the client and their brand.

Messaging Outline Template
The messaging template was our deliverable for clients to review content and discuss edits before starting the visual design phase.

Intentionally Ugly

Similar to a UX wireframe, the messaging template was designed with bare bones aesthetics and default fonts, keeping clients focused on the content, not worrying about visuals. This was a major break from how we’d been approaching projects.

Color Coding

Simple color bars help to visually designate different sections without establishing a visual style that might influence design.

Script Column

The script is information that would not be visible in the final deck. It would normally be relegated to the talk track, but during the content phase, I incorporated it into the layout for two reasons:

1. The script’s prominence within the composition hammers home the idea that your script is also part of your content.

2. It crowds the slide, making it harder to cram too much visual information in there.

Result
Our agency was able to add an entirely new service offering, delighting clients and colleagues alike. Clients responded positively to the challenge of examining their own brand’s voice and clarifying their goals, and designers were able to improve upon their own work with the added knowledge gleaned from content discussions.