Presentation Design Tips & Trends From A Self-Taught PMM
I’ve worked on a variety of B2B SaaS marketing teams where design resources vary - some teams exclusively use agencies, some teams have exceptional in-house design talent and some teams leave it up to the PMMs themselves to design their own ‘mic-drop moment’ keynote decks. Sometimes you have design resources but your project gets deprioritized. I personally think design is a crucial element to effective product storytelling, visual messaging and getting your audience to the “aha moment” faster.
Over the years, I’ve taken a few design courses and had to learn how to pull together decks in lightening speed that look modern, elegant and communicate clearly, even when the odds—and resources—aren’t in my favor. If you’re in the same boat, let me share some 2025 design trends and tips that have helped me create decks that deliver without needing a pro designer.
Bonus - I’ve linked in some Figma + other templates for inspiration or “download and go” use. There are a ton of exceptional designers out there who are selling their work online that can be easily reskinned to your brand guidelines. No need to reinvent the wheel every time folks.
Big Numbers: Don’t Bury Them
Numbers are powerful. They’re proof, they’re persuasion and best when delivered ‘in your face’ and with narrative context (in speaker notes). They often get lost in tiny fonts or cluttered charts. Let’s stop doing that.
Here’s what works for me: dedicate a whole slide to a single number or 3 (at most). Make it huge. Use a bold font, maybe your brand’s primary color, and keep everything else minimal. When I did this for a retention stat in a recent deck, it had people’s heads nodding before I even said a word. Sometimes, simple is smart.
Dark Mode: Not Just for Night Owls
Dark mode isn’t just an application design trend - It add a sense of drama to your keynotes.
By using black backgrounds and darker shades, you’ll not only create a sophisticated mood but also help your audience reduce eyestrain—especially if you’re presenting in an auditorium. Use bright colors for minimal visual aids, such as bullet points and numbers. This ensures that the most important elements pop and add depth to key points that you wish to emphasize.
When I first tried using a black background in a pitch deck, I worried it might feel too dramatic. But paired with a punchy accent brand color for key points turned it into a sleek and focused slideware. Just don’t go overboard with text. Let the background do some of the heavy lifting.
Gradients Make a Big Comeback in 2025
Gradients are everywhere right now. They’re a great way to bring depth and energy to your slides without overwhelming them. I’ve used gradients to give backgrounds just enough texture to feel polished, especially when I’m working with plain text-heavy slides. Or sometimes I use gradients on ‘button like objects’ in my decks to make them pop - “click to learn more” type of buttons.
The trick? Keep it soft. Stick to colors that align with your brand, and let the gradient enhance—not compete with—your content.
Below are some great off the shelf templates for gradient decks you can customize.
Modern Geometric
This trend has inspired presentation designers to find creative ways to arrange sharp geometric shapes for a “modern art-like” dynamic - adding a bold and aesthetic vibe to slideshows in 2025. Modern brands and agencies have embraced this new style of presentation to set themselves apart from the competition.
Shapes are like the backup dancers of slide design. They’re not the stars, but they make everything else look sharp and clear. I’ve found that adding a few subtle circles or rectangles—layered behind text or framing key points—can create a sense of structure that pulls a slide together.
Pro tip: Keep them aligned with your brand’s aesthetic. A little consistency goes a long way.
Photo Stories: Worth A Thousand Words
Sometimes, no chart or bullet point can tell the story as well as a string of photos. Keep it interesting with photos of different shapes, sizes, and placements in the design. By pairing text elements with image shapes and sizes, you can create a lot of visual interest with a unified story that does not look repetitious.
A photo story presentation doesn’t need a lot of other design elements to work beautifully. All ow images to tell your story and keep other design techniques – color, typography, graphics, and icons – to a minimum.
It feels personal, and it works. When people see a story in an image, they’re more likely to connect with your message.
Design Writing: When Words Are The Design
In a world where AI is helping create slick visuals, words are becoming the design differentiator. I’ve learned that crafting thoughtful, concise copy is as much a design skill as choosing the right font.
“Articulate what you do before you do it. Craft sentences and use the words as a guide rather than visual references. It’s time-consuming and challenging, but it opens up new worlds and shifts the outcome away from the formulaic.”
Start by stripping your text down to the essentials. Then, play with size and spacing to create visual hierarchy. Incorporate elements of your product into the typography. The goal is to make the words themselves part of the design—clean, deliberate, and impactful. You may need to hire an agency for this one but I think the ROI is 100% worth it to stand out in a crowded market of same same storytelling.
Minimalist Maximalism: Bold Simplicity
I’m a minimalist at heart, but let’s be honest: too much white space can sometimes feel sterile. That’s where minimalist maximalism comes in. It’s about starting with a clean base and then adding one or two bold elements—a vibrant color, an oversized headline, or an unexpected visual—to give it personality.
It’s a balancing act, but when it works, it’s magic.
“Minimalism has been a dominant design trend for many years, but in 2025, this trend, I think, will 10x itself and blend the simplicity of minimalism with the boldness of maximalism. So, we are still embracing the clean lines and white space of minimalism with more expressive and unexpected elements, such as vibey colours, massive type, and other eclectic elements.”
Closing Thoughts
Deck design is hard and not an inherent PMM skill. You don’t have to become a full-fledged designer, but learning the basics will take your decks and visual messaging skills from good to great.
Presentation design isn’t just about making slides look good; it’s about clear and instant visual communication using the full real estate of your slide to articulate your story. It’s about differentiation in articulation. Whether it’s big numbers that speak for themselves or a thoughtfully chosen photos that tug at the heart, the right design choices can make all the difference in deck storytelling.
My favorite place to shop for deck designs are:
So next time you’re scrambling to pull together a deck, pull up this blog for some inspiration, AI tools and pre-made templates to get the creative juices flowing and get you started. You’ve got this.
