I noticed that I am using fewer and fewer stock images in my slides. Not so long ago, almost every slide started as a brain storm about what image concept to use. Not anymore for 2 reasons.
- Stock images are often cheesy and unnatural and have a very specific style, which makes it hard to mix them with other stock images in the same deck. I also suspect that stock image providers have been adding a lot of content to their databases thereby diluting the quality of the search results.
- My slide designs are getting simpler and simpler and often I can design them without the need for an image. A simple message written on a slide can be more effective than a slightly forced visual analogy in an image.