Matthew BoffeyNow that you can share custom-made Smart Media with the Proclaim community, you might wonder, “How do I create great designs that others can use?”
It’s actually pretty easy.
Here are six basic design tips that will help you make pro-level Smart Media that others will use.
1. Keep it simple
Follow the grid suggestions you see as you build your slide. The eye likes order, so go for alignment and lots of blank space. A text-heavy slide is hard to take in.
2. Use quality images
Check out Unsplash.com. It’s a site full of beautiful photos that are totally free to use for any purposes. Simply import them as a background in Proclaim to start designing.
3. Play with fonts (but not too much)
Generally speaking, you want uniformity in fonts on a given slide. Using two fonts can be a nice touch—one for the biggest word or phrase, another for body text—but anything more than two can start to look messy. And be sure to use the fonts that come standard in Proclaim—that way they appear the same for everyone.
4. Think complimentary colors
You can find a simple rundown of complementary colors here, and that’ll help you make slides that really pop.
5. Remember aspect ratio
See what your design looks like in 16×9 and 4×3 so you know it works for both aspect ratios. You don’t want your layout to look scrambled in either one.
6. Make sure to share it!
Your smart media won’t go out to the community unless you opt to share it. You can also tag it with descriptions to make it easy to find. (For example, if your image is of a dark forest, consider the tags “trees,” “dark,” and “forest.”)
That’s it! Read this help article for everything you need to know about sharing Smart Media in Proclaim, then start designing.
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Don’t have Proclaim? Start a free trial. You’ll get instant access to over 14,000 church media motions and stills, including Christmas- and holiday-themed pieces. You’ll also be eligible to compete in the Proclaim Community Media contest and win up to $200 in Logos Bible Software credit! Start your free trial today.
Ryan Nelson
Jason Houtsma
Logos Staff
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