Design Your Slides First

If your course includes slides — and most video courses should — this lesson will save you hours of rework.

The mistake most new course creators make is designing slides and recording at the same time. They create a slide, record a video for it, then create the next slide, record the next video, and so on. This seems efficient but it’s actually the slowest possible approach.

Design all your slides first, then record all your videos. Here’s why.

Why Slides First

When you design slides before recording, you can:

• See the full course arc — You’ll spot gaps, redundancies, and awkward transitions before you record a single word
• Batch your recording — Record multiple lessons in one session without switching between “creator” and “presenter” mode
• Avoid re-recording — It’s easier to redesign a slide than to re-record a 15-minute video
• Maintain consistency — All slides use the same template, fonts, and colors when you design them in one pass

Think of slide design as building the blueprint. Recording is the construction. You wouldn’t start building a house and design the floor plan at the same time.

One Idea Per Slide

The most important slide design rule: one idea per slide.

Not one paragraph. Not one section. One idea. One concept. One thing you want the viewer to remember.

If a slide has three bullet points, each could be its own slide. If you’re spending more than 60–90 seconds on a slide during your presentation, it probably contains too many ideas.

Bad slide: “Recording Equipment: Cameras, Microphones, Lighting, Editing Software, Tripods, Memory Cards”

Better slide: “The One Thing That Matters Most” with a single image of a microphone and the word “Audio” in large text.

One idea per slide keeps viewers engaged, makes your content scannable, and gives your recording a natural rhythm — you advance slides frequently, which creates visual movement that maintains attention.

Slide Design Principles

Visual Hierarchy

Every slide should have a clear hierarchy: what should the viewer look at first?

• Headline — Large, bold, 2–5 words. This is the takeaway.
• Supporting visual — An image, diagram, or icon that reinforces the idea.
• Supporting text — Minimal. A short sentence or 2–3 words. Never a paragraph.

White Space

Don’t fill every inch of the slide. White space (empty space) gives the eye a place to rest and makes your content look confident and professional. A slide with one large word and lots of white space has more visual impact than a slide crammed with information.

Readable Fonts

Your slides will be viewed on screens ranging from a 5-inch phone to a 27-inch monitor. Use fonts that are readable at every size.

• Sans-serif fonts — Clean, modern, readable at small sizes. Examples: Inter, Roboto, Open Sans, Helvetica, Montserrat.
• Maximum two fonts — One for headlines, one for body. Using more creates visual chaos.
• Minimum 24pt for any text — If someone has to squint to read a word on your slide, the font is too small.
• Avoid decorative or script fonts — They’re hard to read and look unprofessional in an educational context.

Color

Keep it simple. Your course brand should use no more than 3–4 colors across all slides:

• Background color — Usually white, off-white, or a very light gray
• Primary accent — Your brand color (used for headlines, key shapes, highlights)
• Text color — Dark gray or black (pure black on white can create harsh contrast)
• Secondary accent — A complementary color for supporting elements

Tools for Creating Slides

Google Slides (free): Simple, collaborative, and more than sufficient for course slides. Create a master template with your brand colors and fonts, then duplicate it for each lesson.

Canva (free / $13/mo): Excellent templates, built-in stock photos and icons, easy to create visually appealing slides even without design skills. The free version is usually enough.

Keynote (Mac, free): Apple’s presentation software. Smooth animations, clean templates, and exports directly to video if you want to create slide-only videos.

PowerPoint ($, or included with Microsoft 365): The office standard. More capable than most people realize. If you already have it through work, use it.

Figma (free): If you have design experience, Figma gives you the most control. Overkill for most course creators, but the best option for pixel-perfect slides.

Creating a Master Template

Before you design individual slides, create a master template that you’ll use for the entire course. This template should include:

1. Title slide layout — Course name, module number, lesson title
2. Content slide layout — Headline + one large visual or short text
3. Section divider layout — “Section name” — used between modules or major topics
4. Quote or callout layout — For important quotes, statistics, or key takeaways
5. Exercise slide layout — “Your turn:” with space for an action item
6. Closing slide layout — Summary, key takeaway, or next step

Once you have this template, every slide in every lesson uses one of these layouts. This creates visual consistency across your entire course.

The Pre-Recording Slide Review

After designing all slides and before recording, do this:

1. Flip through every slide quickly (1–2 seconds each) — Does the flow make sense? Do transitions feel natural?
2. Check every slide for the one-idea rule — If a slide has multiple ideas, split it.
3. Read headlines out loud — Do they sound natural when spoken?
4. Check for text-heavy slides — If you see paragraphs, convert them to visuals or split into multiple slides.
5. Test on a phone screen — Open your slides on your phone. Can you read everything?

Fix issues now. After you record is too late.

Next up: choosing your recording format.