Everyone has to pass along information. Whether it's in a presentation, conversation or other venue. All of these forms of communication have one thing in common... they could use some design. This talk (that I hopefully will get to present one day) seeks to demonstrate the elements of design and their applicability to forms of communication.

1. Designing
Information
By Peter “Deuce” Bradshaw

2. sh aw
Brad w
c e”
eu a w La
“D h
er ds
Pet
B ra
@

3. Iw ant to begin by sharing my
train of thought...

4. When I s
tarted ta
grandpa king pho
always r tos, my
eminded
me to...
Pay Attention to
Composition!

5. S o I c he c ked out a lesson by
Jason Manley of ConceptArt.org
(it was o n sale at the time)
http://theartdepartment.org/downloads/jason-manley-composition

6. I learn
ed tha
Great t
pictur
es
are
Imme
rsive

7. It’s no
t only
about
the
Conte
Lego thr
iller?
How did
he join t
nt...
hem?
Wonder Restagi
if he’s kni ng of “A How’d h
tting merican e get hom
for gran Beauty” eless?
ny ?
Is this V Are troo Did Sol
ader ’s c pers in a o get tri
ampaig ‘V’ more Flying gger
picture? n aerodyn happy a
amic? gain?

8. ...But
also th
Desig e
Repetiti
n.
Rhythm on
Variatio Econom
n y Unity
Movem
ent &
Emphas Balance C o n t in u
is ity

9. Wher
e is yo
eye dr ur
awn a
why i nd
pulled s it
there?

10. Wher
e is yo
eye dr ur
awn a
why i nd
Repetiti pulled s it
Rhythm on
there?
Variatio Econom
n y Unity
Movem
ent &
Emphas Balance C o n t in u
is ity

11. SO.....
While sitting thr ough a Trusts &
Estates lectur e, I started feeling
annoyed.
Because I was being hit in the
face with information
And then an an
alogy happened
...

12. I started th inking of the
presentation of information in
terms of Design an d Water...

13. One S
Splashing Pressu
tream,
re on O
Eleme ne
nt

14. Multi
ple St
Spraying Pressu reams
,
re on
Multi
ple
Eleme
nts

15. ol of Info,
Po
Pres sure
Enough
Elem ent
on Each
Immersive

16. “ Great
pictur
Imme
presen
are lik
tation
e great
es. The
rsive
y’re
s
becaus
e they
been d ’ve
esigne
d well
.

17. By us ing Design w e can make
pre sentations more Immersive

18. ashing
Spl
Spraying
Are You
H ow
ing? .
sent elivery
Pre out d
Think ab
ut De sign.
Immersin Thi nk abo
g

19. Let’s t alk about Design in more detail...
Repetition
Economy
Variation
Balance
Continuity
Movement
Rhythm
Unity

20. Repea
t elem
to emp ents
hasize
their i
mport
ance
People search for patterns.
Make repetition of important
Repetition points a pattern.

21. Not th
is kind
Econo of
my
Economy

22. Remov
e
unnec
essary
elemen
ts to
create
empha
sis
Leaving only the essentials,
ensures the audience won’t be
overloaded with more than
Economy they can retain.

23. Repea
elemen ted
ts sho
have m uld
inor
variat
ion
Variation
Variation helps create a
sense of Movement, even
Variation where there is repetition

24. Audie
Knownce
st
whafixat
onspoi
i usnfts t info
e
e ul to t
ha
yourre ov
a a
udienc
er
empha e.
sized
Give equal emphasis
to points of
Balance equal importance

25. a ntfo
tein
hm
wle o
n w
och e ul t
KEa sef to
uads ence.
is le di
au ext
utrhe n
yo
Elements lead to each
other, rather than
creating hard-to-
Continuity follow leaps

26. ful of
ind
e m ed and
B
rs pe
you gr ess
p ro
Movement can establish
Emphasis & Balance.
The more time spent
Movement on an element, the more
important it appears.

27. pac ing,
Vary
ming , and
ti
nsit ions
tra
elem ents
bet ween
Rhythm ensures that your
audience isn’t bored. A bored
Rhythm Audience can’t be immersed
in your information

28. All the elements working
together to make the
Unity presentation effective

29. So those are the elements of D
esign...
Was that information I mmersive?
(I’m going to assume you said “Yes”)
Let’s look at what I’ve done...

