presentation design best practice

Like what you're reading?

Presentation design guide: tips, examples, and templates

Get your team on prezi – watch this on demand video.

Anete Ezera January 09, 2023

Presentation design defines how your content will be received and remembered. It’s responsible for that crucial first impression and sets the tone for your presentation before you’ve even introduced the topic. It’s also what holds your presentation together and guides the viewer through it. That’s why visually appealing, easily understandable, and memorable presentation design is what you should be striving for. But how can you create a visually striking presentation without an eye for design? Creating a visually appealing presentation can be challenging without prior knowledge of design or helpful tools. 

With this presentation design guide accompanied by Prezi presentation examples and templates, you’ll have no problem creating stunning and impactful presentations that will wow your audience.

In this guide, we’ll start by looking at the basics of presentation design. We’ll provide a simple guide on creating a presentation from scratch, as well as offer helpful tips for different presentation types. In addition, you’ll discover how to organize information into a logical order and present it in a way that resonates with listeners. Finally, we’ll share tips and tricks to create an eye-catching presentation, and showcase some great presentation examples and templates you can get inspired by!

With our comprehensive introduction to designing presentations, you will be able to develop an engaging and professional presentation that gets results!

What is presentation design?

Presentation design encompasses a variety of elements that make up the overall feel and look of the presentation. It’s a combination of certain elements, like text, font, color, background, imagery, and animations. 

Presentation design focuses on finding ways to make the presentation more visually appealing and easy to process, as it is often an important tool for communicating a message. It involves using design principles like color, hierarchy, white space, contrast, and visual flow to create an effective communication piece.

Creating an effective presentation design is important for delivering your message efficiently and leaving a memorable impact on your audience. Most of all, you want your presentation design to support your topic and make it easier to understand and digest. A great presentation design guides the viewer through your presentation and highlights the most essential aspects of it. 

If you’re interested in learning more about presentation design and its best practices , watch the following video and get practical insights on designing your next presentation:

Types of presentations

When creating a presentation design, you have to keep in mind several types of presentations that shape the initial design you want to have. Depending on the type of presentation you have, you’ll want to match it with a fitting presentation design.

1. Informative

An informative presentation provides the audience with facts and data in order to educate them on a certain subject matter. This could be done through visual aids such as graphs, diagrams, and charts. In an informative presentation, you want to highlight data visualizations and make them more engaging with interactive features or animations. On Prezi Design, you can create different engaging data visualizations from line charts to interactive maps to showcase your data.

2. Instructive

Instructive presentations teach the audience something new. Whether it’s about science, business strategies, or culture, this type of presentation is meant to help people gain knowledge and understand a topic better. 

With a focus on transmitting knowledge, your presentation design should incorporate a variety of visuals and easy-to-understand data visualizations. Most people are visual learners, so you’ll benefit from swapping text-based slides for more visually rich content.

3. Motivational

Motivational presentations try to inspire the audience by giving examples of successful projects, stories, or experiences. This type of presentation is often used in marketing or promotional events because it seeks to get the audience inspired and engaged with a product or service. That’s why the presentation design needs to capture and hold the attention of your audience using a variety of animations and visuals. Go beyond plain images – include videos for a more immersive experience.

4. Persuasive

Persuasive presentations are designed to sway an audience with arguments that lead to an actionable decision (i.e., buy the product). Audiences learn facts and figures relevant to the point being made and explore possible solutions based on evidence provided during the speech or presentation.

In a persuasive presentation design, you need to capture your audience’s attention right away with compelling statistics wrapped up in interactive and engaging data visualizations. Also, the design needs to look and feel dynamic with smooth transitions and fitting visuals, like images, stickers, and GIFs.

How to design a presentation

When you first open a blank presentation page, you might need some inspiration to start creating your design. For this reason, we created a simple guide that’ll help you make your own presentation from scratch without headaches.

1. Opt for a motion-based presentation

You can make an outstanding presentation using Prezi Present, a software program that lets you create interactive presentations that capture your viewer’s attention. Prezi’s zooming feature allows you to add movement to your presentation and create smooth transitions. Prezi’s non-linear format allows you to jump between topics instead of flipping through slides, so your presentation feels more like a conversation than a speech. A motion-based presentation will elevate your content and ideas, and make it a much more engaging viewing experience for your audience.

Watch this video to learn how to make a Prezi presentation:

2. Create a structure & start writing content

Confidence is key in presenting. You can feel more confident going into your presentation if you structure your thoughts and plan what you will say. To do that, first, choose the purpose of your presentation before you structure it. There are four main types of presentations: informative, instructive, motivational, and persuasive. Think about the end goal of your presentation – what do you want your audience to do when you finish your presentation – and structure it accordingly.

Next, start writing the content of your presentation (script). We recommend using a storytelling framework, which will enable you to present a conflict and show what could be possible. In addition to creating compelling narratives for persuasive presentations, this framework is also effective for other types of presentations.

Tip: Keep your audience in mind. If you’re presenting a data-driven report to someone new to the field or from a different department, don’t use a lot of technical jargon if you don’t know their knowledge base and/or point of view.

3. Research & analyze 

Knowing your topic inside and out will make you feel more confident going into your presentation. That’s why it’s important to take the time to understand your topic fully. In return, you’ll be able to answer questions on the fly and get yourself back on track even if you forget what you were going to say when presenting. In case you have extra time at the end of your presentation, you can also provide more information for your audience and really showcase your expertise. For comprehensive research, turn to the internet, and library, and reach out to experts if possible.

4. Get to design

Keeping your audience engaged and interested in your topic depends on the design of your presentation.

Now that you’ve done your research and have a proper presentation structure in place, it’s time to visualize it.

4.1. Presentation design layout

What you want to do is use your presentation structure as a presentation design layout. Apply the structure to how you want to tell your story, and think about how each point will lead to the next one. Now you can either choose to use one of Prezi’s pre-designed templates that resemble your presentation structure the most or start to add topics on your canvas as you go. 

Tip: When adding content, visualize the relation between topics by using visual hierarchy – hide smaller topics within larger themes or use the zooming feature to zoom in and out of supplementary topics or details that connect to the larger story you’re telling.

4.2. Color scheme

Now it’s time to choose your color scheme to give a certain look and feel to your presentation. Make sure to use contrasting colors to clearly separate text from the background, and use a maximum of 2 to 3 dominating colors to avoid an overwhelming design.

4.2. Content (visuals + text)

Add content that you want to highlight in your presentation. Select from a wide range of images, stickers, GIFs, videos, data visualizations, and more from the content library, or upload your own. To provide more context, add short-format text, like bullet points or headlines that spotlight the major themes, topics, and ideas in your presentation. 

Also, here you’ll want to have a final decision on your font choice. Select a font that’s easy to read and goes well with your brand and topic.

Tip: Be careful not to turn your presentation into a script. Only display text that holds significant value – expand on the ideas when presenting. 

4.3. Transitions

Last but not least, bring your presentation design to life by adding smooth, attractive, and engaging transitions that take the viewer from one topic to another without disrupting the narrative. 

On Prezi, you can choose from a range of transitions that take you into the story world and provide an immersive presentation experience for your audience. 

For more practical tips read our article on how to make a presentation . 

Presentation design tips

When it comes to presentations, design is key. A well-designed presentation can communicate your ideas clearly and engage your audience, while a poorly designed one can do the opposite.

To ensure your presentation is designed for success, note the following presentation design tips that’ll help you design better presentations that wow your audience.

1. Keep it simple

Too many elements on a slide can be overwhelming and distract from your message. While you want your content to be visually compelling, don’t let the design of the presentation get in the way of communicating your ideas. Design elements need to elevate your message instead of overshadowing it. 

2. Use contrasting text colors

Draw attention to important points with contrasted text colors. Instead of using bold or italics, use a contrasting color in your chosen palette to emphasize the text.

3. Be clear and concise. 

Avoid writing long paragraphs that are difficult to read. Limit paragraphs and sections of text for optimum readability.

4. Make sure your slide deck is visually appealing

Use high-quality images and graphics, and limit the use of text to only the most important information. For engaging and diverse visuals, go to Prezi’s content library and discover a wide range of stock images, GIFs, stickers, and more.

5. Pay attention to detail

Small details like font choice and alignments can make a big difference in how professional and polished your presentation looks. Make sure to pay attention to image and text size, image alignment with text, font choice, background color, and more details that create the overall look of your presentation.

6. Use templates sparingly

While templates can be helpful in creating a consistent look for your slides, overusing them can make your presentation look generic and boring. Use them for inspiration but don’t be afraid to mix things up with some custom designs as well. 

7. Design for clarity

Create a presentation layout that is easy to use and navigate, with clear labels and instructions. This is important for ensuring people can find the information they need quickly and easily if you end up sharing your presentation with others.

8. Opt for a conversational presentation design

Conversational presenting allows you to adjust your presentation on the fly to make it more relevant and engaging. Create a map-like arrangement that’ll encourage you to move through your presentation at your own pace. With a map-like design, each presentation will be customized to match different audiences’ needs. This can be helpful for people who have different levels of expertise or knowledge about the subject matter.

9. Be consistent 

Design consistency holds your presentation together and makes it easy to read and navigate. Create consistency by repeating colors, fonts, and design elements that clearly distinguish your presentation from others.

10. Have context in mind

A great presentation design is always dependent on the context. Your audience and objective influence everything from color scheme to fonts and use of imagery. Make sure to always have your audience in mind when designing your presentations.

For more presentation tips, read the Q&A with presentation design experts and get valuable insights on visual storytelling.

Presentation templates

Creating a presentation from scratch isn’t easy. Sometimes, it’s better to start with a template and dedicate your time to the presentation’s content. To make your life easier, here are 10 useful and stunning presentation templates that score in design and engagement. If you want to start creating with any of the following templates, simply go to our Prezi presentation template gallery , select your template, and start creating! Also, you can get inspired by the top Prezi presentations , curated by our editors. There you can discover presentation examples for a wide range of topics, and get motivated to create your own. 

Business meeting presentation

The work desk presentation templates have a simple and clean design, perfectly made for a team or business meeting. With all the topics visible from start, everyone will be on the same page about what you’re going to cover in the presentation. If you want, you can add or remove topics as well as edit the visuals and color scheme to match your needs.

Small business presentation

This template is great for an introductory meeting or pitch, where you have to summarize what you or your business does in a few, highly engaging slides. The interactive layout allows you to choose what topic bubble you’re going to select next, so instead of a one-way interaction, you can have a conversation and ask your audience what exactly they’re interested in knowing about your company.

Mindfulness at work presentation

How can you capture employees’ attention to explain important company values or practices? This engaging presentation template will help you do just that. With a wide range of impactful visuals, this presentation design helps you communicate your ideas more effectively. 

Business review template

Make your next quarterly business review memorable with this vibrant business presentation template. With eye-capturing visuals and an engaging layout, you’ll communicate important stats and hold everyone’s attention until the end.

History timeline template

With black-and-white sketches of the Colosseum in the background, this timeline template makes history come alive. The displayed time periods provide an overview that’ll help your audience to grasp the bigger picture. After, you can go into detail about each time frame and event.

Storytelling presentation template

Share stories about your business that make a lasting impact with this stunning, customizable presentation template. To showcase each story, use the zooming feature and choose to tell your stories in whatever order you want.

Design concept exploration template

Not all meetings happen in person nowadays. To keep that face-to-face interaction even when presenting online, choose from a variety of Prezi Video templates or simply import your already-existing Prezi template into Prezi Video for remote meetings. This professional-looking Prezi Video template helps you set the tone for your meeting, making your designs stand out. 

Employee perks and benefits video template

You can use the employee benefits video template to pitch potential job candidates the perks of working in your company. The Prezi Video template allows you to keep a face-to-face connection with potential job candidates while interviewing them remotely.

Sales plan presentation template

Using a clear metaphor that everyone can relate to, this football-inspired sales plan presentation template communicates a sense of team unity and strategy. You can customize this Prezi business presentation template with your brand colors and content.

Flashcard template

How can you engage students in an online classroom? This and many other Prezi Video templates will help you create interactive and highly engaging lessons. Using the flashcard template, you can quiz your students, review vocabulary, and gamify learning.

Great presentation design examples

If you’re still looking for more inspiration, check out the following Prezi presentations made by our creative users.

Social media presentation

This presentation is a great example of visual storytelling. The use of visual hierarchy and spatial relationships creates a unique viewing experience and makes it easier to understand how one topic or point is related to another. Also, images provide an engaging and visually appealing experience.

Leadership books presentation

Do you want to share your learnings? This interactive presentation offers great insights in an entertaining and visually compelling way. Instead of compiling leadership books in a slide-based presentation, the creator has illustrated each book and added a zooming feature that allows you to peek inside of each book’s content.

Remote workforce presentation

This is a visually rich and engaging presentation example that offers an interactive experience for the viewer. A noteworthy aspect of this presentation design is its color consistency and matching visual elements.

A presentation about the teenage brain 

Another great presentation design example that stands out with an engaging viewing experience. The zooming feature allows the user to dive into each topic and choose what subject to view first. It’s a great example of an educational presentation that holds the students’ attention with impactful visuals and compelling transitions.

Remote work policy presentation

This presentation design stands out with its visually rich content. It depicts exactly what the presentation is about and uses the illustrated window frames in the background image as topic placements. This type of presentation design simplifies complex concepts and makes it easier for the viewer to understand and digest the information.

Everyone can create visually-appealing presentations with the right tools and knowledge. With the presentation design tips, templates, and examples, you’re equipped to make your next presentation a success. If you’re new to Prezi, we encourage you to discover everything it has to offer. With this presentation design guide and Prezi, we hope you’ll get inspired to create meaningful, engaging, and memorable content for your audience!  

Give your team the tools they need to engage

Like what you’re reading join the mailing list..

• Prezi for Teams
• Top Presentations

Tips for creating and delivering an effective presentation

In this article.

Creating an effective presentation

Delivering an effective presentation

Tips for creating an effective presentation

Top of Page

Tips for delivering an effective presentation

Need more help?

Want more options.

Explore subscription benefits, browse training courses, learn how to secure your device, and more.

