When Not to Hire a
Presentation Design Agency

There are plenty of times when hiring a presentation design agency will take your slide deck to the next level. Sometimes, however, circumstances will limit the help designers can give you and, thus, your satisfaction with the project. Here at SlideRabbit, we’d always love to help, but consider these times when it may not make sense to invest in presentation designers:

When there’s no time

When a project is short on time, content edits tend to push into the last few hours before the deadline. Presentation designers are always looking to create design that communicates content. If the content is likely to be changing into the eleventh hour, the quality of the design work will suffer, as we try to keep up with changing content. Plus, frequent redesigns based on content can start to hurt the pocketbook.

Not all projects allow for enough time to finalize content before the design process begins. While things don’t need to be completely final, keep in mind that good informational design should always be inspired by the content it’s communicating.

When there’s no design leeway

If your company is extremely strict with their presentation template and brand standards, your presentation design agency won’t have much room to wow you. When a company values standardized slides over inventiveness, investing in outside help may be a waste of money. Consider whether the project might make more sense in the hands of team members with great attention to detail.

Another situation where leeway comes into play is when the materials contained within the slides are technical models or outputs. These often cannot or should not be formatted for design purposes. In cases like this, it is sometimes best to allow the content to standalone.

When there’s no buy-in

Sometimes the powers that be disagree on what a given piece should be in appearance and tone. When a presentation design agency receives contradictory directives, it ends up stymying the creative process. If the competing interests within the organization haven’t come to a consensus on what a piece should be, it may make sense to delay design until some agreement has been reached. Otherwise, consider whether the budget allows for the design agency to design two different versions of the deck so that the team can review and react to the different approaches.

All projects have their challenges. While presentation design agencies don’t expect to work under ideal conditions, there are some challenges that will limit the value you’ll get from your investment. Sometimes that’s a compromise that must be made.

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