NYU Stern
Transforming the college lecture presentation
Presentation decks have become a ubiquitous teaching tool in the college classroom. However, despite their popularity, they’re often not designed in visually engaging or effective ways. Embarking on a mission to improve the college lecture experience, I teamed up with NYU Stern professor Nathan Pettit to transform the class’ PowerPoint presentations through the power of design and create a more effective, accessible, and engaging class experience.
The results? The presentations received unanimous praise, were cited by many students as their favorite component of the course, and improved my client’s student evaluation standing to #1 in his department. Plus, the course using the presentations — Intro to Management & Organizations — became the highest-rated undergraduate course at NYU Stern.
R O L E
Everything (art director, designer, animator, etc.)
Strategy
Professor Pettit wanted the in-class presentations to not only be more effective learning materials, but also be more delightful visual engagement tools. He had a humorous, casual speaking style and wanted that playfulness reflected in the aesthetic of his decks. Thus, the challenge arose: how could presentations be visualized in a way that would actively make class more informative and engaging? How could I use design to change presentations from something that was just there to something that students were actually excited about?
To solve this challenge, I developed a strategy focused on better learning and engagement.
Design
Here are some of the decks I designed for the course.
700+ slides. 20+ decks. Countless cups of coffee.
Before
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Before ✶
After
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After ✶
What students said
Students unanimously raved about the presentations both in class and in anonymous feedback surveys.
Anonymous NYU student #23
“THE POWERPOINTS WERE AMAZING — let’s be real, those were the reason I came to class every day.”
Anonymous NYU student #101
“Slides were great — information was there but [the] additional on-screen visuals helped me to engage.”
Anonymous NYU student #178
“The PowerPoints were both entertaining and intellectually stimulating.”
Anonymous NYU student #249
“The slides were professionally done and by far the most engaging that I ever saw in any of my classes.”
Anonymous NYU student #56
“Slides were incredible — both the in-class version and the thoroughly comprehensive post-class versions made highly effective study aids.”
Anonymous NYU student #134
“The PowerPoint slides were always awesome and never failed to amaze me.”
Anonymous NYU student #212