Presentation design support can include content development, slide design, PowerPoint production, interactive navigation, templates and event visuals. To define the right scope, explain who the presentation is for, what the audience needs to understand or decide, which material is ready, and how the finished files will be used.
The number of slides is a useful starting point, but it cannot describe the whole job. Two teams may each need 30 slides. One has approved copy and a reliable template. The other has several documents, conflicting messages and a leadership meeting approaching. They need different support, even if the final slide counts match.
A clear brief helps a presentation design agency identify the work involved, recommend suitable deliverables and explain the dependencies before production begins. Here is how to build that brief.
Start with the audience and the decision
Describe the situation before describing the slides. What should the audience understand, discuss or do after the presentation?
A company introduction may need to establish relevance quickly. A financial review may need to explain the reasons behind a change. A sales presentation may need to respond to questions in different orders. An event keynote must support a speaker and work on the venue’s screens.
Include these details in your brief:
- Audience: who will see the presentation, what they already know and which questions they are likely to ask.
- Purpose: the decision, discussion or understanding the presentation should support.
- Setting: a live meeting, an event, a remote call or a document sent for independent reading.
- Users: one presenter, several speakers or a team that will adapt the material repeatedly.
A deck designed for a conversation will not necessarily work as a standalone reading document. Agree whether you need both experiences. If you are still exploring the services available, our guide explains what a presentation design agency does.
Separate the work into clear responsibilities
“Presentation design” can describe several different jobs. Use the framework below to identify which ones your project needs. It is a scoping tool, rather than a set of Rekarda service packages.
Which kind of support does your presentation need?
Separate the work before asking for a quotation.
Content and structure
The material exists, but the argument, sequence or wording needs work.
Presentation design
The message is agreed. Slides need a clear, branded visual approach.
PowerPoint production
A direction already exists. The task is consistent slide building and updating.
A reusable system
Several people need templates, examples and recurring content they can maintain.
Technical delivery
The brief includes navigation, event screens, media or a defined playback setup.
A project can combine several workstreams. Specify who owns each one.
The distinction matters because a designer cannot resolve an unanswered business question simply by changing the slide layout. Similarly, an approved message does not automatically arrive in a form that is ready to present.
Content and narrative
If the source material is spread across documents, spreadsheets and departmental submissions, include time to organise it. The work may involve choosing the main argument, removing repetition, deciding what belongs in an appendix and writing clearer slide headlines.
Agree who supplies the facts, who can change the wording and who approves the message. The content owner should confirm the accuracy of claims and figures, even when an agency helps structure or write the presentation.
Visual design and PowerPoint production
Distinguish between developing a visual approach and applying one that already exists. A new corporate presentation may need sample slides and a design direction before the full deck is built. A recurring reporting deck may mainly need consistent production within an agreed system.
A PPT design agency may support both. Your brief should state whether the team is expected to interpret the brand, follow an existing template, rebuild slides for editing, or create a reusable system for future work.
Explain the condition of the material
Share representative slides or source files. “Simple” and “complex” mean different things to different people; examples make the workload easier to assess.
Separate the material into three groups:
- Approved: content and figures that can be used without further changes.
- Provisional: material that can progress but may need an update.
- Missing or unresolved: sections that need input, a decision or a content owner.
Include the brand guidelines, current template, logo files, approved imagery and any relevant examples. For a project involving several departments, send samples from each. A sales team’s product slides and a finance team’s reporting pages may require different kinds of work.
Also flag confidential material and any restrictions on how files may be shared. Agree the appropriate working process before sending sensitive source documents.
Specify what your team needs to receive
A finished presentation is not always a single PowerPoint file. List the outputs that have a real use, and explain who will use each one.
Possible deliverables include:
- A presenter deck with concise on-screen content.
- A reading version with enough explanation to stand on its own.
- A PDF for distribution or approval.
- An editable PowerPoint template, slide library or set of example layouts.
- Separate Arabic and English versions.
- Supporting motion assets or files prepared for an event screen setup.
For each output, define what must remain editable. Native charts, imported graphics, diagrams and video have different update requirements. If your team expects to change figures monthly, say so before production starts.
For bilingual work, assign responsibility for translation, terminology approval, Arabic review and matching updates across the two versions. Our guide to Arabic and English presentation design explains the layout and review decisions beyond translation.
A real example: a brief that extended beyond one deck
RAKBANK’s refreshed identity needed to work across several presentation requirements. Rekarda’s published case study describes financial results and Management Discussion and Analysis presentations, customer-facing decks for RAKBANK Elite and Retail Banking, and a new template system for internal strategy and communication.
That scope covered several audiences and recurring uses. It required more definition than a request to redesign one presentation.
A brief can span more than one deck
RAKBANK’s refreshed identity had to work across several communication needs.
- Internal useReusable layouts for strategy and everyday communication.
- Financial reportingPresentation and A4 reporting formats.
- Customer conversationsPresentations for RAKBANK Elite and Retail Banking.
