Presentation Skills That Will Take You to the Top (Collection), 2/e

35. What Color Is Your PowerPoint?: Contrast Counts

The previous chapter about serif and sans serif font concluded with the Latin phrase De gustibus non est disputandum, or, “There is no argument about taste.” The phrase is even more applicable, if not indisputable, when it comes to color choice. Well, almost indisputable, for there is a single unavoidable consideration that transcends the taste of any presenter or presenter’s designer: the audience’s ability to understand the graphic.

A simple one-word rule, applicable to every element of every graphic, will make it easy for every audience to understand your every slide. That one word is contrast. A simple way to implement contrast is to reference the classic color wheel, which is divided into ...