Design tips for SlideShare content

Article author
Keiana B.
  • Updated

Are you interested in learning about different ways you can enhance the design of your SlideShare uploads? We’ve compiled a collection of important considerations to keep in mind for images, text, color, and more below!

Design Fundamentals

As a first step, you should review how you’ll apply different design fundamentals to your content. Keep reading to discover the most common fundamentals used when designing visuals, as well as examples.

  • Contrast – How opposite elements are arranged together (dark text vs. light backgrounds)
  • Balance – The use of symmetry and asymmetry to emphasize elements in your content
  • Emphasis – Making the most important part of your content stand out (bolding, outlining, etc.)
  • Proportion – The comparison between one part of your content to another in size, shape or quantity
  • Hierarchy – Showing the importance of elements compared to others nearby (heading size vs. body text size)
  • Repetition – Using a particular element within your content multiple times
  • Rhythm – How a viewer is able to move easily between the content you’re presenting
  • Pattern – Repeating an arrangement of shapes, lines, images, etc. in your content
  • White Space – The empty space around the content you’re displaying
  • Movement – Using elements to guide a viewer’s eye from one point to the next
  • Variety – Making use of several different elements within your content
  • Unity – Creating a consistent visual theme throughout your content

The Rule of Thirds

The Rule of Thirds can be applied to many forms of creativity, including presentation design! This involves splitting each of your slides into three equal sections, creating a grid of 9 even squares, and positioning elements within the created grid to optimize its design. In general, you want to try and draw a viewer’s eyes to the upper or lower third of a slide, or place text and images in areas where the gridlines intersect. 

Images

The images you use should help support the theme or topic of your content. If you’re creating work on behalf of a company, make sure you follow their guidelines for photos. On the other hand, if you’re making content without set rules:

  • Use pictures that people can relate to, or that evoke emotion
  • Credit your photo sources in your content – here's the Creative Commons' guide for crediting images

Typography

There are thousands of fonts out there that can be used to add style to your content. If designing content for a company, you’ll want to stick to using their brand fonts for consistency. However, if you’re creating content without typography guidelines, we recommend the following: 

  • Make sure you use a font size that's large enough for viewers to easily read your typeface both on desktop and mobile devices
  • Use two fonts to keep your content interesting and clean
  • Keep your text readable; your line length and spacing should be pleasing to the eye

Color

Colors have the ability to produce emotions, so it's important to choose ones that suit your voice and topic. If you’re creating content for a particular audience, take time to research what significance colors could have for them. Additionally, make sure to use established color palettes you’re provided with for any work that relates to a particular brand. When creating work that doesn’t have strict guidelines, you’ll want to avoid:

  • Having more than three to four colors in a single presentation
  • Placing bright colors over backgrounds that aren’t neutral
  • Using low-contrast colors

Once you’ve finished the final touches on your presentation, we’d love to see it! You can read our article on uploading content to SlideShare for step-by-step directions. Of course, if you have other questions, just let the SlideShare Support team know. We’re always ready to help!

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