Portfolio

Redesign Slide Sample

Here is another sample from a recent presentation. The original slide, show at the top, was difficult to understand and did not convey the needed message. I proposed two layout options to the presenter.

PowerPoint is much more than bulleted text, but even diagrams need to be well thought out and designed to help the presenter convey a message.

– Troy @ TLC

By |2016-11-17T12:22:02-07:00November 7th, 2008|Portfolio|

Custom Chart Sample

From yesterday’s post here is the real purpose of keeping a hidden backup. I saved out the chart as a .png image. Opened it in Photoshop, used the bars for reference to create a cut out line for the image. Then saved the new ‘chart’ out as a .png image and placed on the slide.

– Troy @ TLC

By |2016-11-17T12:22:24-07:00November 5th, 2008|Portfolio|

I Create A Lot Images – But Not As Many As It Use To

I had a conversation recently with someone that referenced a post I did back in June (It Takes A Lot Of Images). I showed this capture of my prepared images for 1 presentation:

There is a lot there, especially considering it was all for a 90 minute meeting. But my point is that if we go back to PPT 2000 the number of images would easily be twice as many. Back to PPT XP/2003 it would have at a minimum a 3rd more.

PPT XP/2003 with the semi-transparency features eliminated a large number of accent graphics that needed to be prepared in Photoshop and imported. Now with PPT 2007 I now do a lot of the image preparation (custom bevels, strokes, reflections, shadows, etc.) right in PowerPoint. So with each new version I accomplish more working directly in PPT, minimize the production time and have more material for tutorials and tips for ThePowerPointblog!

– Troy @ TLC

By |2016-11-17T12:26:31-07:00October 15th, 2008|Portfolio, Resource/Misc|

Blue Lens Template Download

The Blue Lens template I have used as an example was one of the concepts I created for a client. Obviously I ‘debranded’ it by removing any reference to a company or event, but now you can download the full template to review or use!

Download the template (saved as .ppt, not a .pot) here. Enjoy!

– Troy @ TLC

By |2016-11-17T12:41:51-07:00September 5th, 2008|Portfolio, Templates/Assets|

Setup of a Template

With the background elements developed in Photoshop and saved out as .jpg images the rest of the work happens in PowerPoint. Most of the work in setting up a template happens on the Master Slides. So the first thing for me is to set the background of each slide layout with the background artwork.

The Blue Lens template has a Content slide and a Title slide.

Next is to position the text boxes to fit the background, set the font size-color-line spacing and custom bullets:

I also set default slide transitions for each slide layout (in this case both use a FADE SMOOTHLY), format the header/footer text boxes, etc.

One of the things I think a lot of people overlook is customizing the color scheme. I always include a sample chart that shows all of the default colors I have setup.

Now everything is ready to build a slide show!

– Troy @ TLC

By |2016-11-17T12:42:12-07:00September 3rd, 2008|Portfolio, Templates/Assets, Tutorial|

Template Background Design

When creating a custom PowerPoint template the first step is developing the custom artwork for backgrounds. I am going to break down a template recently designed. In PhotoShop I pull in all of the visual assets and stylize an appropriate to the theme canvas for the PowerPoint slides. Here is the content slide design for the “Blue Lens” template.

There are a lot of layers to create the desired effect. Here is the PhotoShop layers for this template (shows both the Content and Title slide background layers). Fortunately this was a fairly light template in terms of layered elements so we can show them all in one easy screenshot.


This is a pet peeve, but I really hate receiving Photoshop files with none of layers named – it’s is a huge waste of my time to go hunting for a needed layer by turning on and off layers. So, as seen, I always label all layers in PhotoShop so modifications are easy because the layers can be quickly identified.

I save out each of the backgrounds as a .jpg with a compression level of 10. From there it is all PowerPoint!

– Troy @ TLC

By |2016-11-17T12:42:56-07:00September 1st, 2008|Portfolio, Tutorial|

More Show Photos

Here are photos from another show last month. This one was a bit more eleborate staging – and yes the logo on the left is in French. Left screen was French content, Center screen images, Right screen English content.

– Troy @ TLC

By |2016-11-17T12:50:13-07:00July 11th, 2008|Personal, Portfolio|

Recent Show

The past few months have been busy with lots of travel to shows. Here are a few quick photos from 1 of the 5 meetings/shows I handled the PowerPoint graphics for last month.


– Troy @ TLC

By |2016-11-17T12:50:36-07:00July 9th, 2008|Personal, Portfolio|

It Takes A Lot Of Images To Convey A Message

I am preparing material for a PowerPoint/Design course and this is screen capture of my images folder from a recent project. My message is that a presentation is more than bullet points and an image can be more effective. I practice that message and this is shows the number of images prepared in Photoshop for a recent presentaiton.

– Troy @ TLC

By |2016-11-17T12:57:59-07:00June 6th, 2008|Portfolio, PowerPoint|

PPT Graphics for Video

PPT 2007 has some great visual effects. For a recent project I was developing the PowerPoint presentations for speaker support. I was asked by the video production company that was creating videos for the same meeting if I could create a number of graphics that would have a coordinated look with the presentations. Among the graphics I developed these two piecharts (client data removed):

Each was saved out of PowerPoint as a .png which preserved the transparency and allowed the video editor to place the graphic over the motion background. They also animated from 1 piechart to the other showing growth. Pretty cool stuff!

– Troy @ TLC

By |2016-11-17T12:59:13-07:00June 2nd, 2008|Portfolio, Tutorial|
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