Before and After Slide [Visual impact tips]
- Ink Narrates | The Presentation Design Agency
- 5 days ago
- 6 min read
Marc (our client) asked an interesting question during a strategy presentation redesign.
“Is a before and after slide really necessary if the story is already clear in the bullet points?”
Our Creative Director answered it without missing a beat:
“If it’s already clear in bullet points, you haven’t pushed the story far enough.”
As a presentation design agency, high-stakes strategy decks come in all year round. Product launches, investor narratives, internal transformation roadshows. Most of them trying to signal one thing: that change is happening. That something is about to look, feel, and perform differently than before. The problem? Many of them forget to show it.
So, in this blog, let’s talk about the before and after slide; what it’s for, what most people get wrong, and how to use it as a high-impact moment.
Why the Before and After Slide Exists
There’s a reason the before and after slide has earned a place in pitch decks, strategy presentations, and transformation roadshows. It makes the case for change.
Every presentation that talks about improvement, disruption, or reinvention is selling a shift. Not just in product or service, but in mindset. Yet, too often, that shift is buried under abstract words: “streamlined operations,” “increased efficiency,” “better customer experience.”
These phrases don’t stick. They float.
What grounds them is contrast.
The before and after slide shows them what staying the same looks like, and what the better path could be. It creates visual tension. It frames the old way as insufficient. It positions the new way as inevitable.
It works because of one simple truth: People don’t buy change. They buy the fear of staying the same.
So, before introducing a shiny new idea, a compelling solution, or a bold strategy, this slide becomes the emotional handbrake. It says: here’s where we were. Here's what it was costing. Here's why we can’t go back.
Done right, this isn’t a decorative moment — it’s a turning point.
Building the Perfect Before and After Slide
1. Start with the Right Frame of Reference
A lot of people fall into the trap of putting the focus on the visual contrast itself, but without the right context, the before and after can feel hollow. Before diving into the design, ask yourself: What’s the situation we’re shifting away from? And what’s the goal we’re trying to achieve?
Take a simple product example: A presentation on a new customer relationship management (CRM) system. If the “before” slide shows a chaotic interface, users struggling to find data, and wasted hours on manual tasks, the contrast with the “after”, a sleek, intuitive interface with automation features is powerful call to action. It says: This change is a game changer.
Without that context, the audience might look at the slide and think, “Okay, it’s just a nicer interface,” without understanding the business impact.
2. Highlight the Gap, Not Just the Shift
The before and after slide isn’t just about showing the “new and improved” version, it’s about illustrating the gap between the two. The audience needs to feel the weight of the contrast. Here’s where most presentations miss the mark: they don’t emphasize what’s missing in the “before” state.
The best before and after slides make the “before” feel inadequate or outdated. It’s not just that something is better — it’s that the current situation is untenable.
Let’s say you’re presenting a slide on a company’s outdated supply chain process. The “before” slide might show inefficient communication channels, delays, and error-prone systems. You don’t need to just show the new system (the “after”) as being streamlined and efficient; you need to show the cost of staying where you are.
Think: What’s the pain here? What’s the missed opportunity? What’s the risk? When you emphasize these factors, the transformation that follows in the “after” slide isn’t just an improvement — it’s the only logical outcome.
3. Choose the Right Visuals
Visuals are where this slide truly comes to life. The wrong choice of imagery can completely undermine the purpose of the slide. Too often, teams default to generic, stock visuals, or poorly lit, low-res pictures. This undermines the gravity of the transformation they are showcasing. A before and after slide isn’t an opportunity for playing it safe with visuals — it’s the moment to make your audience see the stakes.
Let’s take an example. If you’re presenting a slide on a software company’s UI/UX redesign, don’t just show “before” and “after” screenshots. If the software had a cluttered interface, show it being navigated by a frustrated user — capture the emotion of the struggle. Contrast this with the “after” screenshot where the user is visibly delighted, interacting effortlessly with the new design. The difference isn’t just about the layout; it’s about the experience.
The visuals should align with the story you’re telling. Every image, every graphic, should resonate with the gap you’re highlighting. It’s about contextualizing the change — making the audience see and feel what they would lose if they didn’t act.
4. Don’t Overcrowd the Slide
Another common mistake in designing before and after slides is overloading them with information. Some teams feel the need to put everything into one slide: a chart comparing results, bullet points of key features, and the before-and-after visuals themselves. It’s easy to think this adds depth, but the result is a muddled message.
The beauty of the before and after slide is in its simplicity. It’s the perfect opportunity to strip away the noise and focus on visual clarity. The audience shouldn’t be distracted by extraneous details. Instead, they should be drawn immediately to the contrast between the two states.
To keep the focus on the transformation, you don’t need to overload the audience with too much information. Let the visual difference between “before” and “after” speak for itself. Add a simple, bold headline with a short sentence explaining the core difference — but leave the details to the rest of the presentation.
If you clutter the slide with too much data, you risk losing the audience’s attention before they can truly absorb the impact of the change.
5. Show the Progression, Not Just the End State
A before and after slide doesn’t have to be a simple binary of “before” and “after.” It can also show a progression — the journey between two points. This can be particularly powerful when you’re dealing with a complex transformation.
Instead of showing the final result, you could walk your audience through a few key steps: what was the first phase of change, what came next, and where we are now. This is especially valuable in processes that span several months or even years.
For instance, let’s say you’re presenting a company’s digital transformation. Instead of a single “before” and “after” moment, the slide can visually demonstrate stages of change — each one more advanced than the last. It shows not just the result, but how the company evolved into that result.
This could be a timeline that walks through milestones or a series of photos showing key moments in the process.
When you show the progression, you don’t just demonstrate the change itself — you demonstrate the effort it took to get there. This adds depth to your story, making the “after” state feel more earned and tangible.
6. Avoid the Trap of Too Much Text
The power of a before and after slide lies in its visual storytelling. The words should be supportive, not the focus. In fact, the more words you add, the more you risk dulling the impact of the visual transformation. Stick to the basics: a headline with the key message, and perhaps a short, impactful sentence explaining the change.
Remember, your job is to communicate emotionally, not logically. The words should reinforce the change, but they shouldn’t explain it in such a way that the audience misses the visceral feeling of transformation that’s happening in front of them.
If you rely on text-heavy slides, the audience might read the slide instead of truly feeling the difference between the before and after. The visuals do the heavy lifting here.
7. Use Color and Design to Guide Attention
Design elements like color, typography, and layout can guide the viewer’s attention to where it needs to go. A classic trick is to use colors to represent the transformation: the “before” can be gray, muted, or desaturated, while the “after” is vibrant, bold, and full of life. This visual contrast immediately signals the change in mood, tone, and effect.
You can also use design to create a sense of movement. If the change is about growth or improvement, the design can incorporate upward arrows, dynamic curves, or even a shifting grid to visually indicate progress. The slide’s layout can lead the viewer’s eyes from the left (the old way) to the right (the new way), creating a natural progression of thought.
In the world of presentation design, everything is intentional. Each element, from the color scheme to the positioning — serves to enhance the transformation you’re showing.
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