presentation-design

What this skill does

# Presentation Design

Visual design guidance for bold, minimal presentations optimized for live presenting.

## Core Style

**Theme:** Dark-first, high contrast, minimal (light mode supported)
**Feel:** Modern, confident, tech-forward

| Element | Specification |
|---------|---------------|
| Background | Black (#000000) or near-black; light mode: #fafafa |
| Primary text | White (#FFFFFF); light mode: #09090b |
| Secondary text | Gray (#9CA3AF) |
| Accents | Section-specific colors (see below) |
| Typography | Sans-serif (e.g. Geist Sans), **light weights** at large sizes |
| Letter spacing | Tight (-0.035em to -0.015em) |

## Typography Hierarchy

Impact comes from **scale, not weight**. Use light/regular weights (400-600) at massive sizes.

```
SECTION LABEL     Small caps, section color, tracked wide
                  Example: "THE PROBLEM" | "WHAT WORKS"

Headline          Massive, primary color, light weight (400-500)
                  Fluid sizing via container queries
                  1-5 words per line typical

Subtitle          Smaller, secondary/muted color, regular weight
                  1-2 lines maximum

Body/Bullets      Medium size, primary or secondary color
                  Bold lead-ins (600 weight) when used
```

### Text Contrast Hierarchy

Use 4 levels of contrast to create depth:

| Level | Purpose | Example |
|-------|---------|---------|
| Primary | Headlines, key content | White / #FFFFFF |
| Secondary | Subtitles, supporting text | Light gray |
| Muted | Labels, metadata | Medium gray |
| Faint | Background elements | Dark gray |

## Section Colors

Each major section of a presentation gets its own accent color. This reinforces structure and helps the audience track where they are.

| Color | Hex (dark) | Typical use |
|-------|------------|-------------|
| Teal | #14b8a6 | Opening, framing, recap |
| Red | #f87171 | Problems, challenges, tension |
| Purple | #a78bfa | Solutions, features, tools |
| Amber | #fbbf24 | Data, reality checks, caveats |
| Green | #34d399 | Best practices, what works |
| Blue | #60a5fa | Technical, implementation |
| Pink | #f472b6 | Highlights, special callouts |

Section colors appear in: section labels, gradient backgrounds, progress bars, and accent elements.

## Layout Patterns

### Full Statement (most common)
```
┌─────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ SECTION LABEL                           │
│                                         │
│ Massive                                 │
│ Headline                                │
│ Here                                    │
│                                         │
│ Subtitle text in muted color            │
│                                 [ref] ↗ │
└─────────────────────────────────────────┘
```

### Big Statement (maximum impact)
```
┌─────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ SECTION LABEL                           │
│                                         │
│                                         │
│       Even Bigger                       │
│       Statement                         │
│                                         │
│                                         │
└─────────────────────────────────────────┘
```

### Split Layout
```
┌─────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ SECTION LABEL                           │
│                                         │
│ Headline        │  • Point one          │
│ Here            │  • Point two          │
│                 │  • Point three        │
│ Subtitle        │  • Point four         │
└─────────────────────────────────────────┘
```

### Section Divider (with gradient)
```
┌────────────────────┬────────────────────┐
│                    │▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓│
│ Section            │▓▓▓ Gradient ▓▓▓▓▓▓▓│
│ Title              │▓▓▓ Background ▓▓▓▓▓│
│                    │▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓│
│ Subtitle           │▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓│
└────────────────────┴────────────────────┘
```

### Code Slide
```
┌─────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ SECTION LABEL                           │
│ Headline                                │
│ Subtitle                                │
│                                         │
│ ┌─────────────────────────────────────┐ │
│ │ // syntax-highlighted code block    │ │
│ │ const result = await generate()     │ │
│ │                                     │ │
│ └─────────────────────────────────────┘ │
└─────────────────────────────────────────┘
```

### Data/Metrics
```
┌─────────────────────────────────────────┐
│        ┌────────┐ ┌────────┐ ┌────────┐ │
│        │  $10M  │ │  ~10%  │ │  NPS   │ │
│        │  ARR   │ │ GROWTH │ │   90   │ │
│        └────────┘ └────────┘ └────────┘ │
│ SECTION LABEL                           │
│ Headline                                │
│ Subtitle                                │
└─────────────────────────────────────────┘
```

### People/Photos Grid
```
┌─────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Headline                                │
│ Subtitle                                │
│                                         │
│ ┌─────┐ ┌─────┐ ┌─────┐ ┌─────┐        │
│ │photo│ │photo│ │photo│ │photo│        │
│ │Name │ │Name │ │Name │ │Name │        │
│ │TITLE│ │TITLE│ │TITLE│ │TITLE│        │
│ └─────┘ └─────┘ └─────┘ └─────┘        │
│                                         │
│ Photo style: Rounded, B&W or consistent │
└─────────────────────────────────────────┘
```

## Slide Type → Layout Mapping

| Slide Type | Layout |
|------------|--------|
| Title | Full statement, centered |
| Section divider | Split with gradient, section color |
| Statement | Full statement, left-aligned |
| Big statement | Big statement, maximum scale |
| Question | Full statement, centered |
| Goals/Agenda | Split layout, bullets right |
| Data | Metrics boxes top |
| Code | Headline + syntax-highlighted block |
| Quote | Centered, large quotation marks |
| People | Photos grid |
| Recap | Split layout, labeled bullets |
| Resources | Grouped reference links by section |
| Next steps | Timeline or labeled bullets |

## Embedded Content

Slides can embed rich media alongside headlines:

- **Code blocks** — syntax-highlighted, dark surface background
- **Terminal output** — monospace with ANSI color support
- **Tweet cards** — styled quote cards with avatar and attribution
- **Video previews** — thumbnail with play button
- **Article previews** — link cards with title and description

## Visual Elements

- **Section labels:** Top-left, uppercase, section color
- **Progress bar:** Bottom edge, section color, thin (3px)
- **References:** Bottom footer with clickable URLs
- **Gradients:** Aurora-style background effects using section color
- **Icons:** Simple line icons, white or accent color, used sparingly

## Things to Avoid

- Dense paragraphs of text
- More than 4-5 bullet points
- Clip art or stock imagery
- Heavy font weights for headlines (use scale instead)
- Multiple competing focal points
- Animation for animation's sake