Common presentation design wisdom is to start your design process by going analogue, sketching an outline on a piece of paper, on yellow stickers on a whiteboard, or in a mind mapping app. That is one of three components I start a presentation design with. Two others:
- A completely finished, random slide that is easy to make (a financial forecast for example) and just looks great to design the overall look and feel for the deck, yes going straight in to slide design software at hour 0
- A sketch of “killer chart”, a diagram that is the core of the whole story, the most important concept that needs to come across.
With these 3 pieces done, the biggest creative problems have been solved, and it boils down to executing your design.