How to Make a Mobile First Presentation [A Complete Guide]
- Ink Narrates | The Presentation Design Agency
- Jul 31, 2023
- 7 min read
Updated: Aug 29
Marc, one of our clients, asked us an interesting question while we were working on his mobile first presentation.
He said,
“How do I make sure my audience actually absorbs my slides when most of them are checking in from their phones?”
Our Creative Director replied,
“Design for the smallest screen first, then scale up.”
As a presentation design agency, we work on many mobile first presentations throughout the year, and in the process we’ve noticed one recurring challenge—people assume that shrinking a desktop slide is the same as designing for mobile. It’s not. That mindset is where most presentations go wrong.
So in this blog, we’ll talk about what it really takes to design a mobile first presentation that actually works the way your audience uses it—on the go, on a screen that fits in their hand.
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.
Why You Need a Mobile First Presentation in Today’s Day and Age
Let’s be honest, your audience isn’t opening your deck in a boardroom with a projector. They’re on a phone, maybe an iPad, almost never on a 27-inch screen. And they’re distracted. Notifications are pinging. Slack is open. They’ve got five tabs running and barely enough mental real estate for your message.
So, what does that mean for your presentation?
It means if your deck doesn’t make sense on a six-inch screen, it doesn’t make sense at all.
We’ve worked with dozens of clients—startups, global brands, and in-betweeners—who’ve sent out pitch decks, sales proposals, or internal updates, assuming the viewer will “zoom in if they need to.” Spoiler: they won’t. People don’t pinch and zoom for clarity. They swipe away.
Mobile first is no longer just smart design. It’s survival.
And here’s the thing most people miss: mobile first isn’t about shrinking things. It’s about prioritizing what matters. It’s ruthless editing. It’s clarity over cleverness. It's asking, “If I only had a few seconds of someone's attention, what would I want them to get?”
That’s how you make your presentation work in today’s world. You respect how people consume content now, not how they used to.
How to Make a Mobile First Presentation
Let’s clear something up before we dive in: a mobile first presentation isn’t just a deck that looks okay on your phone. That’s a low bar. What we’re aiming for is a presentation that’s built for mobile—intentionally, strategically, and from the ground up.
We’ve designed mobile first presentations for product launches, investor pitches, sales decks, and internal updates. What we’ve learned is this: the format changes everything. If your slide wouldn’t work in a scrollable Instagram story, it probably won’t work on mobile either.
So let’s get into it. Here’s how we approach mobile first presentation design, step by step.
1. Think in Scrolls, Not Clicks
Traditional presentations rely on the click. One slide leads to the next, often with complex transitions, reveals, and animations. That’s fine in a live setting, but it completely falls apart on mobile.
Mobile first design means thinking in scrolls.
You’re creating a vertical experience—like a social feed or a WhatsApp thread. You want the viewer to scroll naturally, consuming bite-sized content without needing extra effort.
The rule of thumb we use internally: if it feels like too much effort to scroll through it with one thumb, it’s too long or too dense.
That’s your gut check.
2. One Idea per Slide
Mobile demands clarity. That means you don’t get to cram five bullet points and a chart onto a single slide.
You get one idea. One message. One visual, maybe.
If that feels restrictive, good. That restriction forces better thinking. It pushes you to prioritize, to distill, to say what matters most and say it well.
Ask yourself, “If this were a tweet or a story frame, would it still land?” That’s the level of simplicity you need to aim for.
3. Use Large, Legible Fonts
Let’s talk about type. Your 16pt Calibri isn’t going to cut it here.
For mobile, we use type sizes that look too big on a desktop. Titles are often set between 36pt to 48pt minimum, and body text never goes below 24pt. Yes, it feels oversized in the design phase. But once you preview it on an actual phone, it makes sense.
The key is contrast. You need your text to pop. Not fight for attention. That means enough breathing room around it, generous margins, and absolute clarity in your typography hierarchy.
And no, you don’t get to use five different fonts. Stick to one or two max, and lean into boldness, spacing, and size to create structure.
