Design a consistent look for your presentations

Lisa CurranFlexible Learning Unit

Get rid of the clutter

In this exercise you’ll discover how to use your clip art to create images that are consistent and look like they belong together.

Example of inconsistency

You’ve probably seen this type of screen before. It looks sloppy andunprofessional. It’s a cluttered design and the images don’t look likethey belong together. This is what you shouldn’t aim for.

How can I get a consistent look & feel?

Try to design your screens to be less cluttered.

When you’re on a budget and have limited access to graphic resources, you need to be creative. If you’re forced to use clip art, odds are that you don’t have enough or the right ones. However, did you know you can use PowerPoint & Microsoft Office clip art to create your own images.

Searching Microsoft Office Online

You can search Microsoft Office Online and find thousands of images and clip art. The search process is pretty standard and simple enough. However, once you find an image you like did you know there may also be a whole range of images created in the same style and colour range that you can use to create consistent looking presentations.

Let’s have a look at how to do it …

Web tour of how search & download images from the same style.

http://tls.vu.edu.au/ppoint_graphics/search_clipart_demo/SEARCH_CLIPART_demo.htm

Use clip art properties to find the right image & style

When you select an image, you’ll see the image properties. In the example above, you’ll see the keywords and styles associated with the image. By clicking on the style number youcan then view all the images available in that style.

Clip art properties & style

Keywords identify the clip art. Clicking on a keyword is a good way to search for images. They keywords give you ideas on how to search for a particular type of image

Styles are images that are part of the same package. When you find the clip art you like go to the image properties and click on the style. All of the images associated with the style appear. Download all of the images in the style and then you can break them apart and use the elements you need.

Download your style & create custom images

For this example let’s use style 1382. There are lots of good images to choose from and a nice colour scheme.

Here’s what to do

Download all of the images to an open PowerPoint file.

Spread the images out over a series of slides so that you can easily see them.

Save the file as “style1382.ppt”. This way you always know what style it is and you can easily access all of the images to edit them.

Once you have the images saved, you can ungroup the images and rearrange them.

Become a clip art surgeon

Without going into a technical details, most clip art is a series of grouped images. That means you can ungroup the clip art and pull out or add the elements you need.

Just right-click on the image and select ungroup.

Once you ungroup, you can pull out the things you don’t need. You can also add items to change the clip art and make it something new.

Let’s have a look at how to do it …

Web tour of how to surgically transform office clipart.

http://tls.vu.edu.au/ppoint_graphics/ungroup_images_demo/ungroup_images_demo.htm

Before & after example

Clip art surgery has created these two images into a metaphor for chasing profits.

Before After

Using your new images in other programs

Make sure your group your image first. You can then use the copy and paste

functions to move between office programs.

If your are using a non office program you can select your image and right click on it, then choose save image as. Select the correct format you want the imaged saved in, eg jpeg and where you want it saved to. Go to the other program and import/place your image.

Here are some additional tips

Don’t be afraid to play around and see what happens

Mix and match body parts or facial expression to get the exact pose or look you want. All you need is a blank face, and you can drop any expression you want onto it.

Modify the clothes. You can change the colours or get rid of the ‘business look’ by taking out the ties and white shirts.

Summary

When you use the same style, it is easy to create images that meet your specific needs and look like they belong together. It’ll make your presentation look that much more polished and professional.

Here is a quick makeover of the first image using the style 1382 images.

From inconsistency in style to …

Designed with consistency