Design

We firmly believe that slides should enhance what the presenter is saying, not distract from it. And when your audience is faced with a bunch of text on screen and listening to you speak, chances are they’ll be trying to do both, and missing much of what you’re trying to convey. That said, we also believe that a presentation is best conveyed when the speaker is comfortable. So we always strive to find a balance that achieves that goal. We also understand that sometimes slides have to work hard and there may just need to be a lot of content on them. We get it, and will work with you to make sure that your slides look their best no matter the scenario.

Presentation

PROJECT TYPES

Ways to engage

HOW WE WORK

Form Meets Function: A Balance of Beauty and Pragmatism

PROJECT TYPES

reports

keynotes

sales decks

capabilities overviews

pitch decks

The truth is: There’s not one set way! We are a pretty flexible crew able to work in the way that best suits your needs. We’ll set up a call to understand your project better and work through a timeline that gets you to a final.

Some questions we’ll ask you to understand the scope of work and design approach:

HOW WE WORK

What is the Purpose of the Presentation? 

Understanding the purpose grounds the the rest of the questions we will ask and our approach to the presentation. Whether your intent is to inform or sell, and how it will be used determine many functional and design factors.

In What Form & State Will Your Content Be Delivered to Us?

We work best when you have your story or content ironed out. You might have it in a Word doc or outlined across slides in basic bullets. The more we understand the talking points, or the story you’re trying to tell, the better we can design a slide that supports it vs distracts from it. A call to walk through the deck can be helpful but not always necessary. While we enjoy providing feedback on content and story flow, we don’t currently offer story development services. If you need assistance, we can refer you to a talented writer.

Do You Have a Template?

It can be helpful if you have an existing template. We love brand guidelines if you have them, and will always uphold our work to those standards. If you do not have a template or your template has challenges we identify, we will want to understand if we must work strictly within it or where there is room to play. If you don’t have a template, we would love to build one for you! Sometimes we will design a presentation with a new brand, and then build a template using those slide designs to inform the template. If you don’t have branding and we will need to establish a design style, know that that will require more time investment.

How Will the Presentation Be Shared?

The thing about presentations is that they are used for so many different use cases; some examples include: 
  • A PDF sent via email
  • A print out distributed at a roundtable meeting
  • A video conference/webinar presentation 
  • A presentation in front of a room of people (big or small) 
 And sometimes it can be multiple of these options! Knowing this informs decisions like whether we utilize any animations or slide transitions, or how much information is best to have on a slide.

If Relevant, Who Will Be Presenting It?

Every presenter is different. Some presenters are comfortable with highly visual slides with limited information – they are confident in their story and just need a stimulating visual to support their message. Other presenters may feel more comfortable with prompts and want more information on the slides. And this could vary depending on the format – if presenting virtually, they may need fewer onscreen prompts than when presenting live. We always want to design to make the presenter feel as confident as possible, and will work with you to make sure that your slides look their best no matter the scenario.

What Level of Design Support Are You Seeking?

Some decks you may just need help tidying up, usually involving bringing consistency to fonts and colors and aligning objects and text for a more uniform and professional feel. Other decks might need more visuals (images, diagrams, illustrations) to make it feel more dynamic and tell the story better. And yet others need the true "showstopper" treatment – these are the bigger stage keynotes and conference presentations. Generally, the time investment per slide will increase with each approach level. 

High Design

When we pull out the stops. It may be a keynote address, a sales presentation, or a company overview that will also serve as a leave behind. We will push beyond the “template” (while being brand compliant) and make this highly impactful. 

formatting cleanup

For information-heavy decks that need formatting and alignment consistency to give them a professional look. 

Polish

Somewhere between a formatting cleanup and high design. We would add on-brand visuals within the framework of the existing template to give the information more life. 

DESIGN APPROACHES

GET STARTED

WAYS TO ENGAGE

Option for collaborative project management status board.

Detailed information on service level guidelines available during inquiry call.

Monthly Retainer

Much of our work is done by the hour, because the needs vary greatly (and can change in real time). We can meet you where you need help. Standard and Rush Rates available – please inquire for current rates. Project estimates are available after an initial call to understand the scope of work and timeline requirements.

Priority access, with just 3-month minimum commitments.

Retainers offered at 8, 16 and 32 hours per month. Priority service and waived rush fees determined by retainer level.

Minimum Engagement Fee Per Project:
4 hours

Project Basis

No monthly commitment, flexibility to engage whenever a need arises.

Service level (turnaround times) determined by capacity at time of engagement.

We offer two ways to engage:

Templates

Our mantra is “PowerPoint should not be where brand guidelines go to die” and to say we’re passionate about it is an understatement!

There are two ways brands fall apart in PowerPoint:
  •  Non-designers are “designing” in
    PowerPoint everyday.
  • They’re working in a template that isn’t making it any easier on them.
Since we can’t turn non-designers into designers, and you won't always be able to hire a designer to work on all of your slides, we can't 100% safeguard against error.  But we can set a better foundation for success through a well-built template. Creating an effective presentation template takes technical skill and we’ve spent a decade nerding out on it (yup – we read all the books, attended all the conferences, and have built countless of them).