Microsoft 365 subscription benefits

Microsoft 365 training

Microsoft security

Accessibility center

Communities help you ask and answer questions, give feedback, and hear from experts with rich knowledge.

Ask the Microsoft Community

Microsoft Tech Community

Windows Insiders

Microsoft 365 Insiders

Was this information helpful?

Thank you for your feedback.

PowerPoint Presentation Best Practices: Tips & Resources

• Slide Content
• The Presentation: Public Speaking
• Tips & Resources

Watch your timing, both while speaking and going through your slides. You don't want to go too fast, but make sure you don't go over your allotted time, either. (This is where practice comes in!) You might want to leave a few minutes at the end for questions.

Sort Your Slides

Try breaking your slides into smaller chunks or segments, and make sure they flow. But don’t use too many slides, either; find a nice middle ground. If you look at all of them in the slide sorter, do they seem to flow logically without your speech backing them up?

The "B" Key

During your presentation (on either PowerPoint or Keynote) you can press the "B" key on the keyboard, and the screen will go blank. This is useful if you need to go off topic for a minute, or you want people to focus on you while you say something extremely important. Press "B" again and your presentation will reappear.

• Keep it simple, but not simplistic
• Have a theme and be consistent
• Be smart with colors
• Choose fonts wisely
• Use high-quality graphics, not clip art
• Try using video or audio
• Minimize distractions in your slides
• Pace yourself
• Break up your slides into small chunks
• Check your spelling and grammar
• Don’t use stale built-in templates
• Don’t throw off your audience with fancy fonts
• Don’t use distracting animations and transitions
• Don’t use clip art
• Don’t put an entire paragraph in your slide
• Don’t go too fast
• Don't read from cue cards word-for-word
• Don’t stress—act relaxed and natural, and your audience will be more receptive
• "Design Tips" - Garr Reynolds Tips and slide examples from a communication expert.
• "10 PowerPoint Tips to Make Your Slides More Effective" - iSpring Top 10 tips, written by Ferry Pereboom, the co-founder of a design agency.
• Presentation Zen: "What is good presentation design?" - Garr Reynolds Tips and slide examples from a communication expert.
• "Top 10 Tips to Make Your PowerPoint Suck Way Less" - Your PowerPoint Sucks Top 10 tips, other articles, examples, and resources.
• "Speak up: Preparing an Engaging Presentation" - Amherst College Tips on presenting a public speech from Amherst College's Writing Center.
• “Basic tasks for creating a PowerPoint presentation” - Microsoft A guide for getting started with PowerPoint, with tips for creating an effective presentation at the bottom.
• "Delivery Tips" - Garr Reynolds Public speaking tips from a communication expert.
• "Preparation Tips" - Garr Reynolds Preparation tips for presenting from a communication expert.
• Canva Slide builder with professional and artistic templates.
• SlideModel Professional slide and theme templates.
• PresentationGO Free templates, slides, graphics, diagrams, tables, etc.
• << Previous: The Presentation: Public Speaking
• Last Updated: Dec 8, 2023 12:36 PM
• URL: https://libguides.hccfl.edu/powerpoint

© 2024 | All rights reserved

Presentation Design: Ultimate Guide for Beginners

Great presentation design is as important as presenting. Are you creating your own slide decks? Here are some must-follow rules for awesome presentations!

Table of Contents

One-stop for all your designs. Flat monthly price, unlimited requests and revisions.

Whether you are pitching a business idea, telling about your new research, or sharing important data with your audience, presentations are a visual aid essential for your success. You could have awesome presenter skills, and a fantastic idea for the content. But without stunning presentation design, the whole thing will fall flat. Learn how to make a good PowerPoint presentation design with these 10 tips.

Presentations: you’ve seen many of them, and you've probably made several yourself. An ultimate visual communication tool to get your point across, presentations are deeply integrated into the academic and business world.

However, many individuals and businesses still make the mistake of thinking that PowerPoint presentation design always comes down to dark text on a white background, with a few images and charts sprinkled in. Nothing could be further from the truth!

Presentation design shouldn’t be walls of text or extensive bullet point lists, but rather a way to tell a story and inspire the audience with a beautiful and balanced design. And it’s not just about communicating with your audience. Visme found that 91% of presenters feel more confident when using a professionally designed slide deck .

Want to learn how to make a good PowerPoint presentation design? We can help. In this article, we’ll cover the basics, such as:

What is presentation design?

• What types of presentations are there?
• 7 Tips to design presentation slides yourself.

Presentation design focuses on the visual look of your presentation as a tool to engage your audience. It is the way you present your information on the slide: the color scheme, combination of fonts, the way design elements are used as part of your slide. All of this comes together to present your message in a certain way.

Presentation design is about finding the perfect combination of design elements to create slides that will not bore or tire your audience, but rather engage them and glue them to the slides while attentively listening. Whether you are looking to inform your audience, entertain them, establish credibility, or something else, well-thought-out and executed presentation slides can help you achieve this.

Types of presentations

What is the first step in designing an effective presentation? Knowing what the presentation is for, of course.

Presentations have different purposes. A quarterly presentation you are making for the investors of your dropshipping business will not be the same as an employee training slide. In the first case, your aim will be to inform and report, in the second case, the goal of the presentation is to educate. Depending on what you are trying to achieve, there are 5 types of presentations. Let’s take a look at each.

• Informative - One of the most common presentation types, informative presentations aim to communicate important information with the audience and show new findings. Think of presenting company updates or planning a new project: informative presentations should be clear and straight to the point.
• Persuasive - As the name suggests, the aim of this presentation type is to use important data to not simply inform the viewers, but to persuade them to take a specific action. Persuasive presentations are what you should show to potential investors when telling them about the user acquisition growth speed of your company.
• Educational - Often confused with informative presentations, educational presentations are different because they aim to not simply inform, but to teach the viewers new skills and educate them about a new topic. Staff training slides or academic presentations are a great example of this slide type. You can go as far as making a tutorial video and including it in the slides, adding notes and key points next to it.
• Inspirational - Often used by managers and team leaders, inspirational presentations aim to cause a spark and motivate employees to work harder. Presentations of this type usually have a highly emotional message the aim of which is to inspire viewers to take a particular action.
• Problem-solving - This presentation type does a particularly good job at hooking the audience, as the key part of this presentation is the problem they are facing. Then, during the presentation, you are showing them how you are going to solve that problem. An example of this would be discussing how hard it is for large companies to hire qualified people by sharing statistics, then presenting your new HR automation tool and showing its benefits.

7 presentation design tips for beginners

Are you ready to jump into it? Here are 7 golden tips that will help you design presentation slides you can be proud of.

1. Outline your content and refine the key message

What is the first step in designing an effective presentation? You need to prepare your content and refine the key message. Try to understand what your audience wants to know, what they may already know, and what is more likely to keep them engaged. Then, keep this information in mind as you prepare your content for your presentation. What is the main takeaway from each slide?

Choose a working title and have a clear point for each of the slides. Understand what you want your slide to tell people. For example, instead of “Using hashtags for Instagram ” go with “Using hashtags for Instagram increases engagement by 12.5%.”

Keep your content specific and informative, but as concise as possible. Simplify your sentences, keep only the main point without writing an excessive amount of information on the slide. Below are two examples of a slide with the same information. Which one do you think is more readable?

2. Pick a framework

Now it’s time to pick the framework you are going to use to make your professional presentation design. Do you want to create a presentation from scratch, or go with something pre-built?

There are many terrific presentation design templates available online, on platforms like Canva, Visme, and Venngage. Still, you should never use a presentation template without editing it .

Changing the color scheme or fonts to match your brand may seem like a small detail, but it will greatly improve the overall impression of your presentation. It also helps to strengthen your brand identity (whether for a personal or business brand marketing ), and demonstrates professionalism and care.

Another important thing is not to limit your creativity to pre-built presentations. That’s why it’s also advisable to explore presentation designs on platforms, such as Behance, Dribble, and 99Designs.

Sure, most of these will have been done by professional designers, and may be a little challenging for beginners to recreate. However, understanding just how creative PowerPoint presentation design can be will help you shed your preconceptions and explore new creative routes.

3. Choose a color scheme and fonts

The best presentation design will be limited to a handful of options as too many colors will create chaos on your slide and make it harder for the readers to understand.

If you have a brand guide in place, it’s best to stick to colors and fonts used in your branding. However, remember that a PowerPoint presentation design is supposed to keep viewers engaged. So, even if your brand colors are soothing muted tones, a bright element here and there can work well to draw attention to the key messages.

4. Make it visual

Sharing your information only as texts and bullet points is a lazy way out. When you design presentation slides, consider how you can present information visually. This will help your audience understand and take in key messages faster.

A simple example of this is adding relevant icons instead of simple bullet points. Colored or outlined texts next to realistic and relevant photos make the presentation a lot more enjoyable and keep the viewers entertained.

Graphs and charts are a business presentation design staple. However, you can also think about different design elements that can be both surprising and effective. For example, a simple illustration instead of a dull stock photo will delight your audience and keep them engaged.

5. Pay attention to the layout

Your slide layout is the area where all of your presentation elements (photos, texts, icons, logo) are contained. Most presentation tools come with pre-built layouts you can use.

You can also create your own layout from scratch. In both cases, the main aim is to design a beautiful slide that doesn’t overwhelm the viewer. Include plenty of white space in your layout, don’t crowd it with too many text boxes and elements. If the elements are different, as they often will be, keep similar one close to each other. Keep your layout as clean and simple as you can.

6. Align and position

Nothing screams amateur more than jumping texts and layouts from slide to slide. Mismatching logos and design elements jumping here and there showcase a lack of professionalism and give an impression that you’ve put your presentation in a hurry. Not to mention that they are sometimes extremely annoying and distractive!

So, whenever you are working on your slides, always align and position them properly. No matter the presentation tool used, chances are, it will have an alignment tool.

Presentation software such as Keynote and Figma even offer an option to create background grids to help with the alignment. Below is an example of a slide, before and after aligning the texts and icons. Notice the difference?

7. Stay consistent

As you progress through the design of your presentation, it is essential that you stay consistent. No matter how many slides your presentation has, they are still part of one presentation. And you don’t always have to keep the same background color, or slide themes for this. Consistency in design can be achieved through design elements, color schemes, and similar illustrations.

Take a moment to look at these three slides. Although some of the slides seem to be styled differently from the rest, the color scheme of design elements holds the presentation together. It’s crucial to make sure that each one of your slides is visually connected to the previous one, to make sure your viewers don’t lose track of what you were saying.

Key takeaways

Now that you know the basics of professional presentation design, it's time to try them in practice! As with every other design type, there is no end to presentation design. Try to experiment with different tools, elements, and styles to find the one that works best for your audience. Research trends and best practices, and dedicate time to plan each slide thoughtfully. Don't be afraid to try new things, and you'll see the benefits a good presentation can have for your project in no time.

A design solution you will love

Fast & reliable, fixed monthly rate, flexible & scalable, pro designers, presentation design by the pros.

Get inspired with some of ManyPixels best presentation designs. Download our portfolio to check them out!

Wait... there’s more!

Enjoyed the read? Subscribe to our mailing list for all the latest tips, how-tos and news on graphic design and marketing.

Continue reading

35+ Presentation Templates for Every Use

Database Design: Tips for Effectively Presenting Data

• SUGGESTED TOPICS
• The Magazine
• Newsletters
• Managing Yourself
• Managing Teams
• Work-life Balance
• The Big Idea
• Data & Visuals
• Reading Lists
• Case Selections
• HBR Learning
• Topic Feeds
• Account Settings
• Email Preferences

What It Takes to Give a Great Presentation

• Carmine Gallo

Five tips to set yourself apart.

Never underestimate the power of great communication. It can help you land the job of your dreams, attract investors to back your idea, or elevate your stature within your organization. But while there are plenty of good speakers in the world, you can set yourself apart out by being the person who can deliver something great over and over. Here are a few tips for business professionals who want to move from being good speakers to great ones: be concise (the fewer words, the better); never use bullet points (photos and images paired together are more memorable); don’t underestimate the power of your voice (raise and lower it for emphasis); give your audience something extra (unexpected moments will grab their attention); rehearse (the best speakers are the best because they practice — a lot).

I was sitting across the table from a Silicon Valley CEO who had pioneered a technology that touches many of our lives — the flash memory that stores data on smartphones, digital cameras, and computers. He was a frequent guest on CNBC and had been delivering business presentations for at least 20 years before we met. And yet, the CEO wanted to sharpen his public speaking skills.

• Carmine Gallo is a Harvard University instructor, keynote speaker, and author of 10 books translated into 40 languages. Gallo is the author of The Bezos Blueprint: Communication Secrets of the World’s Greatest Salesman  (St. Martin’s Press).

Partner Center

10 tips on how to make slides that communicate your idea, from TED’s in-house expert

When your slides rock, your whole presentation pops to life. At TED2014, David Epstein created a clean, informative slide deck to support his talk on the changing bodies of athletes . Photo: James Duncan Davidson/TED

Aaron Weyenberg is the master of slide decks. Our UX Lead creates Keynote presentations that are both slick and charming—the kind that pull you in and keep you captivated, but in an understated way that helps you focus on what’s actually being said. He does this for his own presentations and for lots of other folks in the office. Yes, his coworkers ask him to design their slides, because he’s just that good.

We asked Aaron to bottle his Keynote mojo so that others could benefit from it. Here, 10 tips for making an effective slide deck, split into two parts: the big, overarching goals, and the little tips and tricks that make your presentation sing.

Aaron used this image of a New Zealand disaster to kick off a slide deck from TED’s tech team — all about how they prepares for worst-case scenarios. He asked for permission to use the image, and credited the photographer, Blair Harkness. View the whole slidedeck from this presentation.

