The Power of Three

I have been impressed with the programming we have been able to attract for our ZINO Society educational events known as ZINO Business Insights. Today I attended the ZINO Society Business Insight event entitled “Avoiding Death by PowerPoint” at the beautiful offices of ZINO Society sponsor, Davis Wright Tremaine.

Darby Roach, the principal and creative force behind Orbit Direct Creative Marketing led the lunch seminar. He has been a teacher of graphic design at the country’s leading colleges, won numerous design awards and headed up some of the most creative marketing shops in Seattle.

Darby focused the group on PowerPoint formats and what is most pleasing to the eye of our audience. He suggested that with the myriad typefaces, themes and effects availablein PowerPoint, the tendency is to overdo it, resulting in long, disorganized and visually disorienting presentations that drive an audience to distraction. By learning a few simple design principles, he shared how to avoid Death by PowerPoint and create presentations that communicate the message with style, grace and impact.

One of the "a-ha" moments for me was his discussion about the "power of three", particularly when sharing information. It is difficult for people to remember more than three points. As Darby said, "Three's the key, four's a bore!"