How Design Can Sell Work

Have you ever found yourself “stuck” on how to design a deck? Struggling with the amount of time it takes to piece together information in a deck and forget completely about even designing the deck? And then when it is “designed” it has no correlation to who and/or what it is for? Well, have no fear — you are not alone.

In the advertising industry, thoughtful presentation is the key method of sharing (and selling) ideas and/or information. The ability to work off a powerful presentation will allow for your audience and/or client to engage with and understand the information you are sharing.

Research shows that “41% of US employees would rather go to the dentist than sit through a boring slideshow.” Here in BBDO’s Comms Planning department, we recognize the necessity of drafting engaging decks. That’s why we’ve created the the BBDO Design School — to have our employees build both enthusiasm when creating decks and confidence when presenting decks to their respective clients. Our ambition is for the presentation of the work to be as good as the work. Our solution? The ability to share quick and easy tips on how to brand decks to the the client.

The key steps in knowing how to brand decks to the client are by establishing design consistency throughout the deck by staying within the brand of the client. A great way you can do this is by referring to the following keys elements:

Please keep in mind that the examples shown are not in reference to the actual BBDO template and were created for the use of this post.

1. FONT

Consistency is key,and it starts with the font you use. Be sure to use the brand/client font when you are building a deck. Within the client’s brand book there is usually a guide as to what fonts you are allotted to use and is usually broken up by Heading, Subheading and Body Copy.

2. COLOR

Make use of the brand colors. Within deck design there is a 60% -30%-10% rule of color. According to Scott Schwertly’s Color Rules for Presentation Design, “The primary color takes up 60% of the space, the secondary color takes up 30%, and the accent color accounts for the final 10%. This rule is all about creating balance, and is a great place to start if you’re staring down a blank slide.”

3. SHAPE/LINES

• SHAPE: Use shapes to emphasize specific information. Borders can be a distraction, so instead fill in your shapes with the brand color and block out your font color in white. To build design consistency, use the same shape within the deck.
• LINE: Use less of them. Lines are a great way to divide space and organize information, but too many lines can be overwhelming. In terms of charts, less is more. Take out extra lines and ONLY use 2–3 lines for organization purposes and make sure to represent them in the client’s brand color as well.

4. MEDIA/ICONS

PHOTOS: High quality equals clarity. Make sure that all photos are displayed with high quality and not blurry. Try to use high quality photos given to you by the client rather than from a random google search.

• ICONS: Use icons to communicate more in less time. If you find that you use a variety of social icons in your decks, make it so that they are presented in the brand’s color. This will create more of a cohesive look and will break up the repetition of using a generic black and white icon file. Do not use icons to distract from the content but to further support what the content is saying.

• GIFS: Give life to the content you are presenting to your client. In using photos or videos associated with the brand, bring your ideas to life as you present them to the client in a mock-up that will give them the ability to visualize what you are describing. It is an innovative way to show the use of a product or a step by step processes.

5. FRAMEWORKS/BLUEPRINTS

When it comes to Comms Planning, frameworks and blueprints are important for illustrating the model of an integrated campaign and drawing out where they will happen. Tailor them to the client and branded deck buy using the brand colors of the client.

As you can see, these are simple, quick and easy steps on how to brand decks to the client. Decks are all about tim — in terms of the time they are needed, the time sensitivity in putting them together, and the time it takes to present them to your client. No wonder no one really takes the time to design them — because there is barely enough time as it is!

So knock out the time vs. design aspect of building a deck and refer to these five key elements from the start. You may find this very helpful as it will knock down the time it takes you to build a deck and alleviate that pressure of feeling “stuck”.