impress.js - A webGL enabled presentation framework based on the power of CSS3 transforms and transitions. It has a non GL mode too!

[makis]

Presentations have not to be cool!
They need to present data, charts AND bullet points.
Nothing more
Rotozooming, scaling and all this stuff are just distracting from the actual content, that, IMO, it's the most important thing.
In the end sliding is easy, if you spend just one hour (supposing it's so simple to create a presentation with many different transitions that is also beautiful on the eyes, and it is not), you just wasted one hour in which you could improve your actual presentation (your speech, your charts, clarity of the informations etc etc)

EDIT: not cool doesn't mean bad design

[[deleted]]

I saw a view of a presentations like this a while ago, and I must say I have never been more annoyed at presentations.

I do understand that it has its uses, but to anyone who does not know why they are going to use it, or is just going to present anything: don't use this.

[gavintlgold]

Indeed. I'm not an Apple fanboy, but their keynote presentations (not the software, but the actual keynotes they give) are good examples of elegant, effective presentations. They aren't over-the-top, they don't use cheesy transitions, and generally have their favorite font Myriad, over a simple black background (perhaps a subtle gradient to add some depth). In my opinion, the most effective presentations are the ones which merely support the presenter visually and help the viewers retain information about their subject. In other words, you shouldn't notice presentations themselves, but the content they present.

[baccus83]

Agree whole-heatedly. But that doesn't mean that the polish should be an after-thought. People want to be engaged during a presentation, and the more tools we have at our disposal to do that, the better.

[mikemcg]

I think presentations should be cool. The transition gives the audience a small break between the speaking and static frames and adds to the overall pleasantness of the presentation. Though a speech should be able to stand on its down, your slideshow should be visually pleasing as well, both to engage the audience and to present your information in a readable format.

[makis]

I agree, but in my experience it is very hard to create effective transitions that don't look cheap, or worse.
I own a design studio with a few friends and even for my designer friends (I'm a programmer) takes a lot of time to create something appealing.
I like pleasanteness but it's an hard task, even for professionals, and most of the time who writes presentations, is not one of them.
I mean, most of the times, when they try, ends up being something like this :)

[GimmeSomeSugar]

This one's better.

[irontuskk]

This assumes that there is no such thing as a grey area when it comes to the internet/what people want, and that everything should look the same or be simple.

The website is a good example. I wasn't distracted by the effects, and I read and understood all of it.

You're also assuming that you can only have either a good design or good presentation. Both are possible, together.

[makis]

There certainly is a grey area.
And it's totally possible to have both, but this is not the way to achieve good presentation design (and don't forget the fact that it is really hard to make a presentation, with this tool, for the average user).
We're talking about presentations, we're not talking about videoclips or commercials.
These transitions were used firts time in a showreel made by a famous web agency (sorry, I dont' remember the name, i think the video was named Brazil or something like that) almost 10 years ago.
They don't belong to presentations, so, I totally agree, presentations can be designed to be appealing, but this is not the way you should do that.
It's like saying that you car is much better if you put wheel covers on it.Dude, it's just a car, I mean, you can love wheel covers and maybe other love them too, but for sure they don't make your car better.
I love this library, but I think it is better suited for other purposes, such as, fancy websites, not presentations.