Steal

Picasso is famously to have once said that "good artists borrow, but great artists steal."

Not that I'm a Picasso of presentation, but stealing is exactly how I create many, many presentations.

For years now I have maintained a digital file of good and interesting presentations and graphic design that I come across. And often when I feel the need for inspiration, I'll browse through my collection for an idea.

I should clarify that I don't actually steal other designs, but rather I look for interesting elements, colors and use of typography or images that provide a spark for working with my own presentation's content. I would find it difficult to truly copy another's presentation design completely, as my approach is always to design content itself, not just graphics around content. And since my content will always be different from my design inspiration, so will my design. (I should point out too that my collection contains some of my own work as it never hurts to be reminded of something that worked well in the past.)

These are slides from 2 presentations I designed. The one on the left had its genesis in a small 2" web ad. All I remember of the ad was that it used a blue/white gradient that I liked. I copied the gradient, darkened it to allow for white text headers, then started playing with contrasting colors and glossy effects. Eventually, my own design emerged once I began working with content. The one on the right was inspired by a presentation I saw that used red type on a white background. Years of designing financial presentations has made me cautious of the color red for numbers, but I liked the boldness of it for my client's story, and before long I had a design that "stole" the colors white and red. (Sue me..)

People make bad presentation because they see bad presentations. If you see well-designed, effective presentations regularly, you can't help but be inspired and follow suit. And you shouldn't feel bad about appropriating some of those design elements and principles.

There is, of course, a line between inspiration and design theft. But if you are genuinely designing your content, I think you'll find that even if you start off wholesale copying someone else's design, you'll quickly find that you will make it your own as your presentation develops. And just as art students are taught to literally copy master paintings, making an initial copy of another's effective presentation can teach you how to effectively display information on a screen.

And here are some places where you can find well-designed presentations to serve as inspiration...

SURF

Note and Point — a great new site that showcases well-designed presentations

Slideshare's featured and top presentations

Slideshare's Best Presentation Contest 2010

Duarte Design's portfolio - The leader in presentation design (and not a bad company to hire if you're in the market...)

WATCH

TED Talks — Simply the most riveting presenters in the world. And nothing more than 18 minutes long

Steve Jobs keynotes on YouTube

READ

Presentation Zen by Garr Reynolds

Presentation Design Zen by Garr Reynolds