When I first pulled out Tufte's packet on Power Point, it looked like one of the most boring texts on the planet. 30 pages on the style of Power Point? But as I read, I started to see his point and even found myself laughing at certain parts (talking about the “stupefied audience”). I agree with his argument that Power Point is not the way to convey an important message and that there are alternatives. Reading Tufte brings images to mind of what I imagine the typical creator of these Power Point presentations to look like:


Pecha-kucha, although close relation to the standard slide show, deviates just enough that it can work as an effective presentation. And while I like how pecha-kucha places restraints on the presenter, it is a little sad to me that this is the stage we are at. Professionals doing important work apparently can’t be trusted to put together a coherent presentation; therefore the format is force fed in the form of pecha-kucha. Even if the presenter totally bombs on a slide, there are only 20 seconds to go until a fresh start. This appeals to me as a presenter, but I hope this doesn’t become the “New Way” of doing things, just like we have been taught for years that Power Point is the preferred method for presentations. I would like to think that human beings in the workplace are capable of creating their own, concise, presentation without the need of constraints.

I remember taking a class specifically devoted to learning Power Point in middle school. We were taught all about how to make flashy transitions with text and add all sorts of cool effects and colors. But now I worry that everything I learned in that class was for nothing.  
0

Add a comment

Gutters, Technique, and Transitions
Judge by the Cover: Trap and Trance
Judge by the Cover: Trap and Trance
The Pervasiveness of Mickey Mouse
Seriously: A James Joyce Comic
Un-novel?
Gutter Space
Craigslist usability
Craigslist usability
Usability Nightmare: Hidden Login Links
Nielsen's Hypocrisies
Comics in Visual Rhetoric Class 2013
The Limitations of PowerPoint in Today's World
Red, White and Black=Target
Creme Brulee, Anyone?
Creme Brulee, Anyone?
Top 8 Mistakes Made in PowerPoint?
Lack of Usability: ESPN
The Cultural Significances of Black, White, and Red...
The Cultural Significances of Black, White, and Red...
Usability Blunders
Helping Hand of Another
Data Sets Displays and Cognates
(Y)OUR MAP IS WRONG
(Y)OUR MAP IS WRONG
Teaching and Engaging versus Marketing
Teaching and Engaging versus Marketing
Is pecha-kucha the future?
Is pecha-kucha the future?
Middle Schoolers, Pecha-Kucha and Edward Tufte
Understanding Visual Rhetoric in Digital Writing Environments.
Logos
Keep Calm and Do What, Now?
Transparency
Visual Rhetoric in Persuasive Digital Images
Visual Rhetoric in Persuasive Digital Images
black and white advertising
Kept My Locus
Street-art and Style
Street-art and Style
Black, White, and Red
Academic Videos
Problems with PowerPoint
Accidental Obscenity
Accidental Obscenity
Crocaducks and Duckatoos
Searching "Black, White, and Red"
The Double Meaning of Dali's Clocks
Snip. Snip. Snip.
Snip. Snip. Snip.
Ehses and the Antithesis that creates choices
Students and technical guidelines
Typeface Fail
Typeface Fail
Kress and van Leeuwan and Western Horseman
Kress and van Leeuwan and Western Horseman
Given, Ideal, New, Real
1
Misuse of Typefaces
Meta-Discourse on Composition and Visual Design
Over-analyzing typeface?
Over-analyzing typeface?
Why visual rhetoric has come to stay
Why visual rhetoric has come to stay
1
Understanding the Rhetorical Situation
Understanding the Rhetorical Situation
The Anatomy of Typefaces
The Anatomy of Typefaces
Does type font really sway an audience in all circumstances?
Typeface Choices
Typeface Choices
1
Cover Art as Rhetoric
Graffiti and Visual Rhetoric
Graffiti and Visual Rhetoric
Page Composition: Are Kress and van Leeuwen Correct?
Page Composition: Are Kress and van Leeuwen Correct?
Color Issues
Color Issues
Elementary Document Design
American Spi(ri)t
Let's get to work . . .
1
Lady Rhetorica says:
Blog Archive
Contributors
Loading
Dynamic Views theme. Powered by Blogger. Report Abuse.