Are your reports in need of a visual upgrade?

With these recent posts regarding report writing, I thought it was appropriate to make note of an article I wrote. It’s titled, “Make Your Reports Pop with Creativity, Color, and Call Outs” and was published in VIEWS, the Qualitative Research Consultants Association magazine’s Fall 2014 issue. I thought you might be interested in this article because it outlines my top 10 tips for giving your reports a visual upgrade.

Each of the ten tips include an example of how it can be incorporated into your PowerPoint report and in some cases specific tools or resources for accomplishing the technique mentioned. For quick reference my top ten visual upgrade tips are as follows:

1. Choose a color palette
2. Develop a cover page and section dividers
3. Use photos
4. Use images creatively
5. Emphasize a single quote or key  message
6. Incorporate call-outs
7. Show the process visually
8. Visually separate data
9. Use commercially pre-made slides
10. Consider using plug-ins and outside apps

Although many of these ideas are not new, it’s always worthwhile to keep them in mind as you develop your own reports. Adding visual elements helps the reader to digest the information you are sharing. A few other key tips from the article include:

• Talk with your audience to understand their needs and expectations. As you develop the report, first determine the contents and learnings you want to include on a slide, and then decide what would be the best way to “display” the information visually.
• Choose a look and feel that you like. As you review other reports or presentations, look for slides that you feel do a good job of visually presenting the information. If there is a format that you don’t like visually, even if you think it presents the information in a visual way, don’t incorporate it into your report.
• Be consistent in your approach throughout the deck. Mixing together wildly different formats, colors or styles takes away from the professionalism of the report.
• Remember that making your reports more visual is an iterative process and will take time. This approach will require you to think differently about how you present the results.

Be sure to check out the article for additional details.

I try to create PowerPoint reports that engage the reader and quickly convey the most important insights from the research. My hope is that you can implement these tips in your own reports and presentations. If you have a great resource for adding a visual upgrade to reports or presentations, please let me know. I’m always looking for new ways to improve the research reports I provide.  Feel free to post your ideas in the comments section below.

By the way, if you are not already receiving VIEWS magazine, geared towards those involved in qualitative research, and would like to receive a free subscription, you can visit the QRCA website to sign up.