The PowerPoint® Blog

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

Presenting the New “TLC Creative Services, Inc.” Logo

As part of the new design offices and needing new business cards, signage and everything else, Lori took on the task of updating our company logo – which was last revised in 2006.

All the same information, just some updated styling on the “TLC ” spheres (now vector art) and a more streamlined and modern linear feel to the text.

Look for it on the blog, website and where ever else the TLC logo appears.

– Troy @ TLC

By |2016-08-16T09:35:20-07:00February 2nd, 2012|Personal, Portfolio|

PPT 2010 – PPT Web App – and SkyDrive = Perfect Partners for Interactive Online Tutorials

Fellow PPT MVPs Glenna Shaw and Luc Sanders have an online tutorial posted on the Microsoft MVP Blog that has great information. See it here.

While the PPT Web App is still limited compared to the full application, it is the best online option available at this point from any of the offerings (and it keeps your PPT file as a PPT file). If you have not tried the PPT Web App, this tutorial walks through the process of setting up the (free) account needed and offers tips on using it.

– Troy @ TLC

By |2016-08-16T09:35:45-07:00January 30th, 2012|Resource/Misc|

Things We Do Consistently Well (a Before-and-After example)

Most every presentation software for the past 15 years has made information as bullet points the default way of visually presenting it. While efficient, and duplicate-able, it is definitely not the most attractive or memorable way to present information. Here is an example of “Bullets vs. Visual Layouts” from a recent project.

Here is the original slide – simple, consistent, boring bullet list:

Here is the slide after the presentation makeover project. It has the same information, but has some visual impact with color, shapes, layering, and speaker support animation (obviously not seen in this flat image of the slide):

– Troy @ TLC

By |2016-08-16T09:36:38-07:00January 25th, 2012|Portfolio|

You Can Quote That (a before and after example)

Quotes can be powerful in a presentation. But the visual should also be powerful. Here is the original slide:

On the good side, it is not to small of text, high contrast colors, and legible.

Here is the slide after the presentation makeover:

The quote is now on the (new) corporate template, so it ties in with the full presntation look. It is clearly a quotation with the oversize stylist quote marks. And in addition to credit (name of person being quoted) is a great image of the author.

– Troy @ TLC

By |2016-08-16T09:37:23-07:00January 23rd, 2012|Portfolio|

Using Windows 7 Keyboard Shortcuts to Move A Presentation

Windows 7 is installed on all computers here at TLC Creative Services for good reason – it is the best operating system Microsoft has released. If you are not familiar with moving and arranging application windows using keyboard shortcuts in Windows 7, it is a great feature!

Here is my desktop with PowerPoint open as a small application window:

If I used the Windows Key + Up arrow

PowerPoint maximizes to full screen:

Use the Windows key + Left arrow to snap PowerPoint to the left side:

Use the Windows key + Right arrow to snap PowerPoint to the right side:

And use the Windows key + Down arrow to minimize PowerPoint:

Plus, if you have multiple monitors this also moves the application to the other monitors! Use Window Key + Left/Right arrow to “step” the application across the screens. Or use Window key + Shift + Left/Right arrow to quickly move the application to the other monitor keeping the same size and position when it moves.

Give it a try, I am certain this is a Windows 7 feature you will make a part of your daily design routine like I have.

– Troy @ TLC

By |2016-08-16T09:37:57-07:00January 17th, 2012|Tutorial|

Presenting the Lexus LF-LC Prototype

I am fortunate to work on a lot of really great projects. One constant is the content is not something I can share with others, and often it only has that great appeal when viewed in context of the staging, screens and other slides. The Lexus LF-LC is now public knowledge, so I thought I would share a few slides from the show where it was first shown.

I started with a background for the presentation that had lots of motion and energy. The content was lots of visuals and minimal text (no bullets). So working within the brand style guide here is the slide background I created for the LF-LC.

Next step was to optimize the great photography in Photoshop for each slide. The screens for this show were very large and projected in HD, so the slides and images really made fantastic visuals. Now imagine these slides 40′ wide!

– Troy @ TLC

By |2016-08-16T09:38:20-07:00January 15th, 2012|Portfolio|

Showsite and a Trip Back to My Youth

Just wrapped up a show at the La Costa Resort in San Diego. Great event, super crew and good client. All of the presentations ran smoothly and it was fun as I spent much of my youth growing up right there in La Costa.

– Troy @ TLC

By |2016-08-16T09:39:08-07:00January 11th, 2012|Personal|
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