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You are here: Home / Design / A quick way to design better photo slides–the 3-side rule

A quick way to design better photo slides–the 3-side rule

January 16, 2012 by Ellen Finkelstein 14 Comments

READ LATER - DOWNLOAD THIS POST AS PDF >> CLICK HERE <<

Here’s a quick way to improve the design of slides that include some text and a photo. This type of slide is very common. But it doesn’t look very striking.

powerpoint_tips_3-sided-rule

Here’s the principle: Make the photo touch 3 sides of the slide. When you do this, your slide will look bolder and clearer. The impact will increase. And it will simply look better. There are 3 ways to make this photo touch at least 3 sides of the slide:

1. A vertical image covering 1/2 of the slide

powerpoint_tips_3-sided-rule

2. A horizontal image covering most of the slide

powerpoint_tips_3-sided-rule

3. A horizontal image covering the entire slide

powerpoint_tips_3-sided-rule

Try making over your picture slides in this way. You’ll be pleased with the results! Leave a comment and let me know your experience.

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READ LATER - DOWNLOAD THIS POST AS PDF >> CLICK HERE <<

Related posts:

  1. Colorize a Photo for a Background
  2. Create a vignette effect to make a photo more powerful
  3. How to format photos that are cut off — like part of an arm
  4. Create a quick texture background

Filed Under: Design, Design principles, Images Tagged With: images, photos, slide design

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Silvestar SantakEllen FinkelsteinMatt Sergej RincDan DascalescuLearn 4 pro slide layouts – in 2 minutes | Remote Possibilities Recent comment authors
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Philip Campbell
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Philip Campbell

Great tip. Now I know why you instantly grabbed the image and moved it to the corner! What a striking difference that makes!

Thanks Ellen.

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11 years ago
Ellen
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Ellen

Glad you like it! Yes, it is a quick way to make a big difference on the slide.

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11 years ago
Charlotte
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Charlotte

Ellen, what an influential MVP you are! Thank you sharing the 3-side rule. After reading your suggestions, I immediately changed the slides I’m using for a presentation at a university next week.

I will think of you during the presentation. My best to you for continued success.

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11 years ago
Charlotte
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Charlotte

Ellen, what an influential MVP you are! Thank you for sharing the 3-side rule. After reading your suggestions, I immediately changed the slides I’m using for a presentation at a university next week.

I will think of you during the presentation. My best to you for continued success.

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11 years ago
Ellen
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Ellen

Charlotte, thanks for your kind comments. Good luck with your presentation next week!

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11 years ago
Craig Hadden - Remote Possibilities
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Craig Hadden - Remote Possibilities

Thanks Ellen – that’s how I explain to people what I mean by “make your photos much bigger!”

I really liked your 2-minute video on this subject, which I’ve linked to from my blog.

One person asked about having the image on the left and text on the right. What are your thoughts on that? (See comments at http://remotepossibilities.wordpress.com/2012/01/10/learn-4-pro-slide-layouts-in-2-minutes/)

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11 years ago
Marcie
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Marcie

Never knew I had so many options. Thanks for sharing your knowledge.

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11 years ago
Ellen
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Ellen

Craig,
Thanks for linking to my blog and the video. I answered the question about why we usually put the text on the left and the image on the right as a comment on your blog. I also gave 2 exceptions, when I think it could be the opposite.

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11 years ago
Ellen
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Ellen

Marcie,
Glad to help!

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11 years ago
trackback
Learn 4 pro slide layouts – in 2 minutes | Remote Possibilities

[…] – which might be even quicker than watching the video – Ellen recently published 3 of the layouts in a short blog post. […]

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11 years ago
Dan Dascalescu
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Dan Dascalescu

This is really a fantastic tip! Quick to do, and visually effective.

I’ve maximized all the previously centered images in my presentation (5 of them), and it looks much more impactful and stylish now.

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10 years ago
Matt Sergej Rinc
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Matt Sergej Rinc

I like this 3-side rule and advocate original 4 placements of images. But regarding images on the right – I always place them to the left if they are not tight to/related to text content. The reason for that I explained in (native language only) video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-lMibWJoDvY&t=65s or if I put it in English simple reasoning: Western cultures read text from top to bottom and from left to right. If there is an image on the right, the eye will change a focus to it than return back to left and again to image on the right – causing a… Read more »

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9 years ago
Ellen Finkelstein
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Ellen Finkelstein

Matt, The logic sounds good, but if you follow that, for all slides with just an image and a slide title, you’d put the slide title on the bottom because people read from top to bottom. Do you do that? I do it occasionally, but mostly put the title on the top. I’ve made a similar argument that the presenter should stand to the right of the screen from the point of view of the audience. That way they can look at the slide first and then move to the right to pay attention to the presenter. But no one… Read more »

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9 years ago
Silvestar Santak
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Silvestar Santak

Dear Ellen,
Are you the author of ACAD books 15 yrs. ago?

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6 years ago
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