PowerPoint Backgrounds and Fonts

I have been producing PowerPoint charts for sermons and classes since 2003. Before that I created color charts for the overhead projector. I have learned a lot of things about PowerPoint in the last 7 years and I am still learning. When preparing charts there are two very important things to remember. 1) The background should be very light with dark print (such as white or light blue with black print) or a very dark background with light print (such as dark red or blue with white print). 2) The font type and size should be very clear to the audience. There are two basic fonts that I have used for several years that I have found to be very easy for the audience to follow and those are the Souvenir and Arial fonts. Also, make sure that the font size is no smaller than 24 point (28 to 36 is best). Another very important point to understand is that what your chart looks like on the computer screen will not necessarily be what it looks like projected from the projector in the church building's auditorium. A few weeks ago I put some charts together with a light red color on a black background and it looked very sharp, bright, and colorful on my computer. When I hooked it up to the projector at the building, I could barely see any of the words created in the light red. As long as I have been doing this it would seem that I would learn! I have used a few projectors that do a great job (looks just like the computer), while most of them do not do the charts justice. The very best charts are those created with a white or VERY light background with black, dark blue, or dark red print. The Arial, or similar font, stands out better than most.
On my next posting dealing with PowerPoint charts I will talk about  "themes."