From the first day you step into a classroom until the day you retire from a career, you are bombarded with hundreds of thousands of PowerPoint slides. Teachers love them, professionals utilize them, students are forced to create them. Some are good, some are bad, some are hard to even look at. It is clear why PowerPoint is such a popular presentation tool: it is extremely user friendly and comes pre-installed on most computers. The question is, why are most of the PowerPoint presentations we are forced to sit through in life so terrible? Some critics blame the tool itself, but I disagree. I think the real problem is that most of the people who use PowerPoint lack the keen eye for design that any visual presentation requires.
I think of it this way: If I were to try, right now, to make a flyer for a band, it would look just plain awful. I am not creative, I don’t understand which colors go well together, and I can’t choose fonts to save my life. From this, you can conclude that I would also be bad at making a poster, a website, a t-shirt design or anything else you would find in a graphic designer’s portfolio. So… Why would I think I could make a stunning PowerPoint? Like any presentation, PowerPoint utilizes color, font, layout, and design. If these elements are not done well, the PowerPoint will not be aesthetically pleasing. Here is one example of a good vs. a bad PowerPoint slide:
Notice how the first slide is too crowded, there are way too many words, and your eye doesn’t know where to look. The slide on the right is clean, the message is clear, and the image is relevant. I can see this when the two are put side-by-side, but it is much harder to take a blank slide and make it into something great!
Here is another example of a successful PowerPoint presentation:
This PowerPoint has bold colors, interesting layouts, and clean and easy to read slides. Unfortunately, I could never design a presentation like this one, and I think many people are in the same boat as me. No matter how I try, I just don’t have that eye for design.
At the end of the day, after I’ve tried and failed to make a beautiful presentation, I can’t blame Microsoft. I think the fault lies with the users. Anything that is meant to present information in a creative way (magazine, flyer, billboard, commercial, etc.) practically requires an artist for it to turn out well, and PowerPoint is no different. Microsoft supplies themes and layouts, but these are too basic to allow for a truly stand out presentation. This may be the reason that Prezi has become such a popular tool. It requires users to put even less thought into the design of the presentation. Just pick a theme and fill it with your information. This way, even those of us with no creativity whatsoever can have an aesthetically pleasing presentation.
In conclusion, I think that too many people use PowerPoint without taking the time to learn about what they are doing, slapping a graph and some words onto a slide and calling it a day. Since so many schools require students to create PowerPoint and other presentations, students could likely benefit from a basic design class in middle or high school. This may not completely solve the problem, but I think it would be a step in the right direction!
Although the traditional resume is not completely outdated, it is slowly making its way to the door. With the number of college graduates increasing every year, it is harder and harder to stand out among your peers. When you limit yourself to a single white piece of paper with one-inch margins and Times New Roman text, the task is almost impossible. This is why many hopeful job seekers are finding new, creative ways to show potential employers their qualifications and experiences. Artists, athletes, musicians and others with skills that must be seen to be believed can benefit especially from using an alternative resume. I personally plan to go into the field of business, which is still a fairly conservative field in the way of resumes. For this reason, I do not feel as though something too out of the box, like a video or movie poster resume, would suit me. These could come off as unprofessional in the business world. For this reason, I chose two fairly conservative, but still creative, alternative resumes that I would like to create for myself: the timeline resume and the infographic resume.
While it is unique enough to make a statement, the timeline resume is still simple and professional. I would personally choose this format because it stands out just enough without seeming too off the wall. I like how it allows you to show your education, work experiences, and other events as a series, rather than a bulleted list. The reader can see a progression, and has a better understanding of the steps you took to get to where you are today. For example, with this type of resume, you can show that you were able to balance school and a career at the same time. You can explain why you were out of a job for six months by adding in your trip around Europe, showing that you were not just unemployed, but that you are adventurous and have an interesting life outside of work. I think this resume is great for standing out as well as thoroughly illustrating your skills and experience, and the life events that made you prepared for the position you are applying for.
. I like this type of resume because It includes all the elements of a traditional resume, but adds images, colors, and graphs. This means that although the reader is seeing the same info they would on a normal resume, they are having a much more enjoyable time reading it. In just one page, you are able to tell a prospective employer anything they could possibly need to know about your experience and skills, and it is exciting for them to read. I also think the addition of QR codes is brilliant, because after drawing the viewer in, you are able to provide them with additional avenues to learn more about you and connect with you. I also think this type of resume shows confidence and creativity, two skills that will stand out to many prospective employer. And while it is creative, the color scheme, fonts, and even the layout still make it a look like a professional document. All in all, this type of resume could be perfect for the business world, with its mix of traditional resume with creative flair.