This semester, (or rather, last semester,) I attempted to revise my Powerpoint presentations into something a bit more different from the rest. See, in the M.A program at Long Beach, you’re expected to use PowerPoint to work with your presentation on a particular book/article/theory/etc. I felt like everyone was encroaching in on my then-current style, so I decided it was time for a change…but to what. Then it hit me: I was always a fan of minimal stuff on a powerpoint, and nothing particularly ritzy, so around the start of the semester, Macworld 2008 happened, and I happened to garner a look at Steve’s keynote presentation….

After looking at the way Jobs did his presentation, I realized it was time for an upgrade to my own. My PPTS used to have animated entries and all that jazz, but I decided to ditch it in order to change my own. In effect, I decided to “borrow” Steve’s presentation format. Obviously, It’s not a perfect copy (I only learned gradients and all that after I did this PPT.) But it does show to serve how well these work/don’t work:

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I created another presentation that follows Steve’s a little better, but this one was the more successful of the two, at least in my eyes. It also makes me realize that as time goes on, my presentations are becoming more and more minimalist. Like I said, I’m going from animations and outlines and other crap to more chic presentations.

I have learned though, that I shouldn’t completely try to imitate Steve’s style. My second attempt ended in almost absolute failure, and I had to jump through hoops to save my butt.

What about you? How do you approach a Powerpoint Presentation? Do you prefer minimalism, or do you go all out?