These guidelines have been developed for the benefit of everyone viewing program lectures, not only those who experience the lectures in person, but also those reviewing video recordings on the program commons after the fact. It is important that slides be legible to everyone, and that anyone preparing slides keep in mind that they are projected in spaces that are sometimes less than ideal, and that these can be challenging for visibility and legibility: large rooms, small screens, lighting issues, etc. Please remember that legibility can be especially challenging for anyone with vision impairment. These guidelines are based on years of experience and feedback from audience members, best practices from ADA, and our genuine interest in helping presenters communicate clearly.
Keep it simple. Put less on each slide. Use high-resolution media. Minimize the amount of text. Use large, clean fonts.
Primary Guidelines
Use:
- Large fonts for all text (at least 30 pt)
- High-resolution images (at least 720 pixels high)
- Brief text blocks (no more than 30 words per slide)
- Sans-serif fonts (see recommended list below)
- Light text on dark background
Don’t use:
- Serif fonts (e.g. Times New Roman)
- Text on the bottom ⅓ of slides (for visibility at back of room)
- Excessive animation
- Green and red on the same slide
- Blue and red on the same slide
Recommended Fonts
- Gill Sans
- Futura
- Roboto (the font used in this document)
- Helvetica
- Calibri
- Arial
- Lucida Grande
Image Size
Images should be a minimum of 720 pixels high. Bigger is often better. You can reduce the size of a large image and the quality will be the same, you can not increase the size of a small image and expect the quality to be the same.
***If you have questions about creating your presentation, *please contact the IT Department at [support@vcfa.edu](mailto:support@vcfa.edu)**