31. top ic
of the
ti ti on orn er
Re pe leftc
eb ot tom
in th

32. right
ottom
in th eb topic
et iti on tt he
R ep ion a bou
rm at
o finfo

33. en ts
ofe lem
n om y slide
Eco e ach
or ds on
& w

34. oft he
ar iation ts
V lem en
be rofe
n um lid e,
ne ac hs es
o nd siz
me nt ,a
pl ace

35. trong emph asis on
Bal ance s
weig ht of info on
ce nter image &
ottom for st ability
the b

36. Con tinuity sim ilar size,
shape an d style of
elements on each slide

37. Movem
ent from
to botto center i
m-left t mage,
itle, to i
nfo stick
ies

38. nt he
ase do
des isb slide
m of sli one ach
R hy th pla ced
f in fo
un to
amo

39. Unity of all element
s AND the
elements of Design

41. But what about verbal or other
styles of teaching?

42. These Design ele ments still apply!!
Repetition
Economy
Variation
Balance
Continuity
Movement
Rhythm
Unity

43. These Design elements still apply!!
Repetition
Economy
Variation
Repeat important points and
Balance bring the presentation 360,
Continuity back to the beginning
whenever possible
Movement
Rhythm
Unity

44. These Design elements still apply!!
Repetition
Economy
Variation Simplify not only the amount
Balance of information you’re telling
people, but also the amount
Continuity and level of the WORDS
Movement you’re using.
Rhythm
Unity

45. These Design elements still apply!!
Repetition
Economy
Variation Vary not only the tone of your
voice but your body language.
Balance You don’t have to be a
Continuity Muppet, but make big gestures
and speak loudly
Movement for major points.
Rhythm
Unity

46. These Design elements still apply!!
Repetition
Economy
Variation Make sure that you don’t pack
in all the information in one
Balance place. Think about where your
Continuity major points balance them
against minor points
Movement and discussion.
Rhythm
Unity

47. These Design elements still apply!!
Repetition
Economy
Variation Points should flow from one
speaking point to the next.
Balance Jumping quickly from topic to
Continuity topic creates a jerky feel that
will give listeners whiplash.
Movement GOOD TRANSITIONS!
Rhythm
Unity

48. These Design elements still apply!!
Repetition
Economy
Variation Don’t waste your listeners
time. Pack in the information,
Balance but use economy, balance and
Continuity continuity to keep listeners’
attention and
Movement don’t overwhelm them.
Rhythm
Unity

49. These Design elements still apply!!
Repetition
Economy
Variation Think about a piece of music.
Balance It needs to change tempos and
rhythms to express more
Continuity emotion. You should do the
Movement same while speaking.
Rhythm
Unity

50. These Design elements still apply!!
Repetition
Economy
Variation Finally, Unity will bring
Balance everything together. It’s not
just about one point to the
Continuity next, but rather about the
Movement experience that you’re creating.
Rhythm
Unity

51. ...So....

52. All of this...

53. These Design elements still apply!!
Repetition
Economy
Variation
Balance ...and all
Continuity
Movement
of this...
Rhythm
Unity

54. ...come s together to...

55. Make It
Immersive

56. Photo Bibliography:
Slide 1, 41: seanmcgrath, http://www.flickr.com/photos/mcgraths/3461327826/
Slides 2, 4, 5, 11, 16: Peter “Deuce” Bradshaw, trumpete3, http://www.flickr.com/
photos/trumpete3
Slides 6 - 10: Mike Stimpson, Balakov, http://www.flickr.com/photos/balakov
Slides 11, 13, 18: Cayusa, http://www.flickr.com/photos/cayusa/2415129624/
Slides 11, 14, 18: _Wiedz, http://www.flickr.com/photos/awiederhoeft/2640405129/in/
pool-70864224@N00
Slide 15, 18: Sandor Weisz, santheo, http://www.flickr.com/photos/santheo/531632789/
Slide 20, 30-40: greenchartreuse, http://www.flickr.com/photos/greenchartreuse/
1160597231/
Slide 22, 30-40: Andreas Levers, 96dpi, http://www.flickr.com/photos/96dpi/
4032198061/
Slide 23, 30-40: Edson Hong, http://www.flickr.com/photos/edsonhong1/5242124138/
Slide 24, 30-40: garryknight, http://www.flickr.com/photos/garryknight/2477064586/
Slide 25, 30-40: xeeliz, http://www.flickr.com/photos/xeeliz/153916908/
Slide 26, 30-40: .Timbo., http://www.flickr.com/photos/tim_peters/4987181187/
Slide 27, 30-40: BdwayDiva1, http://www.flickr.com/photos/bdwaydiva1/2306372642/
Slide 28, 30-40: West Point Public Affairs, http://www.flickr.com/photos/west_point/
5629842204/in/photostream/
Stickies: http://www.fuzzimo.com/free-vector-post-it-notes-push-pins

57. Also...
All photos for this project were found on Flickr.
I do not have, nor do I claim to have any rights to
use these photos beyond
those given by their licenses.
Accordingly: