Presentation Design UK

Master templates: the part most decks get wrong

A lot of company templates are a background image with a logo in the corner. Staff then draw their own text boxes on every slide, so fonts, sizes and positions drift until no two decks match. A proper template is built in the slide master: the hidden layer that controls every layout, placeholder, colour and font in the file.

We build masters with a set of named layouts for the slides you actually use, such as title, section divider, bullet text, text with image, two and three column, chart, quote, team and contact. Each has placeholders in the right place, so when someone clicks "New slide" and picks a layout, the content lands where it should. Theme colours mean charts, tables and shapes pick up your palette automatically instead of the default blue, and theme fonts mean headings and body text change together.

PowerPoint, Google Slides or Keynote

We build for the software your team presents from, and each has its quirks.

• Microsoft PowerPoint: templates are supplied as a .potx file, so opening it creates a fresh copy rather than overwriting the master. PowerPoint's default slide size is 16:9 widescreen at 13.333 x 7.5 inches. Font embedding works in some versions of PowerPoint but not all, so we pick fonts with that in mind.
• Google Slides: built in Google's theme editor, using Google Fonts so every viewer sees the same typography in a browser. Google Slides' widescreen preset is also 16:9.
• Apple Keynote: supplied as a Keynote theme with master slides, typically set at 1920 x 1080. Keynote converts to PowerPoint, but masters and fonts don't always survive the trip, so if your team uses both we usually build both.

If your organisation mixes all three, we design one visual system and build it natively in each, rather than converting one file and hoping.

We also set up the practical details people forget: slide numbers and footers in the master, a sensible default for speaker notes, and table and chart styles that match your palette. These save more time over a year than any visual flourish.

Designing slides people can follow

A presentation is something people watch while listening, so slides should support what is said rather than repeat it. When we redesign a deck we apply a few simple rules:

• One idea per slide, with a headline that states the point.
• Large type that reads from the back of a room or on a small video call window.
• Numbers shown as charts or a single large figure, not tables of twenty cells.
• Detail moved into speaker notes or a separate handout.
• Strong colour contrast, since projectors wash out pale colours.

Complex processes or data often work better as a single diagram, which is where infographic design and custom icon design help. For a printed leave-behind, a brochure usually works better than printing slides.

Pitch decks, sales decks and tender presentations

Alongside templates, we redesign individual presentations: investor pitch decks, sales presentations, conference talks, training modules and bid or tender presentations. You send the existing deck and any notes on the audience and goal; we restructure where it helps, then design each slide on your master so the finished deck is also easy for you to edit.

Start-ups often need a pitch deck alongside a first logo, so see design for start-ups. If the deck's look depends on a brand you haven't defined yet, a brand identity comes first.

Price and handover

Presentation design is charged at £45 an hour + VAT. We quote a fixed price for a master template based on the number of layouts and platforms, and for deck redesigns based on the number of slides and how much restructuring is needed. You receive editable files you can keep using, plus a one-page guide to using the layouts properly. See our prices or get in touch.

What you get

• A master template: .potx for PowerPoint, a theme for Google Slides or a .kth theme for Keynote
• Named layouts such as title, section divider, text and image, two-column, chart, team and closing slide
• Theme colour palette and font pairing set in the master
• A library of branded icons, chart styles and table styles
• Finished deck design if you need a specific presentation redesigned
• A short guide to using layouts and placeholders correctly

How it works and what it costs

Logos from £150, brochures from £295, photography from £295 a half day and CAD at £45 an hour, all + VAT. You get a fixed price before we start.

1. Tell us the brief

   What it is for, who will see it, where it will be used and any examples you like. Rough is fine.

2. Fixed price

   We confirm the price and what you get, in writing, before any work starts.

3. First designs

   We design, shoot or model it and share the first version for your comments.

4. Refine

   We make the changes, check every detail, and prepare the files properly for print, web or manufacture.

5. Final files

   You get the finished files in the formats you need, ready for your printer, website, social channels or manufacturer.

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