4. Design for Natural Eye Flow
When someone opens a deck on mobile, their eye moves in a Z-pattern or vertical flow. That’s how we naturally read content in smaller formats. So your layout should guide the eye, not confuse it.
Here’s a layout pattern that works consistently for us:
Slide 1: One-line headline
Slide 2: Supporting visual
Slide 3: Short stat or quote
Slide 4: Key message with CTA or summary
This rhythm creates an almost cinematic pacing. The user feels like they’re going through a story, not clicking through a slide graveyard.
And speaking of story...
5. Build a Narrative That Works Without a Voice
In mobile first decks, there’s no presenter. No one’s standing next to the screen filling in the blanks. Your deck is the message.
So it better make sense on its own.
That means writing in complete thoughts. Using plain language. Repeating the big idea across multiple slides in different ways to reinforce the point.
Don’t rely on smart metaphors or vague headlines. Say what you mean. “Revenue grew 40% in Q2” is stronger than “Up and to the right.” You’re not trying to be cute. You’re trying to be understood.
Your deck should tell a story from start to finish—problem, insight, solution, proof, next steps. If someone scrolls it while muted on a train, they should still get the full picture.
6. Use Visuals That Make Sense at 3 Inches Wide
We’ve seen this mistake a hundred times: someone pastes in a complicated screenshot or a crowded chart, shrinks it to fit, and assumes people will “zoom in.”
They won’t.
If a visual doesn’t make sense at mobile size, it doesn’t belong in a mobile first deck. Full stop.
Here’s what works instead:
Simple icons or illustrations
One-line callouts
Cropped product images with a short caption
Single stat with a bold font and background
Don’t overload the eye. Use visuals to support the message, not compete with it.
If you absolutely must include a chart or data visual, recreate it in a simplified version. Focus on the key takeaway, not the full data set.
7. Use Vertical Aspect Ratios or Portrait Slides
This one’s practical, but important. If you’re designing strictly for mobile, go vertical.
Standard 16:9 horizontal slides feel clunky on phones. They force viewers to pinch and zoom or deal with wide borders. It’s not ideal.
We often use a 9:16 ratio (same as Instagram Stories or TikTok) for mobile decks, especially when they’re meant to be shared as PDFs or viewed online. It aligns with how people hold their devices. And more importantly, it feels native.
That one tweak changes how your entire deck feels—smoother, cleaner, easier to engage with.
8. Optimize for PDF or Web View
Let’s talk output. If you’re sending your deck as a .pptx file and expecting people to open it on their phone, you’re living in the past.
A mobile first presentation should be exported as a PDF or hosted on a scrollable web platform (like a Notion page, a scrolling microsite, or even Google Slides in view mode).
We tell clients this all the time: design for how people will consume it, not how you want to send it. Mobile viewers want speed, instant access, and no weird formatting issues. PDFs and scrollable web formats are your friends here.
Pro tip: Test it on your own phone before sending it. If you have to squint, it’s not ready.
9. Strip It Down, Then Strip It Again
Here’s our harsh truth: your deck is probably too long.
In mobile first design, less is really more. You’re not dumbing it down—you’re distilling it. That’s the difference.
We run every mobile first presentation we design through a ruthless second pass. We ask:
Can this slide be cut?
Can these two be merged?
Is this point already made earlier?
Does this image actually add value?
Trim the fat. What remains should be lean, clear, and tight. You’re creating flow, not just stacking slides.
10. Make the First 3 Slides Count
Your audience decides in the first three slides whether they’ll continue.
So front-load your value.
Start with a headline that clearly states what this is and why it matters. Follow it with something visual that pulls them in—maybe a big result, a bold claim, or a provocative question. And then give them a reason to keep going.
If slide four is where you start making your point, you’ve already lost.
11. Test Across Devices
Before you share your mobile first presentation, test it on different screens—iPhones, Androids, tablets, even smaller laptops. What looks great on a Pixel might break on an iPhone SE.
We use real-time testing with our team to catch layout issues, spacing quirks, or type size problems.
Sometimes we find we’ve been too clever with the layout or missed how a visual reads in natural light.
You only get one shot at first impressions. Make sure your deck holds up wherever it’s viewed.
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.