The big picture…

• Think about your slides last . Building your slides should be the tail end of developing your presentation. Think about your main message, structure its supporting points, practice it and time it—and then start thinking about your slides. The presentation needs to stand on its own; the slides are just something you layer over it to enhance the listener experience. Too often, I see slide decks that feel more like presenter notes, but I think it’s far more effective when the slides are for the audience to give them a visual experience that adds to the words. .
• Create a consistent look and feel . In a good slide deck, each slide feels like part of the same story. That means using the same or related typography, colors and imagery across all your slides. Using pre-built master slides can be a good way to do that, but it can feel restrictive and lead to me-too decks. I like to create a few slides to hold sample graphic elements and type, then copy what I need from those slides as I go. .
• Think about topic transitions . It can be easy to go too far in the direction of consistency, though. You don’t want each slide to look exactly the same. I like to create one style for the slides that are the meat of what I’m saying, and then another style for the transitions between topics. For example, if my general slides have a dark background with light text, I’ll try transition slides that have a light background with dark text. That way they feel like part of the same family, but the presentation has texture—and the audience gets a visual cue that we’re moving onto a new topic. .
• With text, less is almost always more . One thing to avoid—slides with a lot of text, especially if it’s a repeat of what you’re saying out loud. It’s like if you give a paper handout in a meeting—everyone’s head goes down and they read, rather than staying heads-up and listening. If there are a lot of words on your slide, you’re asking your audience to split their attention between what they’re reading and what they’re hearing. That’s really hard for a brain to do, and it compromises the effectiveness of both your slide text and your spoken words. If you can’t avoid having text-y slides, try to progressively reveal text (like unveiling bullet points one by one) as you need it. .
• Use photos that enhance meaning . I love using simple, punchy photos in presentations, because they help what you’re saying resonate in your audience’s mind without pulling their attention from your spoken words. Look for photos that (1) speak strongly to the concept you’re talking about and (2) aren’t compositionally complex. Your photo could be a metaphor or something more literal, but it should be clear why the audience is looking at it, and why it’s paired with what you’re saying. For example, I recently used the image above—a photo of a container ship about to tip over (it eventually sank)—to lead off a co-worker’s deck about failure preparation. And below is another example of a photo I used in a deck to talk about the launch of the new TED.com . The point I was making was that a launch isn’t the end of a project—it’s the beginning of something new. We’ll learn, adapt, change and grow.

Here, a lovely image from a slidedeck Aaron created about the redesign of TED.com . View the whole deck from this presentation .

And now some tactical tips…

• Go easy on the effects and transitions . Keynote and Powerpoint come with a lot of effects and transitions. In my opinion, most of these don’t do much to enhance the audience experience. At worst, they subtly suggest that the content of your slides is so uninteresting that a page flip or droplet transition will snap the audience out of their lethargy. If you must use them, use the most subtle ones, and keep it consistent. .

• Try panning large images . Often, I want to show screen shot of an entire web page in my presentations. There’s a great Chrome extension to capture these—but these images are oftentimes much longer than the canvas size of the presentation. Rather than scaling the image to an illegible size, or cropping it, you can pan it vertically as you talk about it. In Keynote, this is done with a Move effect, which you can apply from an object’s action panel. .
• For video, don’t use autoplay . It’s super easy to insert video in Keynote and Powerpoint—you just drag a Quicktime file onto the slide. And when you advance the deck to the slide with the video that autoplays, sometimes it can take a moment for the machine to actually start playing it. So often I’ve seen presenters click again in an attempt to start the video during this delay, causing the deck to go to the next slide. Instead, set the video to click to play. That way you have more predictable control over the video start time, and even select a poster frame to show before starting. .

Lastly, I’d love to leave you with a couple book recommendations. The first is Resonate , by Nancy Duarte. It’s not so much about slides, but about public speaking in general – which is the foundation for any presentation, regardless of how great your slides are. In it, she breaks down the anatomy of what makes a great presentation, how to establish a central message and structure your talk, and more. (One of her case studies comes from Benjamin Zander’s charming TED Talk about classical music, a talk that captivated the audience from start to finish.) Think of this as prerequisite reading for my second recommendation, also by Duarte: Slide:ology . This is more focused on presentation visuals and slides.

Happy slide-making.

• Subscribe to TED Blog by email

Comments (57)

• GTA 5 Cheats
• What is Discord?
• Find a Lost Phone
• Upcoming Movies
• Nintendo Switch 2
• Best YouTube TV Alternatives
• How to Recall an Email in Outlook

Best practices for making awesome PowerPoint slides

Whether you’re presenting a slideshow to your executives, clients, or peers, you want to convey your message clearly and successfully. Unfortunately, many mistakes can be made when creating PowerPoint presentations .

Choose the fonts wisely

Select pleasing colors.

• Don’t overuse animations and effects

Use a standard presentation rule

From hard-to-read fonts to colors that hurt the eyes of your audience, here are some best practices to keep in mind for your next PowerPoint slideshow.

Using a fancy, dramatic, or even whimsical font can be tempting. But you must consider the readability of the font. You want your audience to easily see your headings and bullet points. Consider the two basic font styles: serif and sans serif.

• Apple’s Vision Pro to get bespoke Microsoft 365 apps at launch
• PowerPoint will use ChatGPT to create entire slideshows for you
• Use Office? Your PC could be at risk due to this Microsoft change

Serif fonts are more decorative, have a classic appearance, and are frequently used in print publications. Each letter has a stroke that extends from a point in the letter. Popular serif styles include Times New Roman, Garamond, Georgia, and Baskerville.

Sans serif fonts are more precise, have a clean appearance, and are frequently used in digital publications. Each letter is clear-cut without wings or curves at its points. Popular sans serif styles include Arial, Verdana, Tahoma, and Calibri.

Because of the extended strokes, serif fonts can appear a bit blurry on a screen. This makes a sans serif font the favored choice. The bottom line is that you should remain consistent and use the same type, serif or sans serif, for all fonts in the slideshow.

The colors you use in your PowerPoint presentation can be just as important as the content. You want to use those that enhance the appearance of the slideshow, not distract or give your audience a headache.

As Robert Lane explains in his article about combining colors in PowerPoint , mixing red and blue or red and green can cause eye strain. Plus, red and green mixtures are difficult to see for those with color blindness.

The article mentions that warm colors like reds, oranges, and yellows are eye-catching, whereas cool colors like blues, greens, and purples draw less attention. Additionally, lighter colors are more noticeable than dark.

One of the easiest ways to choose the colors for your presentation is to use a built-in theme. Select the Design tab and you’ll see a collection of Themes in the ribbon.

Once you select a theme, you can then use the Variants section to choose a different color scheme. Each scheme includes eight complementing colors. You can also pick the font style you want to use in the Variants drop-down menu.

Tip : You can also check out the Design Ideas if you need help with the layouts for your slides.

Don’t overuse animations and effects

Animations can be attention-grabbing additions to a slideshow. But if you overuse or misuse them, they can be detrimental to your presentation and actually turn off viewers. The best thing to do is consider your audience and slideshow’s purpose.

For instance, if you are presenting the slideshow to a classroom of 8-year-old students, animations can grab and hold their attention more than simple images or words. However, if you’re presenting to your company’s executive team or board of directors, animations can come across as unprofessional.

If you really want to include animations, make them subtle or purposeful. As an example, you may want to expand on each bullet point in your list. You can create an animation to display the bullet points one by one and only when you click.

To do this, select the first bullet point, go to the Animations tab, and choose the Appear effect. Then, in the Timing section of the ribbon, choose On click in the Start drop-down list. Do the same for each bullet point in your list.

This creates a simple animation that benefits your presentation. It doesn’t distract but instead keeps your audience focused on your current talking point.

What is the 10/20/30 rule of PowerPoint? What is the five-by-five rule? What about the 5/5/5 and seven-by-seven rules? Rules, rules, rules. These are different standards that many recommend using when it comes to creating PowerPoint presentations.

• The 10/20/30 rule : Have no more than 10 slides, a presentation no longer than 20 minutes, and a font size no smaller than 30 points.
• The five-by-five rule : Have no more than five words per line and five lines per slide.
• The 5/5/5 rule : Have no more than five words per line, five lines per slide, and five text-heavy slides in a row.
• The seven-by-seven rule : Have no more than seven words per line and seven lines per slide.

What each of these rules basically means is: Keep it simple.

The first rule, 10/20/30, is a good rule to follow for your overall presentation. While it may not always be possible, the more succinct a presentation, the more successful it will be.

The last three rules are helpful ones to follow when you’re adding text to your slides. As you know, presentations are visual. Using too much text means your audience is reading more than watching.

Hopefully, these best practices will help you create a memorable and effective slideshow. For other ways to enhance your presentation, look at how to add audio to the slides or how to  include music in PowerPoint .

Editors' Recommendations

• Best Microsoft Office deals: Get Word, PowerPoint, and Excel for free
• This PowerPoint ploy could help hackers empty your bank account
• Microsoft might put ChatGPT into Outlook, Word, and PowerPoint
• The best PowerPoint templates
• Microsoft is phasing out the default Office font. Here’s what could replace it

Many of the apps from the Microsoft 365 suite now run natively on Apple's new M1-powered MacBooks. Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote are now all able to take full advantage of Apple's custom ARM-based silicon.

These new Microsoft 365 apps for Apple M1 Macs are all universal apps, which means that they will also run on traditional Macs with Intel processors. This also means that the Office apps on Apple's M1 Macs -- like the new MacBook Air, 13-inch MacBook Pro, and Mac mini -- should all feel snappier and faster than when they were previously running under emulation with Rosetta 2.

This holiday season, Microsoft will release a dual-screen smartphone known as the Surface Duo. As a dual-screen device, you can stack your favorite apps side by side, span apps across the screen for a better view of your work, and generally do more while on the go.

That demands software and hardware work hand-in-hand, however, so the new Office app for iOS and Android is paving the way forward. It'll make your phone a bit more useful for work -- in Office apps, at least. One hub for all things Office You can already use the dedicated Word, Excel, and PowerPoint apps on your phone. With the new Office app, however, Microsoft is creating a one-stop hub for all things related to work. Word, Excel, and PowerPoint are all part of the Office app. Yet it's lightweight, coming in at less than 100MB.

Public speaking, including the delivery of PowerPoint presentations, can be a trial. There's the need to pace yourself, as well as to avoid reading your slides word for word. Microsoft gets that.

Leaning on the power of artificial intelligence, the company is now launching a public preview of its PowerPoint Presenter Coach, a tool which can help critique your PowerPoint presentation.

Improve your practice.

Enhance your soft skills with a range of award-winning courses.

Best practices for designing presentation slides

September 20, 2018 - Gini Beqiri

When designing presentation slides, you need to find a balance between keeping the interest of your audience and maintaining their attention, while not distracting them from your key message.

The aim of presentation slides is to enhance learning and understanding, by supplementing what you’re saying (not be the main focus of your talk).

Below we discuss the best practices for designing presentation slides.

Keep it simple

If your slides are more important than what you’re saying then your message will lose impact. Your slides must be an accompaniment and not distract from your words.

• Avoid slides with lots of text, especially if it’s just a repetition of what you’re saying. The audience may be reading rather than listening to you. If you need text-heavy slides then gradually reveal the text when needed.
• Ideally you should only include main speaking points in the form of short and concise bullet points on your slides. This is far less dull for the audience and the best slides have no text – some speakers just use images.
• Don’t fill up empty spaces with unnecessary elements as this won’t help the audience understand what you’re saying. The less clutter there is on a slide the more impact your visual message will have.
• The design elements should be kept to a minimum to prevent distraction, such as, ensuring you have a clear and simple background.

Decide your presentation’s slides ratio

You must decide which  ratio for your slides  will best suit the context of the presentation:

• A 4:3 ratio if beneficial for presentation slides that need to be viewed across multiple devices.
• A 16:9 ratio should be used conference presentations.

Consider creating your presentation slides in both sizes to be prepared.

Have a title page that stands out

Create a visually engaging title page so the audience is interested and ready to listen before you begin speaking.

Limit transitions and animations

Using lots of animations is distracting and amateurish. It doesn’t add much meaning to your presentation and it’s boring for the audience if they are watching constant animation. It can also be problematic and frustrating to view the presentation on different devices due to this.

• Only use animations for a purpose, such as, to reveal the stages of a process.
• Your animations should subtle and professional, for example, “Wipe” is effective for introducing bullet points but “Move” and “Fly” are too slow.
• Don’t animate every element in your slide.
• Avoid using animations between every slide and don’t use more than three different types of animations for this.

Use visual aids

Visual aids are chosen depending on their purpose, for example, you may want to:

• Summarise information.
• Reduce the amount of spoken words.
• Clarify and show examples.
• Create more of an impact by making the audience feel a certain emotion.
• Emphasise what you’re saying.
• Make a point memorable.
• Enhance your credibility.
• Engage the audience and maintain their interest.
• Make something easier for the audience to understand.

We go into detail on specific visual aids later in the article but here are some general tips for using visual aids:

• Think about how can a visual aid can support your message. What do you want the audience to do?
• Ensure that your visual aid follows what you’re saying or this will confuse the audience.
• Avoid cluttering the image as it may look messy and unclear.
• Visual aids must be clear, concise and of a high quality.
• One message per visual aid.
• Use visual aids in moderation – they are additions meant to emphasise and support main points.
• Ensure that your presentation still works without your visual aids in case of technical problems.

Read our article on  Using visual aids during a presentation  for more information.

Use high-quality graphics

If you want your presentation slides to look professional then you need to use high-quality graphics. Main points can be illustrated with images but these images shouldn’t be a stretched low-resolution photo as this will look sloppy. Also, avoid using Clip Art as it’s likely the audience has already seen the images and it generally looks unprofessional.

Photographs are particularly valuable to enhance understanding because they allow the audience to see what you’re saying. Ensure that you use simple photos that relate closely with your speech.

Find free stock photos here:

Alter images to focus on elements

If an image is not the focal point consider decreasing its opacity and if it’s the current focus then make the image more pronounced. Masking can be a useful way of achieving these results and it can also be used to direct attention to something important within an image. It looks more professional than highlighting or using arrows etc.

Use panning for large images

You may want to show a large image in your presentation, such as, a web page. Consider using the Chrome extension to capture this. This will prevent you from scaling the image and distorting it. Instead you’ll be able to pan as you talk about it.

