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Use PowerPoint Like a Professional Designer

4.3 Filled star Filled star Filled star Filled star Empty star
Based on 260 ratings
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Anna Ossowska

Hi, my name is Anna and I am dedicated to helping you create outstanding PowerPoint presentations and data visualizations to accelerate your career and achieve more in less time.

This course includes examples based on my professional experience as a Graphic & Web Designer. Many of the tips and tricks I share with you originate from the questions asked by my colleagues during the training sessions and team projects.

This course is divided into six parts:

Read more

Hi, my name is Anna and I am dedicated to helping you create outstanding PowerPoint presentations and data visualizations to accelerate your career and achieve more in less time.

This course includes examples based on my professional experience as a Graphic & Web Designer. Many of the tips and tricks I share with you originate from the questions asked by my colleagues during the training sessions and team projects.

This course is divided into six parts:

  1. Getting Started:In this section I will teach you how to manage your PowerPoint working space by using the Quick Access Toolbar as well as VBA macros which I created specifically for this course. You will also learn how to become faster and more efficient in creating slides by using the keyboard shortcuts.

  2. Creating Professional Templates:In this section I will teach you step by step how to build a professional PowerPoint template and how to solve common problems related to the template creation process. This will help you to save tones of time when working on big projects and make your presentation-creating process very fast and smooth.

  3. Extra Skills for Template Makers:In this section you will learn how to extend the number of colour options in your PowerPoint palette and make them automatically appear every time you or your colleagues open the presentation. You will also learn about the function of XML in PowerPoint and how to manage this code properly. I will also show you how to create a beautiful colour palette from scratch and which online tools would make the whole process fast and easy.

  4. Managing Photographs in PowerPoint:In this section I will show you how to properly manage photographs inside PowerPoint. You will also learn how to remove background from images and how to fix common problems related to the photo editing process. Together we will create an employee profile as well as quote slide.

  5. Customizing Shapes, Pictures and Typography:In this section I will introduce you to the Merge Shapes command. We will use this knowledge to build a professional concept diagram and transform the ordinary graphical content into a remarkable product.

  6. Creating Impressive Animations:In this section you will learn how to use Side Zoom, Section Zoom as well as Morph tool to bring your slides to the next level and impress your audience.

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What's inside

Learning objectives

  • Create modern slides and concept diagrams
  • Tackle tasks faster with shortcuts and vba macros
  • Build professional powerpoint templates from scratch
  • Communicate your information in the best manner
  • Learn the basics of xml to program the custom colour palettes in powerpoint
  • Learn the secrets of designing beautiful colour palettes
  • Learn practical techniques for formatting photographs inside powerpoint
  • Impress your audience by creating customized shapes, pictures and typography
  • Learn how to create video-like slide transitions
  • Bring your presentations to life
  • Downloadable exercise files and learning materials
  • All the techniques used by professional presentation designers in one place
  • Show more
  • Show less

Syllabus

Introduction
Getting Started
Introducing the Quick Access Toolbar
Importing the Quick Access Toolbar
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Traffic lights

Read about what's good
what should give you pause
and possible dealbreakers
Shed light on the secrets and tools of Presentation Designers
Strengthens existing PowerPoint knowledge
Learn best practices and time-saving techniques
Taught by professional PowerPoint designer Anna Ossowska
Explore advanced PowerPoint features, including Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) tools
Suitable for various learners, from PowerPoint beginners to those seeking advanced techniques

