Sam Thatte

The Amazing Tany Nagy smacks cowboys chewing tobacco!

If you have a background in architecture like the subject of this post, (don’t scroll down yet, be patient!) you will have heard of Marcus Vitruvius who was an architect and designer dude that lived in Rome just before Christ was born. His definition of good design was simple; “Anything that provides solidity, commodity and delight.” So what he is saying then, is that if it is built well, it works well and makes you feel good, it is good design.

You don’t have to be a Designer to recognize great design!

Take a look at this PowerPoint template.

It was the winner in the “Design a Template contest” for The Presentation Summit.

I have to be honest and let you know that as a rule I am not too fond of seeing templates used for presentations. In my humble opinion, a lot of them take away from the clarity of the message you are trying to deliver and generally act like a little kid going, “Look at me, Look at me Daddy!” There are exceptions to the rule though. If a template is built well, it works well and makes you feel good, it is a good template.

As I look at the template, my senses are awoken. I am transported to my paradigm of Texas, I smell cows and wet hay and leather, and I see a horse with a well worn saddle roped to a post. I see a campfire burning and men with weathered faces sitting around drinking black coffee and whiskey. I am amused by the back and forth repartee,”Never smack a man who’s chewin’ tobacco.”  The other one goes, “A smart ass just don’t fit in a saddle.”

I also see a modern design, I sense excitement, excitement that makes you ask, “What’s next?” I see simplicity in the design without being simple. The combination of colors work well. Very well. The leather thread is a very nice touch to the seal (I think that is a modern graphical representation of the seal). The silhouette of the state of Texas and the stars immediately connect you to the location of the event. The modern sans serif font in the main area of the slide reminds you that along with the hats and cattle that you were first thinking of, this event is is Texas 2011!

So who designed this amazing slide? Meet Tany Nagy!

A principal at Pulse Design Studio, Tany has a degree in Architecture (See how I made the connection!) and Digital Imaging. Pulse Design offers an amazing array of services that help create as well as sell ideas. Pulse Design Studio is also on Facebook. 99 likes as of this article! (They are looking for more!)

I approached my entry from a research standpoint,” explains Tany. “Never having been to Texas or to the conference, I invested a good part in gathering information, typography, images that I felt lent themselves to being strong foundational design elements. Textures, rich deep earthly colors, branding, seals/crests, weathered materials, rough edges, patterns — I felt ‘sensory’ elements would capture the spirit of the conference and of Austin.

The Presentation Summit is an event held once a year and this year it is in Austin, TX from the September 18 – 21. A “Design a Template Contest” is held every year before the summit. The winner gets a VIP pass to the entire summit at no charge. The Summit offers three tracks of concurrent seminars — covering design, delivery, technology, and PowerPoint technique — featuring the industry’s premier experts and trainers.

I am going, Are you?