Use PowerPoint Like a Professional Designer

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:

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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.

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
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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

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

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

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This tutorial will teach you the process of creating concept diagrams, preparing you for creating them in PowerPoint.

Browse courses on Diagrams

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