Designing Presentations is a Dirty Job

Written by

Nancy Duarte

Well-developed and designed presentations are finally getting the recognition they deserve. The influence and visibility of Garr Reynolds’ blog have helped change the perception that presentations suck, and made people aware of just how powerful a presentation can be.

Attracting really good designers to work for Duarte has been tough, because designing presentations is “dirty work”. Designers tell us that REAL designers create print campaigns or web sites, and designing presentations is beneath them. But now that well-designed presentations have begun to be perceived as a powerful communication tool, it has become a desirable occupation. It takes a bit of humility and contentment to do a job that others find undesirable. Humble and content people seem to be happy in work and life.

I loved this presentation by Mike Rowe from the Discovery Channel show Dirty Jobs.

He’s a brilliant storyteller who gave a talk called Celebrating Work, All Kinds of Work at the e.g. conference in Monterey that was founded by Richard Saul Wurman.