SlideMagic Blog

I am continuing to experiment with 3D effects. Here is an alternative idea to visualize a number of obstacles on the road ahead. The last image (click it for a larger picture) contains some explanations on how I did it. If things are not clear feel free to as in the comments.

Does anyone know how to add a smooth moving animation to this, motion paths and re-sizing of objects do not go together?

(Apologies for the image quality as I converted to JPG instead of PNG to improve load times)

A concept I often use to visualize things that are torn apart by opposing forces in PowerPoint presentations.

• Copy a shape (with text)
• Paste special as PNG (4 times, or even more)
• Start cropping the copies

For when you want to make the point that it is important to pay attention to the small print, or make sure that you did not skip over important hidden information, you can use this concept.

In PowerPoint 2007:

• Get a picture of a magnifying glass from any stock photography site
• Set the font to a Times Roman-like serif font that looks like a book/newspaper
• Cut the sentence in 3
• Increase the size and apply a “can up” distortion to the text inside the magnifying glass (select the text, go into format, text effects, transform, in “warp”, 3rd from the left, 4th from the top.

UPDATE: I have added a slide with this concept in the SlideMagic template store, you can download it here.

A magnifying glass in PowerPoint

Photo by mari lezhava on Unsplash

Many stock images lack sufficient white space for text. Stretching an image distorts the proportions.

A trick to get around this problem:

1. Copy the image
2. Crop a small strip at the top of the image
3. Flip the strip
4. Stretch the strip only

I am creating a presentation for a client today that provides a very simple solution for a very complex problem. While moving around the letters in the words I saw an usual pattern:

• completely different meanings
• very similar words…

I need to find more of these.

Add Letters is a site full with image generators. I noticed that they’ve added a few new images. My personal favorites are those related to The Simpsons.

Don’t fill up your slides to the last square inch. Instead: leave white space (or negative space). Have the courage to write nothing, take a visual break. This ad for a ski resort takes it to the extreme, but makes its point brilliantly (large image here).

Via Ads of the World.

A user of PowerPoint 2007 has an enormous amount of 3D tools at his/her disposal. It is only after a year or so of working with this software that I start to understand how 3D could help get your message across.

Many 3D effects are NOT useful. Three dimensional graphs make it harder to match the data to the value axes. Adding “random” bevels, reflections and shadows to a PowerPoint object does not make it an elegant graphical element. The fact that PowerPoint can do it, does not mean you have to use it.

Why don’t we use 3D for what it can do best: show distance? The example below shows a time line that we expect to last forever.

Adding some 3D effects will make it much more powerful:

Other examples could be a landscape scattered with competitors battling for market share. Or a quadruple layer of defenses that can protect the intellectual property of a startup.

Notice that you actually do not need any of the PowerPoint 2007 effects to create a 3D effect. It is all about positioning shapes, and reducing the size of objects and fonts as you come closer to the imaginary horizon.

Use 3D when you think two dimensions are not enough to tell your story.

When you align 2 or more objects in PowerPoint, one will stay put while all the others move to line up. It is easy to predict which one will move. See the diagram below. Click on the image for a larger picture.

Photoshop has sophisticated tools for cutting our shapes from images. In PowerPoint you can reach similar effects by filling a shape with an image.

When selecting a fill for a shape, choose “picture or texture fill” instead of a color:

Alternatively, choose “slide background fill” to creat “holes” in your graphics.