Tacoma



TV Tacoma has established the following guidelines for use when creating PowerPoint slide shows for TV programs, lectures and other presentations. There is a template available for download at the bottom of this page that provides more information.

It is recommended that you pre-load your presentation onto the computer you are using or use a USB Flash Drive. We do not recommend accessing files directly through the network since network traffic can affect the speed of file access. If possible, it is always advisable to test your presentation through the system as well.

TMBN-16 provides a computer for presentations. The Council Chambers requires that you bring a laptop to connect to the system. Please arrange a time at least 30 minutes in advance of the meeting to tie in and configure the system.

The Four Design Guidelines

1. Safe Title

2. Font Size and Style

3. Lines and Charts

4. Colors and Backgrounds

5. Video

1. Safe title

When presenting graphics on video, the most important thing to consider is "Safe Title." TV screens do not typically show the full frame; instead they crop the edges to fill the screen. The amount of cropping can vary depending on the individual TV and the methodology of signal reception. To ensure your presentation is not cropped off, set a boundary 1 inch from all edges (that is, about 80% of the full screen size). All important information and text should reside within these boundaries. Pictures and nonessential information can fall outside of this area.

2. Font size and style

TV Tacoma recommends that fonts be between 24 points and 32 points in size. The minimum readable on-screen point size for a PowerPoint Presentation is 20. Be consistent with font size in the body of your text. Avoid having too much text, viewers and the audience will have difficulty reading it easily. If the text flows outside the safe title area, split the information into two or more slides. Thin serif fonts, such as Times, do not work well on TV screens. Use sans serif fonts instead (e.g., Arial, Helvetica, Palatino, Lucinda Sans, Comic Sans, Verdana).

3. Charts and Lines

The bigger text and legends are, the more readable the information presented on charts. Thin lines will "vibrate" on video because of the way TV screens update the frames. All lines should be at least 2.25 points thick.

4. Colors and Backgrounds

A dark background with light foreground text is best for TV and your audience (see Template below). Light backgrounds with dark text are acceptable but avoid large areas of pure white. Keep backgrounds simple and limit the number of colors in text. Avoid highly saturated colors such as red.

5. Video

The use of video within presentations is acceptable assuming that the computer can process the video smoothly. Video’s that are professionally produced will usually conform to the “Safe Title” standards. If not, reduce the video in size to meet the “Safe Title” we have established here. Do not increase videos beyond their native size. This will cause the image to degenerate. If the video contains graphic information it should be of a size and presentation that is readable by the audience and conform to the standards within this document.

Tip: Numbering

Number your slides. This enables the audience with hard copies and viewers to follow along when referencing back or ahead in our presentation.

Tip: Master Slides

TV Tacoma has provided a master PowerPoint Template. The Safe title area is already set. Modify the Master Slide as necessary before creating your presentation. To modify the Master Slide click: View|Master|Slide Master|. Use this Master Slide to change the Font, Color and Background for all slides. IMPORTANT: Go to View|Normal to close the Master Slide before entering information for individual slides.

Tip: Formatting Pictures

Pictures with white backgrounds should be toned down by right clicking the mouse on the picture, then selecting Format Picture, lower the brightness by 10%.

Examples

Below you will find a series of examples illustrating some of the tips we have provided. If you have further questions or concerns please contact TV Tacoma.

Note below how the shadow on the word “Approach” in the left side example actually makes it harder to read. While in the good example the color yellow on a blue background is quite readable. Try experimenting with some of the PowerPoint templates for design ideas. Earth tone colors work well. (Keep in mind the 1” safe area and a large font size)

|Poor font color and background |Good font color choices and background |

|[pic] |[pic] |

If your image has poor resolution to begin with, enlarging it for television will only make it worse. Images should be at least 75 to 100 DPI at actual size to maintain quality.

|Good Resolution |Poor Resolution |

|[pic] |[pic] |

|Landscape Format |Portrait Format |

|(works well for full screen photos) |(works for putting next to text) |

|[pic] |[pic] |

Do not stretch photos beyond their native size to fill the screen, they will distort.

[pic]

|Incorrect Formatting: No safe title area provided. Text will be cut|Correct Formatting: 1" safe title area has been provided. |

|off when displayed on TV. Too much white in the background. |Background is easier on the viewers’ eyes and creates more |

| |interest. |

| | |

|[pic] | |

| |[pic] |

|Poor custom-made background: Lacks |Good custom-made background: 1" safe title area has been |

|the needed 1-inch safe title area, the |provided, the text on the header is darker and all text is large |

|text is too small, and there is too much information on the |enough to be easily read. |

|slide. | |

| |[pic] |

|[pic] | |

Legibility is the all-important factor when designing good visuals. Too much text on a

slide makes it difficult or impossible to read, which defeats the purpose to begin with ...

visual support for your presentation. Make more slides if necessary.

|Too many lines of text. |Acceptable number of lines. |

|[pic] |[pic] |

|Too much information |Better |

|(Suggest deleting key) |(though the text could be larger) |

| | |

|[pic] |[pic] |

When using a textured background you will need to place text on a solid-colored background.

|[pic] |[pic] |

Readable Text:

In the examples below the eye has to work hard to focus the text. These are poor color

combinations. There is a weak contrast between the lightness and darkness of the text

and background colors.

[pic]

Muted colors are much easier on the eyes and are more readable.

[pic]

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