I work with PowerPoint on a daily basis and I am very honored to be a Microsoft PowerPoint MVP. We have a talented team of presentation designers at TLC Creative Services and ThePowerPointBlog is our area to highlight PowerPoint tips, tricks, examples and tutorials. Enjoy! Troy Chollar
Many Charts, 1 Legend To Rule Them All!
Presentations are meant to communicate ideas clearly and effectively, but too often, slides are cluttered with redundant elements that distract and hide the information to be conveyed. And as we look at charts this month, we find that they are often full of unneeded visual distraction. But this is a specialty scenario where the slide content with multiple charts creates opportunity to simplify the visual elements.
Three Charts: Three Legends
In this presentation, many slides had multiple charts, and each one included its own legend. At first glance, this might seem harmless—after all, each chart needs a legend, right? But in reality, this redundancy forces your audience to process the same information multiple times, making it harder to focus on what actually matters: the data trends and insights.
Our design goal is to remove adds unnecessary visual clutter and enable to audience to process the slide and quickly identify the message. The layout is good. All the charts visually align, accurately display the same Y axis metric, have the same color coding ̶ and have the same legend.
Three Charts: A Unified Legend
Because the legend is identical, instead of repeating it three times, we streamlined the slide by using just one legend beneath all three charts. This simple adjustment immediately reduces the visual clutter and makes it easier for the audience to focus on the data.
We are happy with this “1 Legend To Rule Them All” update. Which was similarly done on many other slides in this presentation. The cognitive load is reduced, and the message comes across quicker and clearer.
Why This Works
- Improves Readability – A cleaner layout allows the audience to process information faster.
- Reduces Redundancy – Eliminates unnecessary repetition, keeping attention on the data.
- Enhances Aesthetics – A well-organized slide looks more professional and engaging.
- Guides the Audience – With less distraction, viewers can focus on what’s important.
- Small Tweaks, Big Impact
- Great slide design isn’t about adding more—it’s about removing what doesn’t serve the message. By centralizing your legend, you create a more effective and visually appealing slide that helps your audience focus on what truly matters: the insights behind your data.
The TLC Creative presentation design team always takes a step back and asks: Are there unnecessary repeating elements? A little decluttering can go a long way in making a slideshow presentation more impactful.
– Christie on the TLC Creative design team