Branded

TEMPLATE Options

BENEFITS

Setting a Foundation for Success

HOW WE WORK

Your template should be set with correct brand colors, carefully chosen font equivalents, properly set placeholders, and be “light” in file size.

BUILT TECHNICALLY SOUND

What Does A Well Built Template Entail?

Your template should look and feel like your brand guidelines and other branded materials. It shouldn’t look like an afterthought or disconnect from the brand.

REFLECTS THE SPIRIT OF THE BRAND

Your template should offer a variety of interesting layouts to choose from, including the basics, plus include plenty of instructions throughout.

GIVES NON-DESIGNERS A HEAD START

Every brand is unique, and thus, every template will be unique. Whichever template level you choose, we will meet with you to understand your needs to make sure we craft your custom branded template to best serve your stakeholders.
Here are some of the things we’ll talk through in our kickoff call:

HOW WE WORK

What Are the Ways Presentations Are Used Within Your Organization?

Determine Approach to Icons, Photo Libraries and More

Request Past Sample Presentations From Your Organization to Inform Layouts

Review Which of Our “Tried + True” Layouts to Include

Determine Best Approach to Fonts (brand fonts vs. System Fonts vs. Cloud fonts) 

GET STARTED

TEMPLATE OPTIONS

ALL TEMPLATES INCLUDE:

Premium

Our template are priced at flat fees based on the scopes outlined below. Customizations from these scopes can be negotiated. Please inquire for pricing. 

(2) Title Slides

(6) Divider Slide Options

(1) Agenda Slide

(1) Closing Slide

(~19) Standard Content Layouts

Option for 1 set of duplicate Content Layouts with other background color

Up to (5) additional custom layouts

(2) Quote/Callout Slides

(6) Media Layouts (Mobile, Monitor & Tablet)

Standard

(1) Title Slide

(3) Divider Slide Options

 (1) Agenda Slide

(1) Closing Slide

(~19) Content Layouts

(1) Quote/Callout Slide

 (6) Media Layouts (Mobile, Monitor & Tablet)

  • Brand Elements Slides: Color Palette, Icon Guidelines, and Graphic Devices as needed
  • Sample table and chart slides
  • On-brand and set up technically sound (fonts, colors, etc.)
  • Instructions for use built-in to the template as needed
  • Includes 2 rounds of light edits

"SlideShine is a best-in-class resource! Not only do they do incredible work, they are professional and can navigate the often complex nature of working on executive presentations. Ashley herself is very astute, asks great questions and is resourceful. We gave her a complex project with lots of moving parts and within a tight timeframe. The process and end work was perfect. She is a delight to work with as well!"

APRIL ANSLINGER

Global Chief Marketing Officer, Self Esteem Brands

"SlideShine was efficient, smart and an absolute pleasure to work with. They have a keen eye for design and helped to make this template work hard and look fantastic for our client."

BRIDGET DUFFY

Duffy, branding agency for Bloomington Tourism (MN)

"As a growth stage start up with a small marketing team, we rely heavily on contractor support. This crew is one or our best. They are incredibly responsive, deliver on time, go the extra mile to cover when our team doesn't have time/resources, and have helped my team and my company show up like we have bigger teams and pocketbooks."

SARAH KALHORN

chief marketing officer, guardhat

"Ashley is truly a design unicorn. It’s rare to find such a skilled designer who infuses each project with creativity and passion, while also encouraging teams to think differently about new ways the design can help meet overall goals."

MARY PREVOST

Owner, Prevost Partners

"Not only did our team enjoy working with the SlideShine team, but our not always easy-to-please client was excited about the the work they did. They did a fantastic job! We look forward collaborating again soon on other projects."

LAURA LOWERY

Sr. Director, Head of Creative, Global Gateway Advisors

"SlideShine has a knack for running with a little bit of direction and delivering a superior product that is always spot on. They gave our organization the tools needed to present ourselves in a polished and professional manner."

JULIE HALGREN

VP, Marketing, Nexben

"SlideShine took our basic vision for a presentation and made it brilliant. Thank you for helping our audience see our work with the visual polish and professionalism that reflects our passion and expertise."

Jenny Eldredge

Executive Director, Bellis

"The creativity, knowledge, patience and delivery exceeded my expectations. The business I work in is complex, but SlideShine took the time to deeply understand my vision and bring it to life."

LISA BETH LENTINI

cEO, lumen worldwide endeavors

"SlideShine asked great questions to truly understand the needs and goals of the project and bring the message to life so beautifully through design. They were just unbelievably easy to work with, efficient and talented."

AMANDA BRINKMAN

Speaker and Founder of Sunshine Studios

GET STARTED

Ready to give your slides the SlideShine glow up?