Use suitable charts and diagrams

Present data using charts and diagrams because they display data in a visually compelling way and you’ll avoid overwhelming the audience compared to, for example, presenting a list of statistics. Select data most relevant to the points you’re making and ensure that your charts are necessary.

• Horizontal bar charts should be used for comparing quantities.
• Vertical bar charts are for displaying changes in quantities over a length of time. There should be a maximum of eight bars.
• Pie charts highlight percentages. They should include a maximum of six segments.
• Line charts show trends.
• Tables are useful for side-by-side comparisons of quantitative date but charts are generally better as they are quicker to understand and they clearly emphasise significance.

Use video or audio

Using videos and audio clips are a great wait to engage the audience and increase their interest because they introduce a change of pace and they enhance understanding.

• Ensure that any videos or audio clips used are relevant to the presentation’s content.
• Only play as much of the clip as necessary.
• Never show a really long clip.
• Video and audio can be difficult to fit into the structure of a presentation so ensure that you tell that audience why you’re playing them a clip and tell them what to look for or listen out for.

Avoid using autoplay for videos

With autoplay it can take a moment for a video to start playing which can lead to the speaker clicking in this time. This causes the slideshow to move on to the next slide rather than playing the video. Instead of allowing autoplay ensure that you have to click something for the video to play as this will give you more control.

Research suggests that using colour increases people’s motivation to read and their enthusiasm for a presentation. Colours also evoke emotions and can improve understanding by, for example, highlighting certain themes in specific colours.

Using the colour wheel can help when choosing your presentation’s colours: insert picture of colour wheel

• Colours opposite each other in the wheel are complementary and they create contrast. Using complementary colours makes your text more readable and it allows you to draw the audience’s attention towards desired elements.
• Colours next to each other are analogous and they are harmonious. Using analogous colours makes your presentation more unified.

Avoid using too many colours in your presentation as this can look cluttered and unprofessional and keep your colour themes continuous, for example, if you use the colour blue to highlight all the key words on your second slide continue to do this throughout the presentation. Also be careful with colour associations, for example, in many cultures red is linked to danger. Try to represent your words and topics with “appropriate” colours that make sense.

Many people are blue-green or red-green colour-blind so avoid putting these colours next to each other in, for example, a graph. If you cannot avoid placing these colours next to each other then use text to clearly label items.

There are websites that can help you pick colour schemes, such as,  Adobe Color CC  shown below.

Choose fonts carefully

Use the same clear fonts throughout your slideshow and use no more than two fonts that go well together. Avoid using Serif fonts, such as Time New Roman because: they’re designed to be used in text-heavy documents, they’re easier to read in smaller sizes and they cannot be seen well when projected. San-serif fonts, such as Arial are usually better for presentations.

A popular choice of font is Gill Sans but whatever font your choose make sure it looks professional and can be read from the back of the room.

Avoid using custom fonts that are unlikely to be on all computers because this can be problematic on the day of your presentation.

Use large font sizes

Your font size should be a  minimum of 24pt  so everything can be easily read. Ensure that you keep font sizes consistent throughout the slides or it can look messy.

Create consistent slides

The slides should have the same design, including colour scheme, font size, font type, etc. This makes the presentation flow better and emphasises that each slide is part of same story you’re telling so this consistency will help with understanding and it’s less frustrating for the audience.

However, some speakers like to have one style for the main slides and other styles for transitions between topics, for example, you may switch around the background and text colours for transition slides so it feels like part of the same presentation but it shows the audience that you’re moving on to a new theme or subject.

Sort your slides

Use the  Slide Sorter view  to confirm that your presentation’s structure is effective. Slide Sorter shows you how logical the flow of your presentation is and it’s easy to re-arrange your slides in this view.

Include white space on your slides

Empty space is needed on your slides or it will look too cluttered. Make sure that you have empty space between each element in your slides. Don’t try to fill the white space unnecessarily or you’ll reduce the significance of your points.

Premade templates

Experts do not agree on the use of premade templates but if you do use a premade template, ensure that there is consistency and that it looks professional.

• Presentation templates  which you can download and use

Presentation slides come last

Design your presentation slides after deciding on your message and your supporting evidence. Remember that the slides enhance the experience but the actual speech needs to stand out on its own.

10-20-30 slideshow rule

Guy Kawasaki, an entrepreneur and author, suggests that slideshows should follow a  10-20-30 rule :

• There should be a maximum of 10 slides – people rarely remember more than one concept afterwards so there’s no point overwhelming them with unnecessary information.
• The presentation should last no longer than 20 minutes as this will leave time for questions and discussion.
• The font size should be a minimum of 30pt because the audience reads faster than you talk so less information on the slides means that there is less chance of the audience being distracted.

The above are common preferences rather than absolute suggestions – you have to design your presentation slides in a way that works best for you and the situation.

You must take into account the type of person you are, the characteristics of the audience, your topic, the context of your presentation etc. All of this will affect what you find suitable for your presentation’s design.

11 Creative Presentation Design Ideas with Examples

• Written by: Rishabh Pugalia
• Updated: July 18, 2023

Did I miss any points? Let’s connect on LinkedIn .

Popular Searches:

• Marketing Collateral Design
• What is a Whitepaper?
• Brand Guidelines
• Display Ad Design
• Graphic Design Companies
• Infographic Examples
• Sales Deck Examples

Presentation Design is vital for effective communication. It involves creating visually appealing content that improves your marketing strategy keeping in line with your branding guidelines , graphic design principles, and business goals.

• How does presentation design engage prospects effectively?
• How does strategic presentation design influence decision-making?
• What impact does effective presentation design have on brand perception

In this blog, we’ll explore presentation design examples and discover creative ways to enhance your marketing efforts with the best presentation ideas.

What is a Presentation Design?

Presentation design is the process of visually presenting information in an interesting and easily digestible way to your prospects.

It involves graphic design and using images to make the information more interesting and easy to understand. The goal is to make the presentation look nice and help people understand the message better.

So, what are some presentation design ideas that can be used? Here’s why you should consider using them:

• They showcase your brand: Visual presentation ideas like infographics or videos can strengthen your brand recognition.
• They facilitate easy understanding: Ideas for presenting complex information in digestible formats are valuable. These could be creative ways to present a presentation or neat design ideas on PowerPoint.
• They keep your audiences interested: Fun presentation ideas can grab your audience’s attention.

When designed effectively, presentations can be a effective tool for marketers. It’s all about conveying your message in an impactful way to engage, inform, and persuade your audience.

FURTHER READING

• 50 Banner Ad Design Ideas for B2B Marketers
• 18 Inspiring Brochure Design Ideas to Elevate Your Marketing

11 Examples of Creative Presentation Design Ideas

Knowing when and where to use presentations is crucial for their impact. For important meetings, using marketing presentation ideas can make a lasting impression. For creative brainstorming sessions, a cool presentation design can be more fitting.

Here are a few creative ways to present a presentation to help you stand out from the competition:

Examples of Employee Testimonial Videos

1. double up: slide deck and infographic.

Leverage the layout and content of your presentation design ideas to create a complementary infographic, doubling your content output from one concept. Reuse your presentation’s layout and style to convert it into an infographic, offering two content types from one idea.

2. Minimalist Presentations: Less is More

Use a simple, minimalist presentation design idea to keep your audience focused on the content like this presentation design example from QuickBooks. Few colors and uncomplicated graphics ensure legibility and aesthetic appeal.

3. Be Unique: Break Presentation Stereotypes

Consider a unique and out-of-the-box presentation design idea like a comic book, as Semrush did. Bold, creative choices can make your presentation stand out.

Click here to learn more.

4. Bold or Thin: Mix Font Weights for Impact

Just like this presentation design example from HubSpot, use multiple font weights in your presentation to emphasize key points. Bold fonts on cover slides can highlight the central topic right from the start.

5. Make it Personal: Humanize Presentations

Make your presentation design ideas more engaging and relatable by utilizing images of people, even team members. This adds a human touch and keeps your audience engaged.

6. Structuring Presentations: Stick to Threes

To maintain clarity and focus, use the rule of thirds in your creative group presentation ideas. This could mean three columns, three key ideas, or three icons. Check out slides 2, 7, 8, and 9 in this Uber sales presentation.

7. Color Coding: A Powerful Guide in Presentations

Design ideas on PowerPoint and guide your audience through the presentation using color coding. By allocating a unique color to each point or section, you create a visual cue for topic changes.

8. Design Motif: A Reflection of Your Content

If your topic is interesting, use it as a theme for your design ideas on PowerPoint. A custom design motif in line with your topic can help your audience connect with the material.

9. Repurposing Content: Dual-wield Presentations

Turn an existing ebook or, white paper into an attractive presentation design idea, presenting key ideas in a refreshing, digestible format.

10. Anchor Icons: Draw attention to Text

Prevent your text from floating in the presentation’s white space by anchoring it with relevant icons, like in slides 3 and 4 of this presentation design example. This improves the presentation design’s visual balance and directs the audience’s attention.

11. Creative Risk-Taking: Presentation Layouts

Experiment with unconventional layouts, like Weekdone’s 8-Bit video game presentation design idea. Creative risk-taking can lead to memorable, impactful, and fun presentation ideas.

Presentation Design Best Practices

Here are some best practices for creating effective presentation designs and creative ways to present a presentation:

1. Start with a Plan

Before you dive into designing, outline your content. Understand your audience, define your message, and set your objectives.

2. Keep It Simple

Avoid clutter. A clean, minimalist design often makes the strongest impact. Keep your text concise and let visuals carry the narrative.

3. Consistency Is Key

Maintain a consistent look and feel throughout your presentation. Consistent fonts, colors, and design elements contribute to a professional look.

4. Make It Interactive

Use interactive elements like quizzes, polls, or live Q&A sessions. This keeps your audience engaged and makes your presentation more memorable.

5. Use High-Quality Visuals

Images, infographics, charts, and videos can show complex information easily. Ensure they are high-quality and relevant to your content.

6. Leverage Storytelling

A convincing narrative can make your presentation more attractive. Connect your points in a story-like fashion for a more profound impact.

7. Highlight Key Points

Make important points or statistics stand out using larger fonts, different colors, or animation.

8. Balance Text and Visuals

Too much text can be overwhelming. Balance it with visuals to ensure your message is easily digestible.

9. Use Professional Templates

A well-designed template can provide a strong foundation for your presentation. Sites like SlideModel offer professional PowerPoint templates.

10. Stay On-Brand

Your presentation should reflect your brand’s identity. Use your brand colors, fonts, and include your logo subtly.

11. Consider Accessibility

Design your presentation keeping accessibility in mind. Use high-contrast colors and avoid overly complex graphics.

12. Practice Visual Hierarchy

Arrange elements in a way that guides your audience’s eyes in order of importance. This can be achieved by playing with the size, color, and position of elements.

13. Incorporate Data Visualization

Make use of charts, graphs, and infographics to present data. This helps make complex information more understandable.

14. End with a Clear Call to Action (CTA)

Ensure your audience knows what to do next. Whether it’s visiting your website or scheduling a meeting, make your CTA clear and compelling.

15. Proofread and Test

Always proofread your presentation to avoid typos or mistakes. Also, test your presentation on different devices to ensure it looks good on all platforms.

Get Your Audience Hooked With Killer Presentation Designs

Content Beta ’s experience in creating exciting designs can give you a strong understanding of what works and what doesn’t in presentations.

We’ll pair you up with the best creatives to craft presentations, video ads, product demos, and more, that achieve your business goals and guarantee success. Click here to learn more about our presentation design services.

Great presentation design ideas can be your most effective marketing tool. From interesting slide design to unique visual storytelling techniques, it’s time to redefine your marketing presentations.

Remember, it’s not just about looks; it’s about impact. Make every slide count and turn ideas into compelling visual stories.

Presentation design is the process of planning, implementing, and coordinating every aspect of a presentation. It’s about conveying your message in an impactful, interesting way to your audience.

Presentation design is crucial in B2B marketing because it helps break through the noise, grab attention, and deliver information in a digestible format. A well-designed presentation can reduce the sales cycle, enhance your brand image, and ultimately decrease the customer acquisition cost (CAC).

Fun presentation ideas could include interactive quizzes, storytelling with visuals, using humor appropriately, and incorporating creative group presentation ideas that engage the audience.

PowerPoint slide design ideas can enhance your presentation by making it visually appealing and easy to follow. Effective use of color, fonts, graphics, and layout can make your presentation stand out and better engage your audience.

Creative ways to present a presentation could include the use of memes, infographics, interactive elements like quizzes or polls, or leveraging storytelling techniques.

Visual presentation ideas help your audience understand and remember your message more effectively. They aid in making complex information more digestible and can evoke emotions, leading to a more impactful presentation.

The best presentation ideas often involve clear messaging, engaging visuals, interactive elements, and a strong call to action. They should align with your brand and resonate with your audience.

Design ideas on PowerPoint could include using consistent color schemes and fonts, incorporating images or infographics, using varied slide layouts, and leveraging animations and transitions.

Decoration presentation ideas could involve the creative use of colors, patterns, and textures, using themed templates, or incorporating visually engaging elements like icons, shapes, and diagrams.

+1-(707)-240-8320 [email protected]

484 Virginia Pine TER, Sunnyvale 94086, CA, US

Flinders House, Bear Point, 2 E Parkside, London SE10 0FQ, UK

B702, Bharat Ark, Andheri, Mumbai 400053. IN

Video Portfolio Design Portfolio Case Studies About Us Services Pricing Guides Sign-in FAQ Join our team Partner with us Schedule a call

Privacy Policy Terms of Service Sitemap

Product Demo Video Remote Video Testimonials Social Media Videos Presentation Design Service Creative-as-a-Service Product Launch Content Onboarding Video Explainer Video App Demo Sales Video Video Ad Go-to-Market Bundle Product Marketing Video Video Course Editing Product Training Video Podcast Editing Service Convert Docs to Videos

Podcast with SaaS Leaders The B2B Creative SaaS Academy Directory The Product Marketing Show New Things in Customer Education

Sales Enablement Playbook Go-To-Market Playbook Marketing Trends Mega Swipe File Product Demo Testimonial Video Product Training YouTube Analysis

All rights reserved.

