Written by: Nayomi Chibana, Content Manager, Visme

In this age of content overload, visual content is more important than ever to attract—and keep—your audience’s attention.

But we’re not just talking about pretty pictures of landscapes and nice-looking templates. We’re referring to the application of design principles to communicate a message in the most effective manner possible, using all the resources available to you (text, images, colors, video and animation) to make a point.

The problem is that most of us haven’t acquired the design skills necessary to impact audiences through powerful and purposeful visual content—and probably don’t have the time and resources to learn how.

To address this need, Visme, an online presentation, and infographic tool, recently published a free 125-page illustrated guide to creating visual slides with impact, made especially for non-designers. You can download it for free here.

Chock-full of before-and-after examples, cheat sheets and practical tips backed by scientific research, this visual guide is ideal for all those who don’t have the design training to create memorable visual slides that will help audiences quickly digest and retain information.

Here’s a quick overview of each chapter:

Chapter 1: Visual Slides for a Visual Age

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For those who doubt the value of learning practical design tips when you can easily hand your slides over to a designer to spruce them up, this chapter explains the reason why all presenters will soon have to become visual communicators.

(Hint: We live in a fast-paced age and images are processed multiple times faster than the written word.)

Chapter 2: A New Way to Think About Presentations

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When it comes to creating a slide deck, most people won’t think twice before opening a presentation tool, choosing a template and inserting images and text onto each slide.

But the best way to ensure your slide deck will resonate with your target audience is to plan out the narrative arc of your presentation before considering the contents of each individual slide.

This chapter covers the three major components of a successful presentation and how the best presenters appeal to their audience’s emotions and logic at the same time.

Chapter 3: What Is Your Message?

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Next, consider what is your main message? Do you want to inspire, entertain, persuade or inform your audience?

This chapter covers ways to weave facts and stories together to make your audience truly care about your message and how to make an audience journey map to visualize the narrative arc of your presentation.

Chapter 4: Slide Design Made Easy

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In this chapter, we cover the design principles you need to know to create captivating slides, even if you’re not a designer.

Besides the basics of pairing fonts, it covers:

  • The six different types of images you can use in your presentation
  • How to combine images and text
  • How to crop images
  • How to choose the perfect color schemes for your slide decks
  • How to create effective charts
  • 70+ types of conceptual diagrams you can use in your presentations

Chapter 5: Putting It All Together

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Finally, in this chapter, you’ll learn how to combine text, images, video and design elements like color to reinforce your message and draw your audience’s eyes to key points.

Also, you’ll find a section on how to effectively and judiciously use transitions and animation effects to make a point.

If you haven’t already downloaded the book, check it out below and let us know if you’d like to see any particular topic covered more in depth.

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