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Great, as if the broth wasn't spoilt enough
Steve picked up on the fact that the FireFox lads want a new preso. Great. They want it developed open source. How very new age of them.
Pity they've totally missed the point. You see, they don't actually want a new presentation, what they want is a new template.
AND THE TEMPLATE IS TOTALLY FUCKING IRRELEVANT!
Totally.
(You see how angry I am? Now they've gone and made get all Tom Peters-ish!)
Imagine an artist attempting to develop a masterpiece, a picture that tells a story. Now try and imagine that same artist starting with a template, complete with sidebar and obligatory corner logo. It wouldn't happen, those elements would simply detract from the message. The message is everything.
Like the artist, you need a blank canvas.
I present for a living, I'm not bad. My template is a plain white screen. My company name is not on it, and yet, no-one ever forgets where I'm from. The content delivery makes that message stick.
You know that logo of yours in the corner, and that sidebar too? I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but it takes your audience's brain exactly two slides to realise that they are just part of the static wallpaper, in order to free up some valuable cognitive bandwidth, it then removes them from the equation - they cease to exist.
If, on the other hand, you introduced your logo at key, relevant parts of your preso, the brain would take notice, and it would store that logo of yours in the same wee drawer as it stored the content that you're presenting, and that's what you want.
Design templates are the false gods of the presentation world.
Worship them at your peril...!
Oh, and there's more on this here, and here.
Posted by Rich...! | Permalink
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Comments
Amen!
Posted by: Cliff | 15 Mar 2005 00:35:30
On Monday, someone asked me to send them the layout that I have for their website so far. "So far", because they haven't provided me with content yet. My answer? "Sorry, there is no layout without an understanding of the message you're trying to bring across - the content defines the 'layout' completely, and that's how I go about making sure that your website is effective". No reply - I presume they went back to the content drawing board.
At least it made me think about the way I design, and made me feel all warm, knowing that the purpose is there (even though I don't usually force it intentionally)!
Posted by: Martin | 16 Mar 2005 09:16:19
Irrelevant Industry or Irrelevant Standards?
Any web page is a message which aims to be read. The main thing about a message is not to be original but to be read at least from the author's point of view.
The templates actually allows you to design your message in an easy and fast way, it allows you to concentrate on the content (the king!) and not think about the colors and where to place the logo with your web page as good templates have logos or at least special place for it and nice color scheme as well as other design elements.
The template actually goes like a cover for a book... Not every book goes (and needs) with an original cover - remember numerous Love stories! Their covers are all the same thing but I think that it is what exactly readers expect from this kind of books. I really doubt that they will trust a book (love story) with some original cover (without a boy kissing a girl on it)...
A template (a good one) actually is a web page designed with all the numerous standards (a boy kissing a girl in the 'right manner') in mind . Do you really think that a mere user (who just wants to share his experience or earn some beer money or both) should keep in mind and use all these recommendations from Jakob Nielsen???
How can a whole industry be irrelevant? Rather popular industry, btw.
Posted by: James | 22 Mar 2005 15:36:06
James, great points, all valid, couldn't agree more... if I was talking about web templates that is, I'm not.
I'm talking specifically about PowerPoint templates used in slide presentations, where I assure you, these templates don't help at all. They simply clutter valuable screen real estate with superfluos imagery, forcing the important content to be displayed in a smaller area, while competing with the content itself.
I use templates on all our sites, shit, I'd be lost without them.
So as I said, right points, wrong conversation...!
Posted by: Rich...! | 22 Mar 2005 20:56:36
