10 Project Planning Questions Every Freelance PowerPoint Designer Must Ask
When working with a freelance PowerPoint designer, preliminary planning is essential to make the most of any project.
Working with a professional PowerPoint designer should result in a final product that is both functional and beautiful. Because there are so many different types of presentation and PowerPoint has a wide variety of use cases, any any designer should begin by asking you several key questions to ensure they deliver the result you need.
#1: What is the purpose of your PowerPoint presentation?
The purpose of your presentation is perhaps the largest factor to consider when determining the design.
Is it for internal company use or will it be distributed to an external audience?
Will it be used to raise money or is it simply meant to inform on a topic?
Will it be delivered virtually or in person?
Will it be accompanied by a talk or left to a reader to digest on their own?
What is the expected life of your presentation (one day, weeks, months, or years)?
Some of the most common types of presentations designed in PowerPoint are listed below. Does your project fit into one of these categories?
Pitch deck
Sales presentation
Staff meeting
Interview
Conference or keynote presentation
Training seminar
Marketing material
Brochure
E-book
Did you know that PowerPoint isn’t just for presentations?
It can be used to create marketing material like brochures and booklets. These types of files can be saved as PDFs - perfect for digital distribution (think email attachments, linked files or downloads on your website) or even print material to hand out in person. A benefit to using for PowerPoint for these materials is your ability to edit them after working with a professional designer.
Discussing the purpose of your presentation is a critical first step to determine how much time, money and effort should be spent on design and development. The purpose of your presentation will also determine your document length, layout, file size and dimensions in PowerPoint.
#2. Who is the audience for your presentation?
Share everything you know about your audience with your freelance PowerPoint designer such as:
Your audience size
Audience’s field or industry
Do they have prior knowledge or biases on the topic of your presentation?
Why are they watching your presentation or reading your material?
What information or data is important to them?
Are they tech-savvy and innovative or traditional and old-fashioned?
How busy are they and how much time and attention will they give to your presentation?
Your freelance PowerPoint designer will keep your audience in mind every step of the way as they work on your presentation.
#3. What is the goal of your presentation?
Now that you’ve addressed who your audience is, you’ll want to think about how you want your presentation to affect them. In a perfect world, what is the final result of your presentation?
Common goals include:
Taking action on an meaningful cause (motivational speech or seminar)
Purchasing a product or service (sales presentation)
Investing in a business or startup (pitch deck)
Developing new skills and competencies (training presentation)
Understanding your goal will help your freelance PowerPoint focus on critical slides and design accordingly. While every slide should serve a purpose, a good designer can place emphasis on specific parts of the presentation, highlighting problems and solutions, data in charts and graphs throughout the slides, and a call to action at the end of the presentation.
#4. Is there a look or style you have in mind for your presentation design? Do you have examples of other presentations you like?
One of the easiest ways to communicate this is to share examples of other presentations or slides you like with your designer. If you don’t have any, do a quick search using Google, Pinterest or websites like Creative Market or Envato Elements.
Your audience and their preferences should be considered for the right design aesthetic of your presentation. In addition to telling your freelance PowerPoint designer your own likes and dislikes, think from the perspective of your audience as well.
Specific items you might want to discuss include:
Imagery (photos, illustrations and icons)
Features (animations and interactivity)
Graphic elements (fonts, colors and shapes)
Design style (minimal, modern, elaborate, colorful, muted, sophisticated, fun, professional, traditional, modern, etc.)
#5. Do you have brand guidelines or assets?
Your company may have well-established brand guidelines or if you’re just starting out, you may have no branding at all. If branding is not in place, your designer can provide a consistent overall look and feel for your presentation.
If your company has brand guidelines, send them to your designer along with the following:
Logo file(s) (many companies have several versions of their logo in different colors and file formats)
Brand colors
Brand fonts
6. Do you have images and photos for your presentation?
Are there images you’d like to include or would you like your designer to source stock photos or illustrations for your presentation? Tell your designer if you’re looking for something very specific such as products or people. They will be able to inform you on availability, limitations and proper licensing when it comes to stock photography.
#7. Is your content finalized?
It’s helpful to establish the content (the text including your main idea, supporting points, data, and the order in which they’re communicated) before the design phase begins. Design supports messaging (not the other way around).
If content is still in the works, every time the content changes, design changes will follow, leading to many more rounds of revisions throughout your project than necessary.
If you need assistance developing the content and flow of your presentation, be sure to work with a freelance PowerPoint designer who offers copywriting, coaching or content development services.
#8. Do you have a hard deadline?
Share any deadlines or your desired turn-around time when working with a freelance PowerPoint designer.
They’ll be able to determine what is realistic in your timeframe. Depending on both your budget and timeline, your designer can suggest must-have features and elements versus those that are nice to have.
#9. What are the future needs of your presentation?
Is this presentation meant for one-time use or long-term use?
Will it be a living, breathing document, shared and edited or over time?
Is it for an individual, team or entire company to utilize?
All of these questions will play a role in determining the amount of time, money and effort put toward developing the deck.
#10. What qualities are important to you in a freelance presentation designer?
Taking the time to answer the questions above is guaranteed to add value to any project when working with a freelance PowerPoint designer. There are also questions to ask when it comes to who you hire to design your presentation.
Do you prefer someone with specific industry experience?
Would you like to hire for a single project or establish a relationship for ongoing work?
Do you need a designer simply to make your slides look great or to advise on your content and presentation delivery?
Some major qualities that set professional designers apart include:
Speed
Creativity
Attention to detail
Communication style
Working with a professional presentation designer is both an investment and an opportunity for productive collaboration. It’s well worth finding a designer who is an excellent fit and offers the specific professional PowerPoint slide design services you need.
