How to Design a Premium Dual-Infographic Presentation Slide

Creating a presentation slide that displays a lot of information without overwhelming the audience can be tricky. The secret lies in smart layout choices and clear visual grouping. In this tutorial, we will break down a premium slide design that effectively combines two distinct data visualizations—a hub-and-spoke diagram and a horizontal timeline—onto a single, cohesive canvas.

Whether you are building a pitch deck, a project update, or a marketing report, learning how to structure complex information into easily digestible graphics is a valuable skill. Let us walk through how to recreate this exact layout step by step in PowerPoint, Google Slides, or Keynote.

Understanding the Slide Layout

The Two-Column Strategy

At first glance, this slide contains a lot of data. However, it feels manageable because it utilizes a strict two-column split. By dividing the slide straight down the middle (conceptually, if not with a literal line), the designer gives the viewer two separate stories to digest. The left side handles categorical relationships, while the right side handles chronological events.

Visual Balance and Symmetry

Notice how the visual weight is perfectly balanced. The left side features a large, hollow central shape surrounded by smaller, solid blocks. The right side uses a solid horizontal bar anchored by delicate, dotted connecting lines. This contrast in shape density keeps the slide dynamic while maintaining overall harmony.

Setting Up the Background

Choosing the Right Navy Canvas

The foundation of this premium look is its dark background. Dark backgrounds reduce eye strain in darker presentation rooms and make light-colored graphics pop off the screen.

• Open a blank slide and format the background.
• Choose a deep, desaturated navy blue (roughly hex code #152238).
• Avoid pure black, as navy blue feels more professional and slightly warmer.

Building the Left Diagram Structure

Creating the Central Node

The left diagram is a classic hub-and-spoke model. Start by building the focal point.

• Insert a standard Rounded Rectangle from your shapes menu.
• Drag the yellow adjustment handle all the way in to create a perfect "pill" shape.
• Set the shape fill to a slightly lighter, transparent blue-grey, and add a thick border in a solid light blue.
• Add an outer ring by duplicating this shape, removing the fill, and making it slightly larger to frame the central text that says "Add the title here."

Adding the Supporting Nodes

Next, we need the six connecting nodes that flank the central pill.

• Insert a smaller Rounded Rectangle. Set the fill to a soft, icy blue-grey.
• Duplicate this shape five times so you have six identical boxes.
• Align three on the top edge of the central shape, and three along the bottom. Use your software's alignment tools to ensure the gaps between them are perfectly equal.
• Add placeholder text like "Text 1", "Text 2", etc., in the lower half of each box, leaving room above for icons.

Drawing the Connecting Lines

To connect the nodes to the center, use curved lines or elbow connectors.

• Select the curve line tool. Draw a smooth path from the bottom of the top boxes to the top edge of the central pill.
• Format these lines to be thin (around 1pt) and match the icy blue color of your shapes.
• Add a small circular marker at the end of each line where it meets the central hub to give it a polished, technical appearance.

Constructing the Horizontal Timeline

Designing the Base Timeline Bar

The right side of the slide is dominated by a segmented horizontal timeline representing the years 2016 through 2020.

• You can build this central bar using interconnected Chevron shapes, or simply by aligning five small rounded rectangles horizontally.
• Give these shapes the same icy blue-grey fill as your diagram nodes on the left.
• Type the years (2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020) directly into these shapes in a bold, dark font for high contrast.

Adding Alternating Timeline Markers

To prevent text from overlapping, this timeline uses an alternating top-and-bottom layout. Notice how the text for 2016 sits below the line, while 2017 sits above it.

• Insert a thin line above the 2017, 2019 blocks and below the 2016, 2018, 2020 blocks.
• Format these lines to be dotted or dashed.
• At the end of each dotted line, attach a Hexagon shape. This shape acts as a container for your timeline icons.

Structuring the Timeline Text

Now, add the descriptive text next to your hexagon markers. This design uses brief, interesting facts to fill the space. For example, below 2016, you can add text like "Venus is the second planet from the Sun and is terribly hot." Above 2017, you might place "Mercury is the smallest planet in the Solar System." Keeping these descriptions to two or three short lines ensures the slide remains uncluttered.

Choosing Fonts and Typography

Selecting a Clean Sans-Serif

For a modern, corporate infographic, you must use a clean sans-serif typeface. Fonts like Arial, Helvetica, Roboto, or Segoe UI work perfectly here.

• Main Title: Place "Premium infographics" perfectly centered at the top of the slide in a large, thin font weight.
• Body Text: Use a light weight for the timeline descriptions, ensuring the text is either pure white or a very light grey to contrast against the dark background.

Using Icons and Visual Elements

Sourcing Consistent Icons

Icons are essential for breaking up text and adding visual interest to your shapes.

• Notice how all the icons in this design (gears, pie charts, global networks, megaphones) share the same style. They are all line-art icons with consistent stroke weights.
• Place one icon centrally inside each of the six nodes on the left, and inside each hexagon marker on the timeline.
• Change the icon colors to match the darker navy background, which creates a neat cutout effect against the light blue shape fills.

Balancing White Space and Final Polish

Mastering Alignment

The difference between an amateur slide and a professional one is often just alignment. Before finalizing your design, select all the text boxes in your timeline and ensure they are aligned along the same horizontal axis. Check that the distance between your left diagram and right timeline feels equal to the margins on the far edges of the slide.

Conclusion

Recreating this premium infographic slide is all about breaking down complex visuals into simple, manageable shape combinations. By combining a dark corporate background with a monochromatic blue color palette, utilizing strict alignments, and mixing a hub diagram with an alternating timeline, you can present a massive amount of data in a sleek, highly readable format. Practice building these individual elements, and you will soon be able to apply these presentation design techniques to any layout you need.