Slide:ology
The Art and Science of Creating Great Presentations
by Nancy Duarte · first published 2008
100% recommend
Why HN recommends it
Practical guide to designing visually communicative presentations; readers like that it explains the reasoning behind each design choice, not just tips. Suited to anyone building fundraising or business pitch slides.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
No matter where you are on the organizational ladder, the odds are high that you've delivered a high-stakes presentation to your peers, your boss, your customers, or the general public. Presentation software is one of the few tools that requires professionals to think visually on an almost daily basis. But unlike verbal skills, effective visual expression is not easy, natural, or actively taught in schools or business training programs. slide:ology fills that void. Written by Nancy Duarte, President and CEO of Duarte Design, the firm that created the presentation for Al Gore's Oscar-winning
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…symptom. The real problem is communicating effectively with ideas/pictures. There are two books which have made me better at this: 1. The back of the napkin [http://www.thebackofthenapkin.com/] 2. Slide:ology [http://blog.duarte.com/book/] These books kick-started my journey to understanding (and appreciating) the use of diagrams, colors, fonts, and imagery for the purpose of conveying an idea. Update: Added…
on “We Have Met the Enemy and He Is PowerPoint” ↗"Presentationzen" by Garr Reynolds and "Slide:ology" by Nancy Duarte will be exceedingly helpful to you. Here are links to their blogs and Amazon descriptions. Good luck! http://www.presentationzen.com/presentationzen/ http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0321525655/103-6148611-3957...…
on “Ask HN: advices for presenting a project” ↗I'd also recommend Slide:ology by Nancy Duarte for when you're doing presentations (for fundraising or BD)
on “Books Every Entrepreneur Should Read” ↗Thanks for adding this. Presentations are another thing that I'm spending a lot of time on to get right and it _really_ takes a lot of time and practice. I just bought the book "slide:ology" of Duarte Design (above) and I highly recommended it.
on “What I've learned about selling (as a developer)” ↗If you're looking for even more depth on Powerpoint design, I highly recommend Nancy Duarte's slide:ology. All of these tips, more depth, plus the why for all of them. Presentation Zen Design from Garr Reynolds is another solid Powerpoint design guide.
on “How to make awesome diagrams for your slides” ↗For more in-depth info on slide design, see Nancy Duarte's excellent book slide:ology.
on “Slide Design for Developers” ↗If you find yourself making presentations, buy this book and you will wow everyone. https://www.amazon.com/slide-ology-Science-Creating-Presenta...
on “Presentation Rules” ↗…https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0596522347/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b... https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0470632011/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b... https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1101980168/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b... If you only have time to go through 1 book, I would recommend Slide:ology.
on “Death by PowerPoint: the slide that killed seven people (2019)” ↗