• Entertainment

Best Practices for Creating Effective Presentations

An engaging and effective presentation is essential in conveying ideas, engaging an audience, and achieving your objectives. No matter the setting – a business meeting, academic seminar, or conference presentation – your ability to present your ideas coherently and with impact matters. Below are best practices that can guide you in crafting unparalleled presentations.

Understanding the Purpose of Your Presentation

Before drafting your slides, first stop to contemplate the purpose of your presentation. Is it informational, persuading, or an update regarding progress on a project? Understanding your objective helps you zero in the content and mold it to meet your requirements.

Moreover, being conscious of your aim can guide you to structure your presentation better, ensuring the message flows logically.

An in-depth comprehension of the presentation’s purpose allows you to tune your content in a way that resonates with your audience – a key factor in creating effective presentations.

Engaging a professional  presentation design firm  could assist in aligning your content around your purpose, further enhancing its efficacy.

Techniques for Crafting Clear and Engaging Content

Clear, concise, and engaging content is vital in holding your audience’s attention throughout the presentation. A good practice is to begin with an introduction that outlines what the presentation will cover. This sets expectations and preps your audience for what to anticipate.

Next is to ensure that your content is direct and straightforward. Long-winded sentences can be hard to follow and might lose your audience halfway through.

Avoid filling your slides with excessive text. Instead, let your slides guide your delivery and serve as key message prompts.

Lastly, close with a summary slide and a call-to-action if appropriate. This spells out what step you want your audience to take upon the close of your presentation.

The Role of Visual Elements in Effective Presentations

Visuals play a significant role in effective presentations. They enliven your content, enhance understanding, and improve retention.  Graphs and charts , images, or infographics can all act as potent tools to underscore key aspects of your content.

However, while visuals can enhance your presentation, they should not be cluttered or overly complicated. The key here is to maintain simplicity.

Moreover, visuals should enhance the understanding of the content, not substitute for it. So, ensure that your use of visuals complements your speech, guiding the audience towards the key message.

Lastly, consistent use of colors, fonts, and styles across your visuals not only delivers a professional appearance but also improves the flow of content from one slide to another.

Incorporating Interaction and Feedback Into Your Presentation

Meet Kathy, the mindful mind behind the words at minimalistfocus.com. With an innate ability to distill the essence of life down to its purest form, Kathy's writing resonates with those seeking clarity in a cluttered world.

Related Post

How ceiling lighting design elevates home aesthetics and functionality, structural wooden pins in furniture making, what are cad skills and how to improve, leave a reply cancel reply.

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.

System Status: 

• Faculty Resources
• Instructional Resources
• Instructional Technology Guide
• Instructional Videos
• Best Practices for Video

Research-Based Presentation Design Guidelines

Effective multimedia design is based on what we know about cognitive psychology. If you use visual aids like PowerPoint in your course videos, read the tips below.

This guide leverages relevant cognitive psychology research (discussed in our other article " Multimedia Learning Principles ") to provide specific, evidence-based recommendations for designing and delivering effective presentations. But your PowerPoint deck is only one part of your "educational performance," which, broadly speaking, is a fusion of pictures, text, and spoken words. To maximize learners' engagement, retention, and transfer of the material, all three elements must be strategically deployed.

This guide relies heavily on Richard Mayer's Multimedia Learning and Stephen Kosslyn's Clear and to the Point: 8 Psychological Principles for Compelling PowerPoint Presentations . Both authors apply similar foundations in cognitive psychology to generate best practices for designing effective multimedia learning materials.

We hope this guide will be particularly helpful to instructors creating lecture videos but should prove useful to those delivering synchronous or in-person presentations. 

The Short Version

Use images instead of text when possible., use high-resolution, royalty-free images., use no more than 4 bullets per slide., make objects appear only when mentioned., dim objects after they're discussed., draw attention to salient information., avoid using decorative images., when distributing, add alt text to images..

Based on his experiments investigating the efficacy of multimedia messages, Richard Mayer defines what he calls the Redundancy Principle: "People learn better from graphics and narration than from graphics, narration, and printed text" (118). Duplicative images and onscreen text lead to extraneous cognitive processing by learners both because they have more to look at onscreen and because they'll spend unconscious effort trying to compare what they're hearing and what they're seeing.

So what comes from Mayer appears to be a suggestion to use either an image OR words, but not both (though labels are fine if they're important). But we also know from neurological research that images and words end up getting encoded in different places in the brain, and that encoding imagery uses less cognitive effort than encoding words (Grady et al, 2706). (This is probably an evolutionary phenomenon, given the importance of retaining visual information in one's immediate environment.) So in some ways, research has proved that a picture really can be worth a thousand words.

What this boils down to is if you have an image that can represent your material, use that image exclusively on your slide and remove any text that might accompany it unless it's necessary for your students' understanding. It'll be "stickier" in the students' minds.

The bottom line: If an image can represent your slide content, use it exclusively on your slide without any onscreen text.

When using images, try to find the highest resolution you can. "Resolution" refers to the number of pixels that comprise the image. The more pixels there are, the more quality - and the greater the file size.

You can always shrink an image without reducing its quality, but don't increase its size over 100% or the original. If you do, the quality of the image will visibly decrease as it pixelates, which can either make it more difficult to understand or even unconsciously communicate "low quality" to your viewers!

In addition, when recording videos you should be particularly careful about using copyrighted images in your visual aids. While most course materials aren't public, Fair Use doesn't provide instructors with blanket protection from infringement and it's possible your video could get out. Try to use royalty-free image sites (such as Pixabay) to find an image that could work for you. You could also leverage the surprisingly robust features of your presentation software to design your own images, even by piecing together shapes. (Note that all of the imagery in this article was created using royalty-free images and PowerPoint.)

If it's truly necessary to use a copyrighted image in your slide, you should attempt to contact the publisher to obtain the appropriate permissions. If you find images under a Creative Commons license, be sure to abide by the license and cite appropriately.

The bottom line : Use high-resolution images if possible, and don't enlarge them above 100% of their original size. Use royalty-free imagery, attribute appropriately, or create your own images if needed.

If you've ever suffered from "Death by PowerPoint," you've probably experienced slides crammed full of text: sub-sub-bullets, complete sentences, entire paragraphs, or worse. This is most often the result of instructors using visual presentations as memory aids rather than as instructional tools for learners. We've all heard about the value of taking a student-centered approach to pedagogy; presentation design can embody that methodology.

With respect to determining how much text is appropriate, there are several cognitive psychology principles at work. As we discussed in our Multimedia Learning Principles article, we have two channels for processing a multimedia message. When presented with a large amount of text, the visual channel is oversaturated, and learners' verbal channels struggle to attend effectively to your words as they try to read what's on screen. They also spend cognitive effort comparing the printed and spoken words.

Also in our article on Multimedia Learning Principles, we discussed what occurs during active processing as well as the various types of cognitive load that learners experience. Given that active learning first necessitates the selection of relevant information from an instructional message, providing succinct text will help reduce students' germane load since you're doing some of the selection work for them.

So now that we know why less text is important, is it possible to quantify a recommendation?

A variety of studies have shown that humans can reliably retain 4 concepts in working memory - the so-called "rule of four." The brain can "chunk" information to improve retention, however, so each of these 4 concepts can have up to 4 component pieces of information.

To see the rule of four and chunking principles in effect, check out the video below.

So - we can retain information better when there are four or fewer units, and using recognizable groupings of more than four units helps to improve retention. With all of this in mind, a good rule of thumb is to try to restrict yourself to four or fewer bullets per slide, with four or fewer units of information contained within each bullet.

One way to quantify these "units" of information is to count the number of verbs and nouns (Kosslyn, 77). For example, the phrase "Use four bullets per slide" has 3 units of information: "use," "bullets," and "slide."

Another way to think about this: just use less text in your slides. It may not always be possible, but can be an important goal for which to strive, especially if it helps you break your presentation into more slides. Ultimately, though, remember that your visual aid is intended for your students - not to help you remember what you need to discuss. If possible (or if necessary), use your presentation software's "notes" feature to make sure you don't forget to discuss anything.

Remember what we discussed earlier, though: images tend to be "stickier" than words in long-term memory. If you can find a meaningful image that can replace some or all of the text on your slide, use that instead (using labels as needed, of course).

The bottom line : Try to use four or fewer bullets on a slide, each with four or fewer concepts. Favor images over text whenever appropriate.

Mayer's multimedia messaging experiments led him to what he termed the Temporal Contiguity Principle: "Students learn better when corresponding words and pictures are presented simultaneously rather than successively" (153). Mayer discusses this principle largely in the context of whether to present narration after or during a corresponding animation. While common sense might suggest that encountering the information twice in succession (in two different forms) would lead to better transfer and retention, it was instead when the narration and animation were presented simultaneously.

Now, chances are that you're not planning on narrating over a series of silent animated movies as your presentation - but it's important to remember that presentation software is, in and of itself, a kind of animation tool. Moving to a new slide is essentially a simple animation.

But in the context of the Temporal Contiguity Principle, think about a learner arriving on a slide that already has all of its visual content present at the start. With so much information for your learners to look at, you risk cognitive overload as they read the entire slide - including all the parts that may not yet be relevant or comprehensible - while also trying to process your spoken words.

Building your bullets and images one at a time provides visual cues to your learners about where you are in the presentation and what's relevant to the current moment of knowledge construction. Making clear what specific visual elements are related to what's being discussed maximizes your learners' ability to integrate what they see and what they hear simultaneously.

So, add simple animations to your slides. Leverage build-ins or entrance effects to have objects appear on your slide only when you mention them - bullets, images, graphs, shapes - anything. Stick to subtle effects like fade-ins or even just appearing unless a particular animation offers additional impact to your message.

The bottom line : Make objects appear only when you discuss them.

As we discussed earlier, Mayer's Temporal Contiguity Principle implies that we should make information appear only when mentioned. Well, the converse is true as well: information that's already been discussed should be visually de-emphasized. In reinforcing where exactly you are within the visual information on your slide, you're reducing your learners' cognitive load by encouraging them to focus their efforts on a smaller set of visual information while also maintaining the conceptual connection with the previous information.

In his book providing detailed presentation design guidelines based on a similar set of cognitive psychology principles as Mayer, Stephen Kosslyn identifies seven high-level principles, one of which is the Principle of Salience: "Attention is drawn to large perceptible differences" (7). Given that our brains are wired to notice strong differences in contrast (such as this bold text ), de-emphasizing past information provides a cue to learners that you're moving on to other visual information on the slide and helps direct their attention appropriately.

You can de-emphasize objects onscreen by adding an "emphasis" (PowerPoint) or "action" (Keynote) animation to a bullet, such as reducing the opacity of the object to 25% (or increasing its transparency to 75%). Add the animation at the same time a new object appears.

The bottom line : Visually de-emphasize items that have already been discussed.

The Signaling Principle indicates that "People learn better when cues that highlight the organization of the essential material are added" (Mayer, 108). These cues, Mayer writes, "are intended to guide learners' attention to essential material and to guide learners' organization of the essential material into a coherent structure" (117). Leveraging what we discussed in our article about multimedia learning , signaling can reduce extraneous load, foster germane load, and assist with the selection and organization of materials that must occur during active learning.

While these cues can be verbal (such as explicitly stating where you are in your presentation based on an outline you presented at the start) the visual cues within your presentation play an extremely strong role in facilitating your students' understanding. For example, if you present a complex graph, do something either when designing your presentation (e.g. add arrows, labels, zoom in, etc.) or during your presentation (e.g. use your mouse as a pointer) to draw your learners' attention to the most important or relevant pieces of information.

While making objects appear and dim at the appropriate times highlights salient information as well, for more complex images it's important to draw learners' attention to the most relevant parts. As is often the case in effective presentation design, this helps reduce learners' extraneous load when presented with a surfeit of visual information.

The bottom line : design your slides with arrows, circles, or other visual cues that draw viewers' attention to particularly important details. Failing that, leverage pointers or other indicators during your recording.

Richard Mayer identifies three main categories of images that are helpful to learners: representational images, which portray an individual object; organizational images, which illustrate relationships between objects (or between parts of an object); and explanative images, which illustrate how a system works (236).

Decorative images, on the other hand, are "illustrations that are intended to interest the reader but that do not enhance the message of the passage" (Mayer, 236). They distract students from learning goals, add to their extraneous load, and squander their limited cognitive resources.

Now, on the surface, it may seem like adding some decorative imagery to your more text-heavy slides might be a good thing, to give them some visual interest and foster a little more engagement with your presentation. As Mayer points out, this is arousal theory: "the idea that students learn better when they are emotionally aroused by the material" (93). Unfortunately, decorative images end up becoming "seductive illustrations": images added solely to add some visual interest. Unfortunately research has confirmed that these details are retained better than the presentation's central points (Mayer, 97).

So, if an image - indeed, if any content - doesn't directly support the completion of your students' learning objectives, don't include it. While we do recommend using images instead of text when possible as well as using less text overall, don't include imagery for imagery's sake.

Remember - an effective multimedia message should be designed to create the conditions for maximal learning. Some of your slides may end up being less visually interesting, but especially when paired with our other tips, you'll be helping your learners spend their cognitive resources more effectively.

The bottom line : Don't add images that don't directly support your students' learning.

Given how deleterious decorative imagery can be to our cognitive resources, all the images you've included in your presentation should support your students' learning. If there are students who can't perceive that visual content, however, their learning is compromised compared to their classmates.

If you intend to distribute your presentation file digitally (for example, uploading it to your LMS for students to download), you should ensure that all the images included in the presentation have what's called "alt text": text-based metadata embedded into the image that displays onscreen when the image fails to load and that describes it for screen reader software. These image descriptions are essential in ensuring that your materials are accessible to learners with visual disabilities.

Adding alt text within many applications is often just a matter of right-clicking an image, clicking the appropriate menu option, and typing in a description. A good alt tag should be specific and concise. And while it should communicate the relevant part(s) of the image, it shouldn't require the learner to listen to a lengthy description.

The bottom line : Add alt tags to all images in presentations you intend to distribute digitally.

