Presentation Zen [45]
Below you can see the same quote displayed within the image rather than simply next to a smaller version of the image in a slide…
(Photos in these slides from iStockphoto.com.)
Emptiness which is conceptually liable to be mistaken for sheer nothingness is in fact the reservoir of infinite possibilities.
—Daisetz Suzuki
Empty Space
Empty space (also called negative space or white space) is a concept that is supremely simple, yet the most difficult for people to apply. Whether people are designing a document or a slide, the urge to fill empty areas with more elements is just too great. One of the biggest mistakes that typical business people make with presentation slides (and documents as well) is going out of their way to seemingly use every centimeter of space on a page, filling it up with text, boxes, clip art, charts, footers, and the ubiquitous company logo.
Empty space implies elegance and clarity. This is true with graphic design, but you can see the importance of space (both visual and physical) in the context of, say, interior design as well. High-end brand shops are always designed to create as much open space as possible. Empty space can convey a feeling of high quality, sophistication, and importance.
Empty space has a purpose. But those new to design may only see the positive elements, such as text or a graphic, without ever “seeing” the empty space and using that space to make the design more compelling. It is the empty space that gives a design air and lets the positive elements breathe. If it were true that empty space in a design such as a slide were “wasted space,” then it would make sense to want to remove such waste. However, empty space in a design is not “nothing,” it is indeed a powerful “something,” which gives the few elements on your slide their power.
In the Zen arts, you will find an appreciation for empty space. A painting, for example, may be mostly “empty” except for two to three elements, but the placement of the elements within that space forms a powerful message. The same approach can be applied to a room. Many Japanese homes have a washitsu, a traditional room with tatami mats, which is simple and mostly empty. The empty space allows for the appreciation of a single item, such as a single flower or a single wall hanging. The emptiness is a powerful design element itself. In this case, the more we add, the more diluted and less effective the design of our graphic, or living space, becomes.
Using Empty Space
The slide below is a typical one with several bullet points and an image related to the topic. Rather than making good use of empty space, the slide has trapped space in areas around the image…
In the following examples, instead of using one busy slide, I broke the flow of the content into seveal slides for the introduction of the “Hara hachi bu” concept. Since it is not necessary to put all the words that are spoken by the presenter on the screen, much of the on-screen text was removed. The slides have a clean white background with plenty of active empty space that helps guide the viewer’s eyes. When a new slide is revealed the eye will be naturally drawn to the image first (it’s larger, colorful) and then quickly go to the text element.
Embedded images in this section from iStockphoto.com
Directing the Eye With Images
Images can be used to help guide your viewer’s eyes through a slide to the most important elements. If you use images of people, be careful not to have these images unintentionally guide your viewer’s eyes away from what you want them to see. For example, if the text element (or chart) is the highest priority, it is important not to have images of people looking in the opposite direction from those elements.
Balance
Balance in a design is important, and one way to achieve good balance and clarity with a design is through the intelligent use of “empty space.” A well-balanced design has a clear, single, unified message. A well-designed slide has a clear starting point and guides the