Best Visual Presentation--Observations from the Award Committee. IR Applications. Volume 4

In 2003, the Association for Institutional Research (AIR) initiated the Best Visual Presentation (BVP) award to acknowledge the contributions made through new ways of professional communication, in addition to those made through more traditional scholarly formats. The purpose of this "IR Applications" is to provide observations from the BVP Award Committee about attributes of presentations that were found to be particularly good as well as those that were especially problematic. Evaluation criteria included: (1) Properly chosen format and design appropriate for the identified audience; (2) Focus on the effective presentation of data and information rather than visual effects for their own sake; (3) Design quality, such as clarity of data/information presented; visual attractiveness; use of color, white space, graphics and other design elements; and readability, including font size and style; (4) Display of an accessible complexity of detail; (5) Narrative quality that effectively tells a story about the data being presented; (6) Design execution; (7) Paper color and stock (if appropriate); and (8) Appropriateness for identified audience. Observations were derived from review of electronic PowerPoint presentations. (Contains 11 references and resources.) [This report was written with Susan Broyles, Martin Carroll, Bob Daly, Rene Cheskis-Gold, Eric Dey, Donald Quirk, Andreea Serban, Jeffrey Seybert, and Fred Volkwein.]