Is it me? It’s that time of year when chestnuts are roasting on the open fire and Jack Frost is nipping at my nose, Yuletide carols are being sung by a choir and yet I’m feeling completely overwhelmed. Christmas shopping must be done but everywhere I look there is so much ‘stuff’ I just don’t know where to start. It doesn’t matter if I stay in the comfort of my own living room and surf the net – there’s even more ‘stuff’ on there. Sometimes you just want to stop and scream and say just tell me straight what do I have to do, where do I have to look, please, please, please just make it simple. It’s not Christmas that is the problem; it’s not even the fact there is quite a lot to sort out: it’s the fact that there is so much choice and you don’t know where to start.
Back to work, why are so many Powerpoint presentations absolutely overwhelming (and strangely as a result, absolutely under-whelming)?
It’s not the number of slides that is the problem, but the number of objects on each slide.
Clutter, clutter, everywhere. Should I look at the image in the top right corner? Or that text strapped across the centre? Or wait a minute, what does the footnote say? Is that important?
A cry from the heart here – just keep it simple – give it to me straight – and tell me what you want me to know. Don’t ever be afraid of white space (or black, or whatever background colour you have) – without it, what hope have we of ever ‘seeing the wood for the trees’. As ever, less is more.
Jim Harvey
