I've met quite a few designers who simply don't "do" PowerPoint. And one can hardly blame them: having to work with so many limitations in place can be way frustrating.
But there's a flip side to the confining factors, something Ben calls the Fender Stratocaster principle. Think about it: a Fender Strat has a volume knob, two tone controls, and a 5-way pickup selector switch. Yet anyone who has heard Jimi Hendrix knows that he got an enormous range of sounds from his. Now we're not trying to equate "QuarterlyReport.ppt" with "Voodoo Child (Slight Return)" -- We're just saying that limitations can actually work in one's favor. It's possible to get some really nice effects, such as feathering, by faking it.
But the *real* reason Ben has an almost unhealthy fixation with PowerPoint isn't its limitations -- it's how fast he can work in it.
But there's a flip side to the confining factors, something Ben calls the Fender Stratocaster principle. Think about it: a Fender Strat has a volume knob, two tone controls, and a 5-way pickup selector switch. Yet anyone who has heard Jimi Hendrix knows that he got an enormous range of sounds from his. Now we're not trying to equate "QuarterlyReport.ppt" with "Voodoo Child (Slight Return)" -- We're just saying that limitations can actually work in one's favor. It's possible to get some really nice effects, such as feathering, by faking it.
But the *real* reason Ben has an almost unhealthy fixation with PowerPoint isn't its limitations -- it's how fast he can work in it.
Check this out.
PowerPoint's menu items are all keyboard accessible (sorry, Mac users; Windows only). For example, if Ben wants to left-align several selected boxes, he just mouse downs to the "Draw" menu, select "Align or Distribute" and then "Align Left." OR, just holds down the Alt key and type "ral" (based on which letters in the menu items are underlined). MUCH faster. Once you memorize the key combinations to perform menu actions, you can fly through your formatting!
So, not everyone finds working with PPT as enticing as Ben. But, as they say, there is a lid for every pot.
