As we’ve established in the past, a majority of people respond positively to visual information. Avoid unloading too much data on your audience and trying to fit everything in a short series of slides.
This doesn’t mean that you can leave out the fine print completely. Sometimes key individuals like investors in your audience will want a closer look at the details.
As a solution, provide them with a flipbook—a document where they can examine the details they need in their own time.
Unlike a pitch deck, a flipbook carries a lot more text and information. It’s similar to a report, but with a better sense of design. Even if it’s meant to act as a supplementary document, a flipbook will need to be as visually engaging as the presentation you delivered.
Here are our top pointers to make sure your flipbook works well with the rest of your presentation:
Your flipbook needs to stand out
Business documents are often kept simple, printed in a subtle black and white. However, if you’re looking to impress people, you need something more that will encourage your recipients to keep flipping through the pages.
As with a pitch deck, make sure that key information stands out in your flipbook. Learn to experiment with different design elements to add life to the information you’re presenting.
While expounding on details, make use of images, illustrations, and color accents to help key points stand out.
Keep basic design principles in mind
Even as you make sure your flipbook stands out with great design, still be mindful of the same principles that guide your pitch deck.
Remember that people have limited attention spans, and need room to relax their gaze so they can focus on more important objects.
Continue to observe basic design elements such as contrast, white space, and the rule of thirds in order to strike the perfect balance.
You’ll be able to grab your viewers’ attentions without saturating them with too many slide elements this way.
Structure your content properly
Proper structure helps your document become much easier to read, regardless of its length. If you can cut up your content into consumable chunks, recipients will be able to easily scan your document for the information they need.
For some tips, here are just a few ways you can keep your content organized:
- Break down discussion with headlines
- Highlight the key takeaway with a subheading
- Discuss a single point per paragraph
- Use bullet points to list down key information
- Add pull-quotes to emphasize important parts of your content
Use grids and columns as a layout guide
Documents are also much harder to read when the layout is haphazardly done. You can’t just arrange your content randomly.
Make sure your layout encourages the reader to keep going, guiding them from one point on the page to the next.
To solve this problem, utilize grids and columns as you format both design and content.
Design blogger, Sean Hodge, explains in his article on Smashing Magazine, the benefits and purpose of grid-based design. Hodge included a grid’s optimization of variety and transformation of disharmony into something that enhances design rather than detracts it.
These can guide you in arranging your content in a satisfying and creative layout, so make use of them for visual appeal.
Whether you’re creating a pitch deck or a flipbook, powerful visuals play an important role in helping your ideas stand out. If the occasion calls for a closer look at the details, give the audience your presentation’s fine print. Follow these tips to prepare a flipbook that magnifies the importance of the message you’re delivering.
References
Hodge, Sean. “Grid-Based Design: Six Creative Column Techniques.” Smashing Magazine. March 25, 2008. Accessed February 6, 2015.
“Pitch Deck Lesson: The Rule of Thirds in Slide Design.” pitchdeck.com, November 10, 2014. Accessed February 6, 2015.
“The Visual (spatial) Learning Style.” Learning Styles. Accessed February 6, 2015.
Watson, Leon. “Humans Have Shorter Attention Span than Goldfish, Thanks to Smartphones.” The Telegraph. Accessed February 6, 2015.