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Reviews summary

Mastering powerpoint for professional design

According to students, 'Use PowerPoint Like a Professional Designer' is a highly praised course for elevating presentation skills. Learners commend the efficiency tools like shortcuts and VBA macros as a workflow game-changer. The course excels in advanced design, covering Merge Shapes, Morph animations, and template creation, leading to impactful slides. Students value the clear instructor, Anna. While largely beneficial, some advanced users found early content less relevant, and the XML section challenging. Overall, it's a strong professional development option.
Anna's clear teaching style and practical examples keep learners highly engaged.
"Anna is an amazing instructor! Her teaching style is clear, concise, and keeps you engaged."
"The instructor's examples are so practical."
"Anna is a clear and engaging instructor. The practical, step-by-step approach is perfect."
Significantly improves presentation creation speed through shortcuts and VBA macros.
"The VBA macros and shortcuts section was a game-changer for my workflow."
"Understanding XML for custom colors is invaluable. Anna is a clear and engaging instructor."
"The tips on efficiency (shortcuts, VBA) are incredibly useful."
"This course showed me so many new tricks. The section on creating professional templates saved me hours."
Unlocks powerful PowerPoint features like Merge Shapes and Morph for stunning visuals.
"The advanced techniques like Merge Shapes and Morph have elevated my presentations beyond anything I thought possible."
"I particularly enjoyed the sections on customizing shapes and the animation tools (Morph!)."
"Learning about color palettes and image handling dramatically improved my visual communication."
"The section on Merge Shapes was revolutionary."
Equips learners with immediately applicable skills for professional presentations.
"The instructor breaks down complex design principles into actionable steps for PowerPoint."
"This course transformed my understanding of PowerPoint's capabilities."
"I learned how to use practical tools and strategies that I could apply immediately to my work."
"The downloadable resources are a huge plus."
Some learners found the XML programming section to be complex or less universally useful.
"My only minor critique is that some parts, like the XML, felt a bit dense and perhaps slightly less universally applicable for everyone."
"I found some of the design concepts a bit basic, and the XML part felt over-complicated for what it achieved."
"I felt some parts were a bit dated, or the value was diminished by how much effort was required for relatively minor gains (e.g., XML)."
Highly beneficial for beginners to intermediate users, but advanced users might find some early content basic.
"Good for beginners, but maybe not advanced users."
"Perhaps better for total beginners."
"For me, with existing design skills, some early parts might feel slow."
"I went from a PowerPoint novice to creating stunning presentations."

Activities

Be better prepared before your course. Deepen your understanding during and after it. Supplement your coursework and achieve mastery of the topics covered in Use PowerPoint Like a Professional Designer with these activities:
Learn about designing concept diagrams
This tutorial will teach you the process of creating concept diagrams, preparing you for creating them in PowerPoint.
Browse courses on Diagrams
Show steps
  • Find a tutorial on concept diagram design
  • Follow the steps in the tutorial
Practice using keyboard shortcuts
Practicing these shortcuts will help you work more efficiently in PowerPoint.
Browse courses on Keyboard Shortcuts
Show steps
  • Find a list of PowerPoint keyboard shortcuts
  • Practice using the shortcuts for 15 minutes each day
Find a mentor who can help you with PowerPoint
A mentor can provide you with guidance and support as you learn PowerPoint.
Show steps
  • Ask your friends, family, or colleagues for recommendations
  • Search for PowerPoint mentors online
Four other activities
Expand to see all activities and additional details
Show all seven activities
Create a compilation of resources on PowerPoint
This will help you to organize and review the materials you've learned in the course.
Show steps
  • Gather resources on PowerPoint from a variety of sources
  • Organize the resources into a central location
Attend a PowerPoint workshop
This will give you a chance to learn from experts and get hands-on experience with PowerPoint.
Show steps
  • Search for PowerPoint workshops in your area
  • Attend a workshop
Create a presentation on a topic of your choice
This project will give you a chance to apply the skills you've learned in the course and create your own presentation.
Show steps
  • Choose a topic for your presentation
  • Do some research on your topic
  • Create a storyboard for your presentation
  • Design your slides
  • Rehearse your presentation
Volunteer to create presentations for a non-profit organization
This will give you a chance to use your PowerPoint skills to help others.
Show steps
  • Contact local non-profit organizations
  • Offer your services to create presentations

Career center

Learners who complete Use PowerPoint Like a Professional Designer will develop knowledge and skills that may be useful to these careers:

Reading list

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Course image
Rating
4.3 Filled star Filled star Filled star Filled star Empty star
Effort
3.5 total hours
Via
Udemy
Instructor
Anna Ossowska
Language
English
Traffic lights
Read about what's good
what should give you pause
and possible dealbreakers
Shed light on the secrets and tools of Presentation Designers
Strengthens existing PowerPoint knowledge
Learn best practices and time-saving techniques
Taught by professional PowerPoint designer Anna Ossowska
Explore advanced PowerPoint features, including Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) tools
Suitable for various learners, from PowerPoint beginners to those seeking advanced techniques
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