Steve Covello

Project Description: The assignment was to create a PowerPoint presentation utilizing message design and presentation development techniques. The goal was to create a document that was complementary with the presenter, rather than redundant. The challenge was to maintain visual interest and present a sequence of information about a topic so that the message will unfold clearly for the audience.

I chose to present User-based Design for this assignment because I was in the midst of developing a rationale for the use of UBD in my Design-based Research project. In order to do this, I had to present my case for UBD to my research team members. This PPT was not available in time for the DBR presentation, so a less refined version was presented instead. The feedback and discussion that followed helped to inform creating a better message for this PPT project.

Reflection: As much as dislike PowerPoint, I was surprised to discover that it is actually possible to create a visually interesting PPT presentation. The visual interest, however, places more of a burden on the presenter (as it should) to help the audience make sense of the topic through his or her verbal skills. I hope to use this project as a basis for a conference presentation at a future date.