A Cambridge MBA student has created a hand-drawn ‘wake-up pill’ designed to counter boring PowerPoint presentations that send audiences to sleep.
Having sat through dozens of “mind-numbing” PowerPoint presentations during his time at Cambridge University, Gavin Wedell decided something had to be done – and today he launched the Doodleslide plugin for Microsoft PowerPoint and Word.His in-lecture doodles drew admiration from fellow students and lecturers alike – now he’s turned his skill into a business.
Containing over 400 creative hand-drawn images and 100 versatile slide templates, the Doodleslide plugin is being marketed as “a saving grace to professionals, educators and students who want to create engaging, interesting and original PowerPoint presentations.”
Wedell said: “Being hand-drawn, the images and templates go against the boring norm of sleek 'corporate' looking presentations.
“They are quirky and appear more authentic. They're vastly more memorable than typical slides. They also fit into the new paradigm of presenting that suggests that it is increasingly important to use more immersive visual communication in order to best get ideas across.
“The images and slide templates are extremely easy to insert into presentations and documents as the Doodleslide plugin integrates two new buttons on the 'insert' menu of Microsoft Office.”
Wedell had the idea for Doodleslide “while enduring many a boring presentation and lecture.” Often finding himself drawing cartoons pertaining to the lecture he was sat in, he found his class mates and even lecturers requesting copies.
After realising just how powerful these drawings could be at communicating complex ideas, he decided to share them with the world through the development of Doodleslide.
All images were produced in high resolution and contain transparent backgrounds to allow them to be integrated into presentations of any style.
Regular PowerPoint users will be aware of a myriad of other images available. So why are his different?
“With over 40 million PowerPoint presentations delivered daily, three quarters of which are likely to be no more interesting than the bus ride to work, my aim was to create 100 per cent original and visually stunning images and templates that ensure those watching not only stay awake, but are visually engaged and absorb the information being given to them.”
Wedell is due to graduate with his MBA from the University of Cambridge Judge Business school at the end of April. He also holds a Bachelor of Business from the University of Technology, Sydney as well as a Bachelor of Science (with honours in Psychology) from the University of New South Wales.
Following his MBA, he plans to specialise in improving the quality of business education through his consultancy Better Business Learning, which will be based in London UK.
The Doodleslide Plugin for PowerPoint & Word is available at www.doodleslide.com and is currently on sale for $24.95.
• PHOTOGRAPH SHOWS: Gavin Wedell
