presentation-design

name	presentation-design
description	Apply when creating, refining, or reviewing LazySlides presentations. Guides visual hierarchy, template selection, content density, motion strategy, and theme usage for distinctive, professional slide decks.
when_to_use	Activate for any request involving slide creation, deck improvement, template selection, visual design decisions, or content structure in a LazySlides project.
user-invocable	false
allowed-tools	["Read"]
effort	low

Presentation Design Skill

1. Design Thinking Process

Before generating YAML, choose an aesthetic direction based on the audience and content:

Direction	Best For	Theme Combo	Transition
Minimal/Clean	Data-heavy, technical	default or corporate	fade
Bold/Dramatic	Keynotes, product launches	midnight or theme: black	zoom for reveals, slide elsewhere
Warm/Inviting	Training, culture, onboarding	sunset or forest	slide
Corporate/Professional	Board decks, strategy	corporate	fade
Editorial/Magazine	Thought leadership, creative	default	convex

2. Visual Hierarchy

Structure every deck with this arc:

1. Title slide (template: title) — establish brand and topic
2. Agenda (template: agenda) — orient the audience (optional for <8 slides)
3. Section dividers (template: section) — breathing room between topics
4. Evidence slides — mix of content, metrics, comparison, split
5. Summary/Close — center with a key takeaway, or title reprise

Rules:

• One idea per slide
• Title slides should have 2-6 word headlines
• Section dividers every 4-7 slides in long decks (>12 slides)
• End with impact: a bold statement, a call to action, or a key metric

3. Template Selection Strategy

Never use 3+ of the same template in a row. Alternate between text-heavy and visual templates:

Purpose	Template Options
Argument building	content with fragment: fade-up
Visual evidence	split, split-wide, center (with image)
Data points	metrics, table, comparison
Narrative flow	timeline, funnel
Impact statement	quote, hero, center (text only)
Code demonstration	code
Side-by-side comparison	columns, comparison

Emotional arc: Open with impact (hero/title) -> build with evidence (content/metrics/comparison) -> close with aspiration (quote/center/hero)

4. Content Density Rules

Element	Guideline
Headlines	2-6 words, action-oriented
Bullet text	Max 12 words per bullet
Bullets per slide	3-5 items
Metrics	3 for visual balance (2 or 4 acceptable)
Code blocks	Max 10 visible lines
Quote text	Max 2 sentences
Nested lists	Max 2 levels deep

If a slide exceeds these limits, split it into two slides.

5. Motion & Animation Strategy

Use fragments for:

• Argument building: reveal bullets one-by-one (fragment: fade-up)
• Metric reveals: show numbers progressively (fragment: fade-in)
• Comparison reveals: expose rows one at a time (fragment: fade-up)
• Progressive disclosure in training content

Do NOT use fragments for:

• Every slide (causes pacing fatigue)
• Simple lists with <3 items
• Decorative purposes
• Section dividers or title slides

Use auto-animate for:

• Before/after comparisons (matching data_id on items)
• Progressive detail — start simple, add complexity
• Code evolution — show how code changes step by step

Per-slide transitions:

• transition: zoom — only for dramatic reveals (use sparingly, max 2 per deck)
• transition: fade — smooth narrative flow, section transitions
• transition: none — rapid-fire comparison between similar slides
• Default slide transition works well for most slides

6. Theme & Color Usage

Metric colors tell a story:

• mint — positive outcomes, growth, success
• coral — negative outcomes, problems, risks
• amber — warnings, caveats, things to watch
• icy — neutral data, context, baseline

Hero slides:

• color should match the theme's mood (dark for midnight, warm for sunset)
• Use background_image for photographic hero slides
• Use background_gradient for abstract/geometric backgrounds

Comparison highlights:

• highlight: right (default) — right column is the recommendation
• highlight: left — left column is preferred
• highlight: none — neutral comparison

Background enhancements:

• background_color on section dividers for visual separation
• background_gradient for mood transitions between sections
• background_image sparingly — max 2-3 per deck

7. Anti-Patterns to Flag

When reviewing presentations, flag these issues:

• Wall of text: Any slide with >100 words of body content
• Template monotony: 3+ consecutive slides with the same template
• Missing section dividers: Decks >8 slides without any section templates
• Generic titles: "Overview", "Details", "Summary" — titles should be specific
• Orphaned sections: A section divider followed by only 1 content slide
• Fragment overuse: More than 50% of slides using fragments
• Metric overload: More than 4 metrics on a single slide
• Missing speaker notes: Important slides without notes: field
• Image-heavy without alt text: image fields without image_alt