Skill: Slide Design Principles

Visual hierarchy, data visualization, and minimal text patterns for impactful presentations.

Metadata

Overview

Great slides don't display information—they communicate insights. This skill provides principles for designing slides that enhance (not compete with) the speaker's message.

The Core Principle

Slides support the speaker. The speaker is not the slides' teleprompter.

Module 1: Visual Hierarchy

The 3-Second Rule

Viewers should understand the slide's main point in 3 seconds.

Test: Show slide briefly, cover it, ask "What was the point?" If they can't answer, redesign.

Hierarchy Elements

Z-Pattern and F-Pattern

Z-Pattern (for sparse slides):

[Title/Headline]
      ↘
[Supporting visual/data]
      ↘
[Conclusion/CTA]

F-Pattern (for text-heavy slides):

[Strong headline] ← First scan
[Key point 1] ← Second scan
[Key point 2]
[Supporting detail fades...]

White Space

White space is not empty—it's breathing room for ideas.

Module 2: The Assertion-Evidence Model

Traditional vs. Assertion-Evidence

Traditional (weak):

Title: Q4 Sales Results
• Revenue: $2.3M
• Growth: 15%
• New customers: 47
• Retention: 92%

Assertion-Evidence (strong):

Title: Q4 revenue grew 15% to $2.3M—our best quarter ever
[Bar chart showing growth trend]

Structure

Application

1. •Write the assertion (what you want them to believe)
2. •Find/create visual evidence (chart, diagram, image)
3. •Remove all unnecessary text
4. •Test: Does the visual prove the assertion?

Module 3: Data Visualization

Chart Selection Guide

Visualization Principles

1. Title = Insight

• •❌ "Revenue 2020-2025"
• •✅ "Revenue doubled in 5 years"

2. Reduce chart junk

• •Remove gridlines (or make very light)
• •Remove 3D effects
• •Remove unnecessary legends
• •Remove borders and boxes

3. Highlight the insight

• •Color the key data point differently
• •Use annotations to point to insight
• •Grey out non-essential data

4. Simplify scales

• •Round numbers ($2.3M not $2,347,891)
• •Start axis at zero (unless change is the story)
• •Use consistent intervals

Before/After Example

Before (cluttered):

[3D pie chart with 8 slices, legend on side, 
percentages on each slice, title "Q4 Breakdown"]

After (clear):

Title: "AI projects drove 40% of Q4 revenue"
[Simple horizontal bar chart, AI highlighted in blue,
others in grey, percentages inline]

Module 4: Typography

Font Guidelines

Text Rules

Contrast

• •Dark text on light background (default)
• •Light text on dark/image requires high contrast
• •Test: Squint at slide—can you still read it?

Module 5: Color and Images

Color Palette

The 60-30-10 Rule

• •60% primary/neutral (background, most content)
• •30% secondary (supporting elements)
• •10% accent (calls to action, key insights)

Image Guidelines

Image Sources

Module 6: Slide Types

Title Slide

┌─────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                                         │
│         [Compelling Title]              │
│         Subtitle / Context              │
│                                         │
│         Author | Date                   │
└─────────────────────────────────────────┘

Section Divider

┌─────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                                         │
│                                         │
│           Section Title                 │
│                                         │
│                                         │
└─────────────────────────────────────────┘

Minimal text, bold color, signals transition.

Data Slide

┌─────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Insight as full sentence headline       │
├─────────────────────────────────────────┤
│                                         │
│         [Chart/Visualization]           │
│                                         │
├─────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ Source: Data source                     │
└─────────────────────────────────────────┘

Full-Image Slide

┌─────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                                         │
│   [Full-bleed image]                    │
│                                         │
│         Quote or key point              │
│         (white text with shadow)        │
│                                         │
└─────────────────────────────────────────┘

Comparison Slide

┌─────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Comparison headline                     │
├──────────────────┬──────────────────────┤
│    Option A      │      Option B        │
│    [Visual]      │      [Visual]        │
│    Key points    │      Key points      │
└──────────────────┴──────────────────────┘

Quick Reference

Slide Design Checklist

• • One main point per slide
• • Title is a full sentence (assertion)
• • Visual evidence supports assertion
• • Minimal text (bullets < 6 words)
• • High contrast (readable from back of room)
• • Consistent font sizes
• • White space for breathing room
• • Source cited for data

The "Billboard Test"

Pretend your slide is a highway billboard:

• •Would someone get the point at 65 mph?
• •Can they read it in 3 seconds?
• •Is one thing clearly most important?

Common Mistakes

Activation Patterns

Skill created: 2026-02-10 | Category: Communication | Status: Active

Synapses

• •[.github/skills/dissertation-defense/SKILL.md] (High, Enables, Bidirectional) - "Defense presentation slides"
• •[.github/skills/executive-storytelling/SKILL.md] (High, Enables, Bidirectional) - "Executive presentation design"
• •[.github/skills/markdown-mermaid/SKILL.md] (Medium, Complements, Forward) - "Technical diagrams in slides"