PowerPoint shouldn't be vilified or glorified. Presentation software is just a tool, and it could be used effectively or poorly to communicate a message. Kosslyn sums it up well in his book Clear and to the Point : "PowerPoint presentations can help people understand by making both memory and processing easier for them" (12).

It is true that presentations designed this way require more effort to produce. If you're struggling to devote the time needed in pre-production to make your slides more pedagogically effective, some low-hanging fruit you can bite off (so to speak) is to use tools during your presentation to draw your students' attention, such as turning your mouse cursor into a laser pointer. Let Kosslyn's principles of Salience and Discriminability remind you that "attention is drawn to large perceptible differences," and those differences "must differ by a large enough proportion or they will not be distinguished" (7-8).

It's important to note that if you abide by these research-based best practices, it's likely that your presentation won't work as effectively as a standalone artifact. It's not meant to. Your slide deck is part of a larger presentation that includes pictures, text, and spoken words, all employed strategically to maximize learning. If it's important that your presentation be legible on its own, consider developing an alternate version.

Fiorella, L., Stull, A. T., Kuhlmann, S., & Mayer, R. E. (2019). Instructor presence in video lectures: The role of dynamic drawings, eye contact, and instructor visibility. Journal of Educational Psychology , 111(7), 1162–1171. https://doi.org/10.1037/edu0000325

Grady, C. L., McIntosh, A. R., Rajah, M. N., & Craik, F. I. M. (1998). Neural correlates of the episodic encoding of pictures and words. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci . USA, 95, 2703–2708.

Kosslyn, S. (2007). Clear and to the point: 8 psychological principles for compelling PowerPoint presentations . New York: Oxford University Press.

Mayer, R. E. (2009). Multimedia learning (2nd ed.). Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press.

Interested in consulting with a member of the Multimedia Services team? Contact us at [email protected] .

Jump to main content

Explore the latest news from the university of Northern Colorado.

From Concept to Career: Exploring the Intersection of Theory, Practice and Purpose in Graphic Design Seniors

• Arts-and-Culture

Graphic Design seniors shine in exhibition as they prepare for their upcoming portfolio presentations and life after college

April 25, 2024 | By Madeline Smith

The UNC Arts Graphic Design Senior Show runs through May 2 at the Campus Commons Gallery.

While many seniors at the University of Northern Colorado (UNC) hustle to finish final papers, study for exams and gear up for graduation, Graphic Design students enrolled in the Senior Exhibition Project course are diligently preparing to exhibit their best work for public viewing at the Campus Commons Gallery. Their pieces, as well as their portfolios, will be critiqued by a panel of industry professionals, all before the pressure of finals week.  

UNC’s College of Performing and Visual Arts Graphic Design program is quietly revolutionizing the way future designers prepare for their careers. Students are not just assembling a collection of works but are also laying the foundation for their future career success. Kalyana Gallagher is one such student who is not only utilizing this course to advance her knowledge of the graphic design field but also to launch her magazine project, PURlll. Magazine . This magazine combines design, storytelling and collaboration with a few other students.  

Alyssa Leven, Gallagher's co-collaborator on Purlll. speaking to a group viewing the exhibition.

It’s important to students like Gallagher that their art is not only for consumption, but also has a meaningful influence. PURlll.’s official launch will include a website and the first two issues of the magazine. They’ve pledged to donate 20% of all profits from PURlll. Magazine to True Colors United — a nonprofit organization focused on innovative solutions for homelessness in LGBTQ+ and BIPOC youth across the country.  “I want to impact others with my work and use my platform and my voice as an artist to reach others and amplify other people's stories,” Gallagher said.   

“So, especially with PURlll. , a big part of that is telling other people's stories and giving them an opportunity to connect and collaborate with me in a way I wouldn't normally be able to.”   

One of Gallagher’s collaborators is fellow classmate Trevor Erpelding, who is assisting with rendering the PURlll. logo, creating all 3D components and developing product mockups. Simultaneously, Erpelding manages his own virtual reality exhibition, showcasing his multidisciplinary talents. Notably, Erpelding is proficient in Blender, a versatile and powerful open-source program for creating 3D digital assets and virtual environments. Through self-directed learning, Erpelding has combined Blender's capabilities with his artistic knowledge to seamlessly integrate his 3D modeling skills into his virtual reality exhibition titled , “DIMENSIONAL REVERIE.” He aims to craft an immersive experience that captivates audiences and enhances the overall impact of the exhibition.  

Designing a Course   

From the conception of this course to the eventual exhibition of student work, the Graphic Design instructors are fervently dedicated to crafting an educational experience that prepares their students for career success whatever that looks like for them — from agency work, freelancing, web and interactive media, merchandising, packaging and everything in between. Samuel Dong-Saul, MFA , one of the instructors of the Senior Project course, believes in instilling in students the importance of showcasing their work with integrity.    

"The portfolio is your resume," Dong-Saul said, stressing the importance of teaching practical skills in addition to the theoretical.  

“The objective for this class is to help them prepare for the career environment and help them build targeted portfolios where students curate their design and artistic work to their field of choice [while] learning what it takes to do a formal, artistic exhibition by making a proposal, making sure that everything is explained conceptually, translates physically.”   

External critiques offer students real-world, industry perspectives, giving them invaluable insights beyond the classroom. For Dong-Saul and his co-instructor who teaches part of this course, Director of Galleries at UNC, Belle-Pilar Fleming , the focus remains on exposing students to numerous opportunities for tangible projects and exhibitions during their time in the classroom. Fleming sees these experiences as a reflection of students' growth and expertise. With each project and exhibition, students not only showcase their abilities but also gain a deeper understanding of their artistic journey.   

“For the exhibition portion of the course, having those fully realized projects builds a lot of confidence [in students], and sometimes these big culminating events can allow students time to reflect and think about how much they’ve learned and the skills they’ve acquired.”   

From the quality of their work to their industry acumen, every aspect of their portfolio presentations will be carefully examined. As students brace themselves for critique and evaluation from professionals in the graphic design world, they know they'll be judged not just on their technical prowess but also on their ability to respond to feedback, an important life skill. It's a testament to the class's commitment to bridging the gap between academic learning and practical application.   

Refining Their Artistic Voice   

The course structure is holistically designed to equip students with the skills to navigate the challenges of the design world and to refine their artistic voice. This is the first year that the director of galleries is also serving as an instructor of this course which has spurred a collaboration between the Graphic Design program and UNC Galleries. This has resulted in a unique way for students to experience the nuanced and varied world of art and design. From visiting artist exhibitions to professional preparation courses, every component is geared toward equipping students with the tools they need to thrive.   

Through constructive criticism and guided portfolio building, they find themselves well-prepared for the professional world and hopeful about their freelance design aspirations. Networking and proactive engagement have been not just buzzwords, but essential components of their educational journey. 

For students like Sasha Krause, a Graphic Design major who is also earning a certificate in Arts Entrepreneurship, the class is a chance to put their passion projects within a more professional setting. Each student in the Graphic Design program is required to complete an internship before graduation, which is not merely a box to check, but a way for students to bridge the gap between theory and practice. Krause’s internship with BandWagon Magazine , a prominent publication that reports on live music, arts, entertainment, nightlife and community in northern Colorado, sparked their interest in merchandise design.   

Design by Sasha Krause

As Krause navigates the transition from academia to the professional arena, they emphasize the significance of proactive engagement and stepping out of one's comfort zone. Networking isn't confined to formal events or job fairs. It's about embracing every opportunity to connect with peers, mentors and industry professionals. Krause’s vision of building a freelance career and a small business underscores the importance of nurturing industry connections. They are growing a graphic design and illustration business called Rayne's Things (inquiries can be sent to [email protected] or @raynesthings on Instagram ), which means stepping out of their comfort zone, taking risks and being unafraid to make connections.  

“I would like to continue working freelance and building a small business,” said Krause. “With any degree or program, as you do in life, it’s what you put into it. It’s really important to push yourself into feeling uncomfortable, not too uncomfortable, obviously take care of yourself, but it's so important to push yourself to talk to that person in your class, talk to your professor, make connections.”   

Their senior project focuses on building apparel and other promotional materials for MUNA, a pop band that focuses on queer liberation, for the exhibition. Through constructive criticism and guided portfolio building, they find themselves well-prepared for the professional world and hopeful about their freelance design aspirations. Networking and proactive engagement have been not just buzzwords, but essential components of their educational journey.  

Developing a Thick Skin   

From virtual reality to packaging designs to interactive websites, each showcase will underscore students' individual strengths and career objectives. Alongside the presentations, the seniors craft exhibition proposals, delving into in-depth explorations of design concepts or enhancing existing projects. This exhibition serves as a testament to the students' readiness to enter the graphic design field with creativity, professionalism and innovation.   

Throughout the semester, students practice both receiving and giving feedback, preparing them for the panel of judges who will critique their upcoming portfolio presentations and provide feedback based on the areas of professional practice they are pursuing. This professionalism exercise enables students to demonstrate their command of design principles and their ability to adapt to feedback, something their career path demands. As Krause puts it, the program has prepared them for this moment.   

“Once you get to senior year, it's like, ‘all right, we hope that your skin is thick and you're ready for this’ because it's a lot of reviewing projects and tweaking things where they need to be tweaked, so you just have to be open-minded. In this course specifically, there's a lot of creative freedom and there are higher stakes because it is going to be in a gallery and on display,” said Krause.  

Design by Raquel Eduardo Nuñez.

Design by Kristin Keiter.

Design by Chelsea Ojeda-Soto.

Design by Mercedes Schultz.

Design by Kayla Sigmon.

Design by Morgan Carlisle.

Design by Tally B.

As the semester progresses and students inch closer to the exhibition, their work will no longer be confined to the classroom, but it will be on display, offering the public a glimpse into the talent and dedication cultivated throughout their academic journey. It's not just about grades or credits, it's about nurturing the next generation of designers. With each project, exhibition and feedback session, students emerge not only as graduates but as confident, skilled professionals and artists ready to leave their mark on the world of design.   

UNC is deeply committed to meeting students’ financial needs. In 2022-23, 87% of all UNC undergraduate students received some type of grant or scholarship aid that does not need to be repaid.   

Sasha Krause received the following donor-funded scholarships and UNC institutional scholarships or other federal, state or grant aid.  

UNC donor-funded scholarships:  

• Reisher Family Scholarship 
• Robert and Marilyn Clark Scholarship 
• Glen D. Beebe Scholarship 
• Genevieve and William Harrington Scholarship  

  Other institutional grants or aid:    

• Colorado student Grant  
• Provost Scholarship  
• Work study  

More Stories

Research on Culturally Appropriate Music Plays Out In Middle School Band Class

Este artículo no está en español..

Acclaimed Artist and Performer Represents Spirit of the Times in Race-Related Dissertation

Inspiring Inclusivity in Music Through Achieving Milestones and Pushing Boundaries

Consiguiendo importantes logros y eliminando barreras para inspirar a la inclusión a través de la música.

PHOTOS: Lunar New Year

Follow unc social.

Contact UNC

Social media.

• UNC Overview
• Awards & Accolades
• Organizational Chart
• Strategic Plan
• Accreditation
• Student Consumer Information
• Sustainability
• UNC Newsroom
• Events Calendar
• UNC Magazine
• Submit News
• Submit an Event
• Marketing and Communications
• University Advancement

Page Last Updated: Today | Contact for this Page: Deanna Herbert

Privacy Policy | Affirmative Action/Equal Employment Opportunity/Title IX Policy & Coordinator

More From Forbes

Elevating conversions: the covert impact of ai in corporate gifting.

• Share to Facebook
• Share to Twitter
• Share to Linkedin

Archer Chiang, Founder/CEO at Giftpack .

Despite the surge of AI applications across the technology spectrum, there is limited awareness of its impact on enhancing the corporate gifting experience. As the landscape of corporate gifting evolves, I have seen through my own company how AI is reshaping the way in which businesses express appreciation. This increasing role involves AI's capacity to personalize gifts at an individual level, enhance visual presentations, generate innovative packaging designs and efficiently handle troubleshooting aspects. By underscoring AI's expanding role, I believe businesses can harness its capabilities to not only streamline processes but also elevate the overall corporate gifting journey, helping to create a more tailored, efficient and impactful experience for both givers and recipients.

Applications Of AI Tools In Gifting

• gift personalization.

By analyzing individual preferences, AI can go beyond surface-level customization. This granular tailoring, whether it's the selection of colors, styles or interests, can help a business create a curated experience that resonates more deeply with recipients.

Picture a super-customized experience where everything is crafted just for you. This idea, known as hyper-personalization , is being applied actively throughout real-world supply chains across the corporate gifting industry. Think of it like having a personal chef who knows everything about you. When whipping up your meals, the chef considers external factors like weather, season or special occasions, and starts preparing and cooking at the perfect time so your meal is ready when you’re ready. Such a blend of extreme personalization and smart AI processes could take the gifting industry to a whole new level, linking personalization with the practical side of the supply chain.

Microsoft Warns Windows Users Of Ongoing Russian Hack Attack

New apple id password reset issue hitting iphone ipad and macbook users, new ios 18 ai security move changes the game for all iphone users, • enhanced presentation for buyers and recipients.

Enhanced gifting presentation involves using AI to elevate the aesthetic allure of a company's gift options, transforming the presentation both physically and in the gift marketplace. Despite its seemingly subtle nature, the importance of presentation is underscored by a survey conducted by Etsy, revealing that 90% of consumers consider the quality of product photos extremely important in their purchase decisions.

Additionally, generative AI can be used to produce detailed item descriptions. Given that keyword searching remains a predominant method in online research, crafting a well-written gift description can help the right audience more easily discover the perfect gift through effective online searches, and help ensure that the appearance of that gift fits their expectations.

• Innovative Packaging Design

AI's ability to explore and analyze vast design possibilities can be used to generate innovative and creative packaging concepts. Predictive algorithms can also help guide businesses in selecting sustainable materials for both gifts and packaging, which can help them align with growing consumer expectations and corporate sustainability initiatives. This dual aspect of AI in packaging can add value both visually and environmentally.

