Better Typography and More Readable Text in PowerPoint

 

PowerPoint is, fundamentally, a tool for communication, and the heart of that communication is written words. Without text, a presentation, no matter how many charts, videos, and illustrations it contains, becomes little more than a collection of disjointed elements pasted between slides.

Words remain the glue that ties information together. Because of this, excellent typography is as important—if not more so—than any visual element in a presenter's PowerPoint file. This is not to suggest that a strong presentation can replace poor content, as content remains paramount.

The medium-independent term "typography" describes the presentation of types. This encompasses various aspects, such as blending fonts, selecting colors and point sizes, and positioning elements on a page in relation to other objects.

The development of good typography is a skill that requires practice and experimentation. Just as there are some general, fundamental guidelines that are as applicable to presentation software as they are to billboards and annual reports, there are a few typographical principles that relate directly to PowerPoint alone. Adhering to these simple strategies can result in a much more polished and professional-looking piece.

1. Fonts should never be less than 12 points in size. Even with substantial magnification over a projection system, people have difficulty focusing on smaller types. When the audience needs to carefully read something, this really works against you, as they spend most of their effort squinting and leaning forward rather than genuinely understanding the content. The only exception to the 12-point rule would be small copyright information, dates, or watermarks that are not related to the primary content.

2. Bigger is better. Headlines should float around 20–24 pt, larger if needed. Body copy generally works well in the 16-18 range, although 14-point is not uncommon for squeezing a few extra lines in. Headline point size should never be smaller than the content size.

3. Don't be afraid of leading. You can adjust the space between lines, known as "leading," under Format > Line Spacing. This does not have to be drastic; often, a subtle 1.1-11.5 can really open up the design on a page and make long blocks of text much easier to read.

4. Use the standard font faces that come with a typical Windows machine. These include Times New Roman, Impact, Arial, Verdana, Georgia, and Trebuchet. Using off-beaten fonts that you've installed may make your presentation more visually interesting, but it will cause numerous problems when moving the piece between different computers. Although you can theoretically move these non-standard fonts with your file, the resulting headaches rarely justify the end product.

5. When choosing fonts, it is often better to stay with sans-serif typefaces like Arial and Verdana. They are perfect for headline applications due to their blocky, minimal nature, which allows for display at larger sizes while maintaining maximum readability. In PowerPoint, it is even more important to use sans serif fonts in bullets, paragraphs, and other small-point applications. Serif fonts like Times New Roman and Georgia are more decorative, and while they perform superbly in the printed realm (look no further than The New York Times for endless columns of the Times face), study after study demonstrates they hinder reading speed and comprehension when presented on screen.

6. Select font colors that create a contrast with the background.

* For white backgrounds, black and dark versions of red and blue work exceptionally well.

* For dark backgrounds, like black or rich blues, white is ideal, but options such as yellow or very pale, icy blues can achieve intriguing and often captivating color combinations.

* A helpful visual trick is to use a background color that accepts both white and black font colors. Dark oranges, rich greens (apple green especially), and even certain blues can be excellent choices for the design-adventurous.

Avoid using black and red color combinations in any situation. Avoid color-similar combinations, like orange text on yellow backgrounds or light blue text on dark blue backgrounds.

7. People widely adopt PowerPoint as a presentation technique to display important information in bite-sized chunks because it works so well with bullet points. But consider exploring different typographic solutions for bullets; small changes can often encourage better readability and audience interest. There are several techniques that I have successfully used.

* Consider making the actual bullet a different color than the text. For instance, if your text is black, a medium gray bullet might work well. They serve to primarily guide the eye from line to line, so it is not always critical to make them as visually important as the text.

* Also, making the active bullet line a different color might be a helpful way to reinforce what you are saying. Manually displaying bullets based on where you are in your speech can be a subtle but powerful way to remind the audience.

* Also, try using different shapes for bullets! You can use a variety of pre-installed symbols or even an imported graphic in place of the rather boring default circles thanks to PowerPoint's flexible options.

8. Consistency. This is, without a doubt, the most important typographic tip in any medium, PowerPoint or other. Design your master template and stick to it. If you use 24-point Arial as a headline font, 16-point Verdana as the body font, and a customized set of bullets that change color, use that combination throughout the entire presentation. Consider not only the sizes and colors, but also the positioning of the elements. The first sign of amateur PowerPoint is text fields jumping from spot-to-spot across different slides.

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