Graphic Design for Presentations: The Recipe for the Perfect Approach

Step 1: Preparing the Draft Presentation

This stage is crucial. Often, while working on the graphic design, clients request changes to texts or slide order. This is natural because visuals trigger emotions and spark creativity. However, working with a professional graphic studio, it’s beneficial to start with well-prepared draft slides.

1. Develop an Outline
2. Write a Script
3. Create a Story

Begin by understanding the needs of your audience. Create personas and consider their preferences and needs to prepare the structure of the presentation and then the content—the final script for your story. This process often involves brainstorming, research, and sometimes hallway testing within the team. Since graphics come at the end, it’s crucial to be well-prepared for commissioning them.

Presentation Goal

Once the draft material is ready, define the goal of the presentation and introduce the graphic agency to your target audience’s world. If it’s for an event, provide more context. If it’s an internal presentation for a team, explain the meeting's context. If it’s a report, focus on the motivations of the audience. Creating a brief based on your strategy will help fully understand the slides’ content.

Content

The key information you need to include is the final text—highlight the most important messages and annotations. This will clarify which messages need to be emphasized.

In the initial presentation, include descriptions of the desired visuals, sample images, or photos. The more inspiration, the better, especially if the presentation’s visuals are being created from scratch. If you want the project to include specific content—such as product photos—insert them into the slides and provide the graphic agency with high-quality separate files. Provide source data for visualizations and indicate preferred formats. Preparing spreadsheet files for the graphic designer can simplify creating easily editable graph graphics. If you want animated elements, specify this and describe the desired effect.

Step 2: Define Technical Preferences

Standard presentation tools include PowerPoint, Keynote, Prezi, or Google Slides. The graphic agency can advise on the format if you’re undecided.

If you plan for the presentation created by the professional studio to be further developed by your team, request a slide template to ensure consistency in future modifications. Consider which slides are most frequently needed. More on this can be found in our post about presentation templates.

Step 3: Source Materials

Prepare a folder with your brand book for the professional agency. Share any recent materials to show your preferences, especially if this is your first project together. Creating visuals involves personal taste and subjective judgment. A professional graphic designer who understands your preferences can better tailor their approach to meet your expectations.

Step 4: Prepare an Inspiration Package

Guide the agency towards the desired effect. A professional graphic studio never copies other creators’ solutions, so there’s no need to worry about replicating an idea too literally. Spend some time on research and show examples of presentations you like. You can also define the style by referring to trends. These supplementary details help diagnose needs and present the most fitting solution proposals.

Also, indicate what you don’t like—highlight elements to avoid. If previous presentations had issues, share those insights. A professional agency that offers a fully managed process will come back with questions to diagnose preferences. Reflect on these in terms of what you don’t want. You can give free rein to the visual direction, but it’s wise to request multiple directions during the quotation stage to allow for further project development.

Step 5: Define Process Requirements and Capabilities

Consider how many people from your team will review the graphic design—more reviewers usually mean more time required in the schedule. This is particularly important for presentations with tight deadlines.

Decide how you prefer to communicate—whether to receive progress updates via email or in dedicated online meetings. For long presentations, determine if you want to review all slides at once or in batches. These preferences naturally impact the project cost, so consider your budget for achieving that WOW effect.

At 500 Stories, we adapt flexibly to the client’s work style. From the initial quote stage, we propose how communication will look between both parties from kickoff to final slide delivery on time. We offer a solution that includes the number of meetings, work verification stages, and options for various directions to choose from.

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