The useful lesson is to identify the complete family of outputs early. If a new presentation must also become the starting point for future reports, sales conversations or internal updates, include those needs in the brief. A one-off deck and a reusable presentation system require different decisions about layouts, examples and handover.
Include interactive and event requirements early
For an interactive deck, explain how the presenter should move through the material. Which sections must be accessible from a menu? Will the conversation branch according to the customer’s interests? What should happen when the presenter returns to the main navigation?
For an event presentation, share the screen dimensions, playback setup, presentation software and technical contact when those details are available. Flag animation, video, audio and any requirement for different screen formats.
These requirements can affect the structure and production of the deck. They should be part of the original scope, rather than an assumption left until handover. Agree who will test the files in the intended environment and when that test can happen.
Build reviews and changes into the plan
Name the person who will consolidate feedback and the people who approve the content and final files. Conflicting comments are easier to resolve when the project has a clear decision maker.
Work backwards from the first real use of the presentation. The important date may be the rehearsal or an internal approval meeting, rather than the public event itself.
Agree the review stages, how feedback will be supplied and how additional slides or substantial content changes will be handled. A review of sample slides serves a different purpose from checking final figures immediately before delivery.
If the deadline is tight, identify the essential sections and the content that is stable enough to begin. Our guide to urgent presentation design timelines explains how readiness and review arrangements affect what can be delivered.
What does a useful presentation brief look like?
The following is an illustrative example, not a client case or a fixed Rekarda package:
- Purpose: explain a new business initiative and support a leadership decision.
- Audience: senior stakeholders who know the business but have not reviewed the proposal.
- Starting material: an existing deck, a Word document and a spreadsheet with provisional figures.
- Support needed: organise the narrative, develop a branded design direction and build editable slides.
- Outputs: a presenter deck and a PDF reading version, with supporting detail in an appendix.
- Languages: English initially; an Arabic version after the source content is approved.
- Approvals: one person gathers comments, with separate owners approving the business content and figures.
- Timing: sample slides before full production, followed by a content review and a final file check before rehearsal.
This gives a presentation partner enough information to ask specific questions. It also exposes dependencies: the Arabic version depends on source approval, while the final charts depend on confirmed figures.
Compare proposals against the same scope
When comparing professional PowerPoint services, check whether each proposal covers the same responsibilities and outputs. One may include content restructuring while another assumes that all copy is final. One may include a reusable template while another covers only the finished deck.
Ask what assumptions the quotation relies on, which review stages are included and what would count as additional work. Slide volume, content readiness, technical complexity, language versions and the delivery schedule can all affect the estimate.
For teams choosing a presentation design agency in Dubai or the UAE, also make any local meeting, bilingual review or event coordination requirements explicit. Location alone does not define the scope of support.
Frequently asked questions
What does presentation design support include?
It can include structuring content, refining messages, designing slides, producing editable PowerPoint files, building templates and adding interactive navigation or event visuals. The brief should identify which of these responsibilities are needed, rather than assuming that every presentation project includes them all.
Can an agency help write the presentation content?
Yes, when content development is included in the agreed scope. Explain whether you need a complete narrative, clearer slide headlines, editing of existing copy or simply visual design. Your team should still provide the subject expertise and approve factual statements, figures and recommendations.
Can work start before the content is finished?
Yes, if the available material and outstanding decisions are clearly identified. An agency may be able to develop a structure or sample slides while other inputs are being finalised. Agree what can progress and which parts depend on content approval to avoid unnecessary rebuilding.
Is redesigning a presentation the same as formatting it?
No. Formatting usually applies an existing visual system consistently. A redesign may change the layout, hierarchy, charts, imagery and visual approach. If the message or sequence also needs work, specify content restructuring separately so that the proposal accounts for it.
Do we need a template or a finished presentation?
Choose a finished presentation for a defined communication need. Consider a template or slide system when several people must create and update presentations repeatedly. Some projects need both: an important deck for immediate use and reusable layouts that support future work.
Is a slide count enough to request a quotation?
It helps, but it is not enough on its own. Share representative material, explain its approval status and list the outputs and technical requirements. Thirty slides with approved copy can involve very different work from thirty slides that must be developed from several source documents.
Can Rekarda support Arabic and English presentations?
Yes. Include both versions in the brief and agree responsibility for translation, terminology, content approval and final language review. Arabic adaptation can require changes to reading direction, typography and layout, alongside checks that figures and messages remain aligned across the two versions.
Will the PowerPoint files remain editable?
Define the editing requirements before the deck is built. Explain which text, figures, charts and layouts your team needs to update. Some illustrations, media or specialist assets may have different editing requirements, so the handover should make those distinctions clear.
Discuss the support your presentation needs
Rekarda supports corporate presentations, event decks, interactive presentations and PowerPoint templates through its presentation design services.
Share your current material and intended use, together with the audience, required outputs, languages and deadline. We can then discuss which parts of the content, design and production work need support.
