How to Make Presentations Like Credit Suisse [A Guide]
- Ink Narrates | The Presentation Design Agency
- 2 days ago
- 6 min read
Our client Eric asked us an interesting question while we were making their presentation. He said,
“How do Credit Suisse decks manage to be so packed with data yet still feel clean and easy to follow?”
Our Creative Director answered,
“They respect the data but never sacrifice clarity or brand consistency.”
As a presentation design agency, we work on many Credit Suisse style presentations throughout the year and in the process, we’ve observed one common challenge: most data-heavy presentations end up messy and hard to read.
In this blog, we’ll talk about how you can design presentations like Credit Suisse that are rich in information while still looking polished, professional, and true to your brand.
In case you didn't know, we specialize in only one thing: making presentations. We can help you by designing your slides and writing your content too.
How to Make Presentations Like Credit Suisse
It's not about mimicking style or copying templates. It’s about understanding the philosophy behind their decks and translating it into a process that works for your audience. We’ve spent years helping clients produce presentations that meet the same standards, and here’s what we’ve learned works every time.
1. Start With the Story, Not the Slides
The first step in making a presentation like Credit Suisse is story planning. Too many people dive straight into PowerPoint, dumping data onto slides without thinking about the narrative. The result is a deck that is technically complete but confusing to the audience.
Credit Suisse presentations start with a clear story arc. What is the key insight? What decisions need to be supported? How do you want your audience to feel at the end? By answering these questions before touching a single slide, you create a map that guides the entire design process.
From our experience, this upfront planning saves countless hours later. Instead of fixing a slide that doesn’t fit the flow, you already know where it belongs. Start by outlining the main sections: an executive summary, key insights, supporting data, and recommendations. Each slide should exist to serve the story, not just display information.
2. Organize Data Into Digestible Chunks
Credit Suisse presentations are famous for handling complex data without overwhelming the reader. The key is organization. You don’t have to remove data to achieve clarity; you just have to present it intelligently.
We often see clients try to fit a quarter’s worth of financial data onto a single slide. The result is visual chaos. Credit Suisse handles this by breaking information into digestible chunks. Each slide focuses on a single point, and related slides are grouped logically.
Here’s how we do it in practice:
Segmentation: Divide data into categories that make sense to the audience. Revenue, expenses, forecasts, and KPIs each get their own section.
Layering: Present high-level insights first, with the option to drill down into details. This keeps slides readable while still providing depth.
Progression: Arrange slides so that each builds on the previous one. The audience follows a natural flow from understanding the context to seeing detailed evidence.
The result is a presentation that looks simple but is packed with insights. You get the balance Credit Suisse achieves between richness of information and clarity of delivery.
3. Follow a Template, But Customize Intelligently
Templates are not a magic bullet. A poorly applied template can make your deck look rigid or generic. Credit Suisse presentations maintain consistency across slides, but they also feel dynamic because the template is used intelligently.
In our agency, we always start with a master template that includes fonts, colors, iconography, chart styles, and spacing. Then we customize it to fit the specific story. This approach ensures that:
Every slide adheres to the brand’s visual standards
Layouts are flexible enough to accommodate different types of content
Charts and tables are visually consistent without feeling repetitive
The lesson here is simple: templates provide structure, but intelligent customization makes the presentation effective.
4. Design With the Audience in Mind
A Credit Suisse presentation is never designed in a vacuum. Every element serves the audience’s needs. Will the audience be senior executives pressed for time? Will they need detailed numbers to make a decision? Will they review the deck digitally or in print?
From our experience, understanding your audience changes everything. It influences:
Font sizes: Bigger for executives who skim, smaller for analysts who dive deep
Data visualization types: Bar charts for trends, tables for precise numbers
Slide density: One insight per slide for clarity, multiple metrics per slide for detailed analysis
We always recommend a test read. Show your slides to someone who hasn’t been involved in the creation process. Can they grasp the key insight in 10 seconds? If not, iterate. Credit Suisse presentations succeed because every slide anticipates the audience’s needs before they are even expressed.
5. Visualize Data Intelligently
Charts, graphs, and tables are the backbone of a credit suisse presentation. But visualization is about more than just choosing a bar chart or line graph. It’s about communicating insight efficiently.
We’ve observed several practices that consistently produce effective data visualization:
Highlight the key point: Use color, size, or position to emphasize the most important figure
Simplify labels: Avoid cluttered axes and long legends; make numbers easy to scan
Maintain consistency: Use the same color palette and chart style throughout the deck to avoid visual confusion
Choose the right chart type: Pie charts for proportions, bar charts for comparisons, line graphs for trends
Remember, a chart is only effective if it tells the story at a glance. Credit Suisse presentations excel because they respect the audience’s attention. Every chart is intentional and contributes to the decision-making process.
6. Keep Typography Clean and Purposeful
Typography is often overlooked in presentations, but in a credit suisse presentation, it is foundational. Fonts are legible, sizes are consistent, and hierarchy is clear. The slide communicates without distraction.
Here’s what we implement in our client work:
Headings: Clear and bold, summarizing the insight
Body text: Minimal and readable; avoid paragraphs where bullets or visuals work better
Consistency: Font sizes, weights, and spacing are maintained across the deck
A clean typographic system allows the data to shine. It also reinforces brand credibility. Sloppy typography, even with perfect data, undermines trust.
7. Use White Space Strategically
Credit Suisse presentations feel uncluttered because of strategic white space. Every element has breathing room. White space is not empty space; it’s a design tool that guides attention and reduces cognitive load.
We’ve seen presentations where every corner is crammed with numbers, charts, and text. The audience ends up scanning randomly, missing the point entirely. By contrast, a well-designed slide lets the eye naturally flow from heading to key data to supporting visuals. White space is what makes complex information readable and professional-looking.
8. Review, Revise, Repeat
Finally, no Credit Suisse presentation is perfect on the first try. Iteration is key.
We recommend multiple review rounds:
Content review: Are all insights accurate and relevant?
Design review: Are charts, colors, and typography consistent?
Flow review: Does the deck tell a logical story?
Iteration is where a presentation transforms from good to great. Credit Suisse invests time in this process because they understand that a polished deck is a reflection of credibility.
9. Technology Matters, But Process Matters More
It’s easy to assume that the “magic” behind a credit suisse presentation is software. PowerPoint, Excel, or any other tool is just that—a tool. The real magic lies in the process: prioritizing clarity, structuring data, and designing with intention.
In our work, clients often ask if there’s a shortcut. There isn’t. You can have all the templates and fancy features, but without the principles outlined here, the deck will fail to impress. Focus on process, not shortcuts.
By following these steps, you don’t just make a presentation; you make a Credit Suisse-caliber deck. One that is data-rich, visually clear, brand-aligned, and actionable. You respect the information while making it readable, which is exactly what sets these presentations apart.
Why Hire Us to Build your Presentation?
If you're reading this, you're probably working on a presentation right now. You could do it all yourself. But the reality is - that’s not going to give you the high-impact presentation you need. It’s a lot of guesswork, a lot of trial and error. And at the end of the day, you’ll be left with a presentation that’s “good enough,” not one that gets results. On the other hand, we’ve spent years crafting thousands of presentations, mastering both storytelling and design. Let us handle this for you, so you can focus on what you do best.