• Streamlining Customer Experience

According to Zowie, 80% of customers who interact with an AI chatbot have a positive experience. I have found that AI can particularly improve experiences in troubleshooting scenarios, especially when it comes to delivery and quality control. By leveraging AI to identify, assess and rectify delivery issues in real time, disruptions and late deliveries can be reduced. And, once gifts are received and rated, AI can be used to look for patterns in recipient feedback to make sure the quality of gifts is where it should be.

Best Practices For Incorporating AI Gifting Tools

Similar to adapting any tools, it's important to approach this process with thorough planning. Based on my own experiences in the industry, here is a checklist to help you find the perfect AI gifting tool, emphasizing the importance of detailed preparation.

• Service Coverage

Thoroughly explore the potential AI system's website, read reviews from other users, and request a demo to assess if their service meets all your requirements for gifting occasions. The challenge here is that it's easy to be led to believe one gifting platform can do it all. But the truth is that each gifting service has its own strengths and weaknesses. For instance, while some excel in global delivery, others may be better suited for supporting environmental, social and governance (ESG) efforts. Therefore, taking some time initially to evaluate is definitely worthwhile.

• Customer Service

Ensure that there is a responsive, professional team available, preferably 24/7. In corporate gifting, I have found prompt customer service to be vital due to inevitable logistical and quality issues. Timely resolution is especially important for time-sensitive gift deliveries.

• API Integration

Evaluate the user-friendliness of the AI gifting tool by examining its automation capabilities. Ensure that it is capable of seamless integration with your CRM and communication software to avoid spending excessive time learning a new tool. Most corporate gifting services should be compatible with major CRMs and HRIS platforms; if not, you may want to reconsider their suitability.

• Scalable Personalization

Though personalization has been a norm in building strong relationships , it's typically not an easy task, especially if you are thinking about scaling. At the least, you should collect a good amount of data on the recipient to create a meaningful personalized experience. Ensure that the gifting service you choose provides both personalized experiences and scalability. I recommend inquiring about their maximum output per gifting event to prevent potential limitations as your needs evolve. Discovering scalability constraints later on can be regrettable.

In addition to these points, there are a couple of other tools to keep in mind that I believe can further enhance your gifting process:

• Augmented Reality (AR) Integration: I expect the incorporation of AR into the corporate gifting sphere to become prevalent. Think about incorporating AR technology to allow your recipients to virtually interact with potential gifts, so they can really get to know the product and avoid any instances of buyer's remorse.

• Predictive Analytics: Consider harnessing AI's analytical capabilities to analyze market trends, consumer behavior and cultural shifts. Businesses can gain valuable insights into upcoming gifting trends, as the guidance from AI can help you select gifts that align with the current cultural landscape, ensuring your gifts are both exciting and desirable to recipients.

Beyond mere automation, AI's capacity for personalization, enhanced presentation, innovative packaging and streamlined customer experiences can positively impact how your business approaches gifting practices. As AI evolves within the corporate realm, embracing its capabilities has the potential to reshape the landscape of corporate gifting to create a more customized, streamlined and impactful experience for all parties involved.

Forbes Business Council is the foremost growth and networking organization for business owners and leaders. Do I qualify?

• Editorial Standards
• Reprints & Permissions

Network Security Architecture: Best Practices & Tools

eSecurity Planet content and product recommendations are editorially independent. We may make money when you click on links to our partners. Learn More .

Network security architecture is a strategy that provides formal processes to design robust and secure networks. Effective implementation improves data throughput, system reliability, and overall security for any organization. This article explores network security architecture components, goals, best practices, frameworks, implementation, and benefits as well as where you can learn more about network security architecture.

Featured Partners: Network Access Control (NAC) Software

Table of Contents

Components of Network Security Architecture

The fundamental components of network security architecture consist of the core network elements, the security elements to protect them, and related security elements.

Network Elements

Networks connect physical and virtual assets and control the data flow between them. The basic elements of a fundamental network include:

• Network equipment: Controls data flow between devices and commonly includes physical and virtual switches, wired or wireless routers, modems, and hubs.
• Server: Provides powerful computing and storage in local, cloud, and data center networks to run services (Active Directory, DNS, email, databases, apps).
• Endpoint: Enables access for human users and computer services and commonly includes PCs, laptops, Internet of Things (IoT), and operational technology (OT).
• Storage: Contains user and application data at rest; can be integrated with other elements (server, etc.) or segregated as cloud or network attached storage (NAS).
• Cloud infrastructure: Consists of the virtualized versions of network components that reside in as-a-service environments (software, platform, infrastructure).
• User, service, and application: Connects to the network via endpoints and then connects through network connections to other network assets and data.

Security Elements

Security elements protect each element within the network, network access, and the data transmissions. Security elements include defenses against unauthorized entry (perimeter defense and access control), techniques to misdirect attackers (obfuscation defense), and specialized controls for specific assets (services, clouds, applications, virtual assets, endpoints, and networks).

Perimeter Defense

Perimeter defense blocks threats at the network’s edge. Traditionally, this technology implicitly distrusts external traffic and implicitly trusts internal traffic. Zero trust technology also acts as a perimeter defense, but it applies for each asset separately without any implicit trust for any traffic or connection. Perimeter security tools include:

• Firewalls: Filter traffic and monitor access based upon firewall rules and policies for the network, network segment, or assets protected by different types of firewalls .
• Next-generation firewalls (NGFWs): Improve the general security of a firewall with advanced packet analysis capabilities to block malware and known-malicious sites.
• Firewall-as-a-service (FWaaS): Deploys cloud-hosted and scalable protection enterprise-wide for all resources (networks, branch offices, remote users, etc.).
• Network security policy management (NSPM): Centralizes control and management of policies to be enforced across network firewalls, routers, and other equipment.
• Unified threat management (UTM): Consolidates multiple perimeter and application security functions into an appliance suitable for small and mid-sized enterprises (SME).

Access Control

Access controls add additional authentication and authorization controls to verify users, systems, and applications to define their access. These controls include:

• Active Directory (AD): Manages users, groups, and passwords as a fundamental access control for an organization and the basis for most other security tools.
• Identity access management (IAM): Simplifies, centralizes, and expands abilities to manage AD and other lightweight directory access protocol (LDAP) tools.
• Multi-factor authentication (MFA): Uses at least two (2FA) or more methods to authenticate a user, such as biometrics, device certificates, or authenticator apps.
• Network access control (NAC): Inspects and can quarantine devices prior to permitting access to the network for signs of compromise, missing patches, and other issues.
• Privilege access management (PAM): Provides a specialized form of IAM that controls access to privileged resources such as administrator credentials and sensitive systems.
• Virtual private networks (VPNs): Secure remote user or branch office access to network resources through encrypted connections to firewalls or server applications.
• Virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI): Replaces VPN or remote desktop access with virtual desktops in fully controlled environments with additional protections.
• Zero trust network access (ZTNA): Enables more granular levels of access to network assets based on users, locations, time of access, and asset requested.

Deception & Obfuscation Defenses

Deception and obfuscation techniques hide network assets from discovery, block exploration, or use decoys to trigger alerts. These techniques can use built-in software features (for firewalls, operating systems, etc.) or specialized tools to deliver obfuscation defenses such as:

• Honeypots: Provide tempting targets for attackers that contain no valid information as one of several similar deception technologies to trigger alerts for early attack detection.
• Port knocking : Closes ports for communication (including detection) until provided with a code using multiple specific packets or a special single-packet authorization (SPA).
• Proxies: Replace direct communication with a software or hardware intermediary that hides the discovery of assets (servers, endpoints, segments, etc.) behind the proxy.

Services Security

Services security applies to specialized controls for the system services within the network. Examples of services security include:

• AD security : Adds layers of security to Active Directory to eliminate unneeded access or permission levels, detect unauthorized changes, and block other attacks on AD.
• Communication protocols (TCP, HTTPS, etc.): Apply encryption protocols and other security measures to connections between computers.
• Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) snooping: Tracks IP addresses assigned to resources to detect untrusted devices and IP address spoofing.
• Domain name system (DNS) security: Protects the DNS service from attempts to corrupt DNS information used to access websites or to intercept DNS requests.

Cloud Security

Cloud security provides focused security tools and techniques to protect cloud resources. While many network security tools can be deployed in virtualized cloud environments, specialized tools provide tailored security functions such as:

• Cloud access security broker (CASB): Replaces direct logins to cloud-hosted resources with a single, protected CASB access to mitigate leaked credential threats.
• Cloud firewalls: Implement cloud-based firewalls to protect the cloud-based networks in infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS) or platform-as-a-service (PaaS) environments.
• Cloud infrastructure entitlement management (CIEM): Manages compliance, risk, and security with controlled user, system, and app cloud resource access.
• Cloud native application protection (CNAP) platforms: Secure applications and cloud resources with cloud-native and integrated security.
• Cloud security posture management (CSPM): Finds gaps and misconfigurations, secures access, and enforces compliance policies in deployed cloud environments.
• Cloud workload protection platforms (CWPPs): Monitor and secure applications, app components (databases, etc.), and app infrastructure (containers, etc.) in the cloud.
• Secure access service edge (SASE): Combines software-defined wide area network (SD-WAN) network controls with security controls for local, remote, and cloud assets.
• Secure service edge (SSE): Applies security controls to local, remote, and cloud assets to extend robust security protection and monitoring beyond the local network.

Application Security

Application security focuses on protecting the applications within local, data center, and cloud-based networks. These tools include:

• Application programming interface (API) security: Secures the connections between applications by inspecting API connection requests and communication.
• Database firewall: Inspects traffic to databases, blocks unauthorized access, and provides specialized defenses against database attacks.
• Database security : Applies a variety of security controls specialized to protect database access, data integrity, and specialized database attacks.
• Email security : Detects viruses or attacks hidden in emails and attachments, blocks SPAM, or authenticates emails that originate from an organization.
• Secure email gateway (SEG): Deploys as a physical or virtual appliance with specialized inspection and security features for emails and attachments.
• Secure web gateways (SWGs): Provide consolidated protection for networks and users to access emails, connect to SaaS or cloud resources, or browse websites.
• Web application firewall (WAF): Provides application-layer protection for websites and apps to block specialized attacks and unauthorized access.

Virtualized Security

Virtualized security tools protect virtual environments or create virtualized environments to protect physical assets. Examples include:

• Browser isolation: Creates virtualized containers on an endpoint to isolate the browser contents, including potential malware attacks, from the physical endpoint environment.
• Container firewalls: Deploy with code to protect on-demand access and monitor communication to containers and their contents.
• Container security : Protects containers from attack using a variety of threat detection, vulnerability scanning, traffic monitoring, and incident response capabilities.
• Sandboxing : Generates a virtual desktop environment with enhanced security to launch suspicious files to test for malware or to observe malware behavior.
• SD-WAN: Uses software to create virtual networks, network segments, and even microsegmentation independent of the physical networks and locations.
• Virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI): Provides virtual desktop infrastructure or VDI-as-a-service (VDaaS) for fully isolated and controlled remote user access.

Endpoint Security

Endpoint security protects the physical and virtual endpoints connected to the network. The security controls include:

• Antivirus (AV): Scans for malware based on a database of known-malicious file signatures to provide basic defense against common attacks.
• Device management: Maintains minimum levels of security and controls apps on remote devices through enterprise mobility management (EMM) and similar solutions.
• Endpoint detection and response (EDR): Provides more advanced security than AV with more intelligent analysis of endpoint activity and automated remediation.
• Endpoint protection platform (EPP): Enhances AV protection with verified indicators of compromise, memory monitoring, and other malware detection techniques.
• Host-based firewalls : Provide virtualized firewall protection on a specific device such as a router or within the operating system of an endpoint computer or server.
• Internet of Things (IoT) security: Encompasses a variety of tools and techniques to secure IoT, operations technology (OT), and other similar categories of endpoints.

Network Security

Network security tools monitor and secure the connections between assets on the network and protect against specific network attacks. These include:

• Distributed denial of service (DDoS) protection: Detects and controls DDoS attacks on networks designed to overload systems and deny access to resources.
• Intrusion detection systems (IDS): Inspect network packets for malicious activity and indicators of compromise to generate alerts for security teams.
• Intrusion protection systems (IPS/IDPS): Add automated packet block or quarantine to IDS for more proactive defense for network traffic.
• Network packet broker (NPB): Delivers automated packet monitoring to filter and distribute packets to improve load balancing, efficiency, and analysis.
• Network monitoring : Expands IDPS to connected devices to track behavior, traffic loads, and component health for operations issues as well as malicious activities.
• Segmentation or microsegmentation : Segregates networks to apply different permissions and access rules or to block attempts for lateral network exploration.

Related Security Elements

Related security elements don’t apply specifically to networks, but networks benefit from the application of these controls such as:

• Data loss protection (DLP): Detects potential exfiltration of sensitive data (regulated, personal, or corporate secrets) to generate alerts or proactively block attempts.
• Data protection: Protects against breach or theft using encryption tools , tokenization, or data masking techniques to render exposed data unreadable to outsiders.
• Disaster recovery : Implements redundancy and data backups to improve resilience from inevitable device failures, cybersecurity attacks, or natural disasters.
• IT security policies : Establish benchmarks, goals, and standards that can be used for measuring successful implementation of security controls.
• Governance, risk, and compliance (GRC) management: Aligns security goals with business goals and regulatory requirements that apply to the data or the organization.
• Monitoring and incident response : Detect and respond to attacks, device failure, and other incident categories to reduce negative impacts and accelerate recovery.
• Patch and vulnerability management : Apply maintenance principles to assets to prevent compromised security controls or inadvertent gaps in network security.
• Penetration testing : Tests security controls to verify correct implementation, detect vulnerabilities, and confirm adequate security controls for risk reduction goals.
• Threat intelligence feeds : Monitors vendor announcements and attacker behavior to update security tools or to inform security teams of the latest threats, targets, and trends.
• Cybersecurity training : Educates employees regarding basic best practices to recognize attacks, avoid scams, and protect against breaches or data loss.

The 6 Goals of Network Security Architecture

Network security architecture matches security elements to network elements in a rigorous and intentional manner based on the six key goals or principles focused on risk, data confidentiality, data integrity, data availability, effective controls, and measurable efforts.

Accept Reasonable & Appropriate Risk

The goal to accept reasonable and appropriate risk acknowledges that perfect security isn’t possible. Instead, invest reasonable budgets to implement security controls that reduce risk to acceptable levels based upon risk analysis and tolerance.

Enforce Data Confidentiality

The goal of data confidentiality protects data against unauthorized or inappropriate access. Limit access, secure transmissions, and protect data storage so that appropriate users can access the correct data only when needed.

Ensure Data Integrity

Data integrity focuses on maintaining unaltered data and only allowing intentional changes. To verify integrity, consistently check for unauthorized changes, including data corruption.

Maintain Data Availability

Data availability requires that data remains accessible when needed. This goal requires effective disaster recovery plans to recover corrupted data as well as scalability and redundancy of systems for continuous availability during high demand.

Implement Effective Controls

Effective controls require security measures that work as intended, consistently over time. Implement usable security controls that prevent bypass, circumvention, or tampering without compromising other network security architecture goals.

Apply Measurable Efforts

The goal of measurable efforts requires testable and verifiable security controls. To satisfy this control, conduct penetration tests to verify that established controls function as intended and to issue security status reports for compliance and stakeholder reporting purposes.

8 Best Practices for Secure Network Architecture

Network security architecture goals define what to do, but best practices offer guidance on how to implement those goals effectively. Best practices address one or more goals and will reinforce other best practices, starting with iterative planning. Others seek centralized control, employee training, defense in depth, efficient design, least privilege access, resilience, and testing.

Iterative Planning

Iterative planning addresses the goal to accept reasonable and appropriate risk. Tie plans to business objectives and risk to create verifiable key objectives and milestones. Future incidents and testing results inform future iterations for adjustments or additions to existing plans.

Centralized Control

Centralized control promotes data integrity and effective control goals through consistent security measures. Centralization to a small number of experts eliminates ad hoc and inconsistent security that introduces risk.

Cybersecurity Training

Cybersecurity training ensures effective controls throughout the organization. General employee training creates a security-oriented organization aware of key threats and trends. Specific training on security tools reduces barriers to adoption and improves their effectiveness.

Defense in Depth

Defense in depth assumes that any single security control may fail. Additional security layers implement effective controls and assure data confidentiality by adding additional insurance against breaches, zero day vulnerabilities, or tool failure.

Economic Design

Economic design improves the effectiveness of controls. Components of economic design include virtualization to maximize asset utilization, simplifying into easy-to-test components, and attack surface minimization.

Least Privilege Access

Least privilege access enforces data confidentiality through specified levels of access from non-privileged (public, DMZ) to most privileged (top secret). Least privilege should default to denial of access and functions should separate from the objects they act upon for granular access control. Similarly, resources should be segregated by security, with security controls applied between trust levels.

Resilience, also known as disaster recovery planning, maintains data availability. Data backups and recovery processes are cited as key components of resilience, but resilience also requires redundancy of operations and security devices in case of failure.

Tests deliver measurable efforts through vulnerability scans, log analysis, or monitoring. The detection of corrupted data, device failure, or indicators of compromise will trigger incident response mechanisms to limit damage, recover the network, and provide information needed for iterative planning.

How to Create a Strong Network Security Architecture

Strong network security architecture applies security tools effectively to meet the needs of an organization in an iterative process of regular inspection and improvement. Start with the existing state of the organization for each best practice, determine the target state to be achieved, and prioritize improvements based on risk.

The best practices cover a range of basic and advanced options to satisfy evolving needs. The specific ‘best’ solution will vary because it’s fully dependent upon the specific network architecture in place, available resources, and appetite for risk.

Basic to Advanced Iterative Planning

Effective iterative planning balances operations goals, business risk, and security objectives in a written plan. Testing verifies objectives and incidents provide feedback for adjustments.

Basic iterative planning focuses on documenting existing controls and creating fundamental IT policies to document goals and objectives. Start with a risk register and draft a patch management or vulnerability management policy and build out from there.

Initial iterations for improvement can start annually, but quarterly or more frequently tends to be a more reasonable update cadence. In addition to scheduled updates, each security incident, control failure, and significant network change should trigger a review of existing policies, risk values, and plans.

Advanced iterative planning formally integrates risk registers or risk management tools into the process. Governance, risk, and compliance (GRC) tools help to prioritize the most valuable or the most damaging data and systems for additional layers of protection.

Basic to Advanced Centralized Control

Effective centralized control puts critical decisions into the hands of experts and delivers consistent results throughout the network and its attached assets.

Basic centralized control deploys management modules for network equipment and firewalls for centralized management of existing infrastructure. For ease of deployment and management, consider deploying cloud-based network-as-a-service (NaaS), firewall-as-a-service (FWaaS), or zero trust network access (ZTNA) services that provide centralized and managed infrastructure.

Advanced centralized control will manage local, remote, and cloud resources through unifying technology such as SD-WAN, SASE, or SSE. The most sophisticated organizations will also consider centralized and more granular zero trust implementations.

Basic to Advanced Cybersecurity Training

Effective cybersecurity training improves overall awareness of security threats and advances understanding and effectiveness of existing security controls. Cybersecurity training should apply equally to basic users and advanced security professionals and be tailored to their needs.

Basic cybersecurity training uses cybersecurity training courses to educate about common issues such as phishing and ransomware. IT team training ranges from basic tool training to cybersecurity certification . Threat feeds also fall under the basic cybersecurity training umbrella.

Advanced cybersecurity training utilizes more active training for security professionals and relevant non-security employees. Use table top exercises or simulated attacks ( red, blue, or purple teaming ) to gain valuable experience and test controls and processes under stress.

Basic to Advanced Defense in Depth

Effective defense in depth prevents any single point of failure through reinforcing security controls and increases the work for potential attackers. It also applies to people and procedures so highly sensitive tasks should require multiple people in order to mitigate insider threats.

Basic defense in depth applies multiple controls starting with key, high-value assets and adding others as budgets and time allow. For example, in addition to the existing security stack, a data center might add additional MFA, a web application firewall, and a honeypot.

Advanced defense in depth continues to explore and adopt additional layers of defense or more sophisticated defense throughout the network and related assets. For example, EDR might replace antivirus and SASE might replace non-integrated firewalls, CASB, and more. 

Basic to Advanced Economic Design

Economic designs maximize the value of the components and minimize costs through simplicity. Reductions in attack surface similarly reduce monitoring costs and complexity. Additionally, economic designs boost operations data throughput to maintain high availability.

Basic economic designs often start with improvements to existing architecture. Examine existing controls, operations, and security processes for opportunities to gain time and reduce expenses through simplification and consolidation.

Advanced economic design may deploy automation (sometimes AI-powered) to improve speed and consistency. Cloud environments use code to efficiently deploy virtualized servers, containers, networks, and security controls at scale and on demand.

Basic to Advanced Least Privilege Access

Least privilege access prevents abuse of resources or data by granting only the minimum resources necessary for the user or application to perform expected tasks. They must also protect and monitor the tools that manage security levels.

Basic least privilege access requires assignment and regular maintenance of users, groups, apps, and API access. Apply Active Directory security tools to simplify maintenance and to monitor AD for unexpected or unauthorized changes.

Advanced least privilege access starts with IAM or PAM tools to manage access at scale. Zero trust implements a granular version of least privilege that requires explicit trust for each user, on each data request, and for each asset access.

Basic to Advanced Resilience

Effective resilience anticipates failure of systems, controls, or services and develops methods to maintain operations or to rapidly recover. This requirement also includes operations components (load balancers, etc.) that improve network performance and reduce system loads.

Basic resilience starts with data backups and redundancy for key components such as firewalls, routers, and data servers. Basic DDoS protection and load balancers also will be early controls applied to protect websites, application servers, and key networks.

Advanced resilience will backup more than just data (security settings, router configurations, etc.) and deploy disaster recovery solutions for more comprehensive and robust recovery. Add internal incident response teams to provide rapid response and accelerate recovery.

Basic to Advanced Testing

Effective testing verifies effective security controls, continuously monitors for failure, records system status, and generates reports. This provides detailed feedback for compliance audits, incident investigations, and improvements for iterative planning.

Basic testing starts with vulnerability scans , log analysis, and monitoring . Smaller teams may prefer to fully outsource to vulnerability management as a service (VMaaS), managed detection and response (MDR), or managed security services providers (MSSPs).

Advanced testing requires more rigorous penetration testing . Growing organizations may also adopt security information and event or monitoring (SIEM) solutions or security operations centers (SOCs) to manage the growing volume of information and incidents.

Network Security Architecture Frameworks

Formal network security architecture frameworks provide models and methods developed to formalize best practices, provide common terminology, and align teams. They also assure participants with proven recipes for success.

Frameworks tie into the entire business and link specific controls to specific business components and risks. The most popular frameworks are vendor independent and created by governments, non-profit standards organizations, and associations of IT professionals.

Check Point Enterprise Security Framework (CESF)

The vendor-specific Check Point Enterprise Security Framework (CESF) combines zero trust concepts and the Sherwood Applied Business Security Architecture (SABSA). Check Point guides customers through the framework and provides managed services.

Control Objectives for Information Technologies (COBIT) 5

The ISACA COBIT 5 framework provides free resources for self-guidance, training, and four levels of practitioner certification and also certifies trainers. COBIT is designed to integrate into other frameworks and focuses on business logic, process requirements, and risk.

Department of Defense (US) Architecture Framework (DoDAF)

The United States Department of Defense Architecture Framework (DoDAF) links operations to information security. It also coordinates security and manages interoperability issues across independent IT networks for multi-organization data sharing requirements.

Federal Enterprise Architecture Framework (FEAF)

The United States Federal Enterprise Architecture Framework (FEAF) provides a structure to develop controls integrated with objectives. The framework uses five stages: identify and validate, research and leverage, define and plan, invest and execute, and perform and measure.

NATO Architecture Framework Version 4 (NAFv4)

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) released their fourth version of their architecture framework for military and business use. It provides enterprise architecture that aligns with ISO/IEC/IEEE international standards to help NATO members onto a common framework.

The Open Group Architecture Framework (TOGAF)

Over 925 vendor, consulting, academic, and other organizations make up the Open Group, and the Open Group architecture framework (TOGAF) provides stable and enduring scaffolding for initial and ongoing architecture development. Many enterprises deploy this framework, and the organization offers a variety of certification programs for practitioners, tools, and products.

Sherwood Applied Business Security Architecture (SABSA)

The Sherwood Applied Business Security Architecture (SABSA) helps to design, deliver, and support security services for risk management and information assurance. The dedicated SABSA Institute manages ongoing development, training, and certification.

4 Benefits of a Network Security Architecture

A superficial embrace of network security architecture may lead to more work than results. However, a rigorous pursuit of best practices will improve incident response and operations, meet regulatory obligations, and reduce damages from incidents.

Improve Incident Response

Despite the many possible types of incidents (attack, device failure, etc.), best practices add controls to limit spread, improve resilience, and actively monitor for failure. Combined, these capabilities enable fast detection, response, and recovery.

Improve Operations

Although typically pursued as a security practice, best practices also centralize, simplify, and test information systems rigorously. As a result of this process, operations will similarly streamline, eliminate bottlenecks, and reduce downtime.

Meet Regulatory Obligations

Regulations will require security controls to be in place and the reports to prove it. Formalized network security architecture ties controls to data and systems and provides the tests and reports to verify effective controls needed to comply with regulations and audits.

Reduce Damages From Incidents

Best practices add layers of security that limit damage from any single control failure and rigorous testing checks for gaps and overlooked issues. Combined with training to reduce the number of incidents and resilience to recover faster, the number of incidents to cause damage and the overall damage from any single event will be reduced.

Where to Learn More About Network Security Architecture

You can learn about network security architecture at a high level in computer science curriculums at universities around the world. For more targeted education, take an online course such as those provided by:

• Coursera : Offers over 240 online courses from beginner introductions to network security to advanced instruction in cloud infrastructure design and security.
• edX : Offers 21 courses related to network security architecture from the Linux Foundation, Check Point, Oracle, AWS, Purdue University, and more.
• Udemy : Offers over 10,000 online courses related to network security architecture including courses specifically related to COBIT and TOGAF.

Also consider a cybersecurity certification that can verify existing skills and help develop a career. Notable network security architecture certifications include:

• Certified Network Defense Architect (CNDA) : Extends an existing Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH) certificate with additional qualifications for government and military roles.
• GIAC Defensible Security Architecture (GDSA) : Provides a DoD-approved certification for mid-career security pros and associated SANS training.
• Information Systems Security Architecture Professional (ISSAP) : Prepares IT executives to become system architects through a program designed by ISC2.

Bottom Line: Implement Network Security Architecture for a Secure Business

Formal network security architecture delivers a systematic approach for continuous improvement tied to business risks. Implement these frameworks and best practices to help other business units understand threats, contribute to planning, and support security initiatives.

For more specialized network security architecture information, consider reading about cloud security best practices and tips .

Get the Free Cybersecurity Newsletter

Strengthen your organization’s IT security defenses by keeping up to date on the latest cybersecurity news, solutions, and best practices.

Previous article

Next article

Subscribe to Cybersecurity Insider

Strengthen your organization’s IT security defenses by keeping abreast of the latest cybersecurity news, solutions, and best practices.

IT Security Resources

6 Best Ransomware Protection & Removal Tools in 2024

8 Binge-Worthy Cybersecurity Podcasts in 2024

7 Top Threat Intelligence Platforms & Software in 2024

Top Cybersecurity Companies

Top 10 cybersecurity companies.

• 1 Uniqkey – Business Password Manager

See full list

Get the Free Newsletter!

Subscribe to Cybersecurity Insider for top news, trends & analysis

Related Articles

12 Data Loss Prevention Best Practices (+ Real Success Stories)

6 Top Open-Source Vulnerability Scanners & Tools

What Is Data Loss Prevention (DLP)? Definition & How It Works