10 Pitch Deck Design Tips [You must know before fundraising]
- Ink Narrates | The Presentation Design Agency
- Aug 17, 2024
- 5 min read
Updated: Dec 27, 2025
To date, we have created hundreds of pitch decks, supporting raises from $500K to $100M. Along the way, we have distilled our key learnings into a single blog. Stay tuned as we share 10 essential pitch deck design tips.
10 Pitch Deck Design Tips [You must know]
1. Your deck is not a document. Stop treating it like one.
Most founders design pitch decks like research papers. Dense paragraphs. Tiny fonts. Every thought fully explained.
That is a mistake.
A pitch deck is a visual conversation starter, not a Wikipedia article. Its job is to guide attention, not dump information.
If an investor has to read more than two lines per slide, you are asking for too much. Slides should highlight ideas, not explain them completely.
Example:
Instead of writing: "Our AI powered skincare platform leverages proprietary diagnostics and adaptive algorithms to deliver personalized regimens across multiple consumer touchpoints.”
Try: "Personalized skincare, driven by real diagnostics.”
You can explain the rest verbally. If it matters, they will ask.
2. One slide, one idea. No exceptions.
Clarity beats cleverness every time.
When a slide tries to communicate three ideas, the brain usually remembers none. Investors skim decks the same way people scroll social media. Fast, impatient, and brutal.
Each slide should answer only one question.
What is the problem?
Why now?
How do you make money?
If you cannot summarize the point of a slide in one sentence, the slide is doing too much.
Simple test: Cover the slide title. Can you guess what the slide is about in five seconds? If not, redesign it.
3. Design for skimming, not reading
Here is the reality. Many investors will first see your deck on their phone, between meetings, or late at night. They are not sitting down with coffee and full attention.
Your design should assume distraction.
Use clear headings. Strong visual hierarchy. Obvious focal points.
Bold the most important number on the slide. Make secondary details smaller. Let white space breathe.
Example: If your traction slide has 12 metrics, you have no traction slide. Pick one or two metrics that actually matter at your stage. Highlight those. Everything else is noise.
4. Consistency makes you look competent
Humans subconsciously associate consistency with trust. Inconsistency signals chaos.
If your fonts change across slides, your colors shift randomly, or alignment feels sloppy, investors may not consciously notice. But they will feel it.
A clean, consistent design suggests a team that pays attention to details. That matters when someone is about to write a large check.
What to keep consistent: Font families. Font sizes for headers and body text, Color palette, Spacing and alignment, and Icon style
This is not about aesthetics. It is about credibility.
5. Your problem slide should hurt a little
If the problem feels mild, the solution feels optional.
Many founders describe problems politely. Investors respond to urgency, not politeness.
Your problem slide should make someone think, “Yes, that is annoying,” or better, “That is painful.”
Bad problem statement: "Consumers struggle to find the right skincare products.”
Better problem statement: "Most people waste money on skincare that does not work for their skin.”
Use real scenarios. Quantify the pain if possible. Emotional clarity beats technical accuracy here.
6. Show, do not tell, whenever possible
Claims are cheap. Visual proof is powerful.
Instead of saying your product is simple, show a clean interface. Instead of claiming strong growth, show a clear chart. Instead of describing complexity, simplify it visually.
A good visual can replace a paragraph of explanation.
Example: For a platform product, a simple flow diagram showing how users move from input to outcome is often more effective than text explaining features.
Design is not decoration. It is communication.
7. Numbers need context or they mean nothing
Investors love numbers, but only when they understand them.
Throwing big numbers on a slide without context creates skepticism, not excitement.
If you show revenue growth, explain the timeframe. If you show market size, explain what portion you can realistically capture. If you show user growth, clarify paid versus organic.
Example:
Instead of: “10,000 users in 6 months”
Try: “10,000 active users in 6 months, with 70 percent coming from organic referrals”
Now the number tells a story.
8. Your deck should tell a story, not a feature list
A great pitch deck has momentum. Each slide should naturally lead to the next.
Problem leads to solution. Solution leads to product. Product leads to traction. Traction leads to opportunity.
If slides feel interchangeable, your story is broken.
Think of your deck like a guided tour. You are leading someone from confusion to belief.
Simple presentation framework: Here is a painful problem -> Here is why it matters now-> Here is our solution-> Here is proof it works-> Here is how big this can be-> Here is why we are the right team
Design supports story. It does not replace it.
9. Less design is usually better design
Many decks fail because they try too hard to impress.
Too many gradients. Too many icons. Too many decorative elements.
Good pitch deck design often feels boring in the best way. Calm. Focused. Confident.
If a visual element does not help understanding, remove it.
White space is not empty space. It is thinking space.
Rule of thumb: If a slide looks busy, it probably is.
10. End with clarity, not cleverness
The ask slide matters more than most founders realize.
After your deck ends, the investor should clearly know three things.
What you are building
How you make money
What you are asking for
Do not hide the ask. Do not make it poetic. Be direct.
Example: "We are raising $3M to scale distribution, expand product development, and grow the team.”
Clear beats cute every time.
FAQ: Can you share an example of a pitch deck created using these tips?
Yes, absolutely. You can browse our full portfolio here.
For this example, let's consider this Series B pitch deck we designed for a client.
FAQ: Why do these tips focus more on narrative and structure than on visual design?
Design absolutely matters. It just comes after the thinking is done.
Narrative and structure decide whether your idea makes sense and whether anyone wants to keep paying attention. If those are unclear, design has nothing solid to support. Visual polish cannot fix a confusing story or a scattered message. It can only make them look better while they fail.
Once the narrative is clear and the structure is tight, design becomes powerful. It sharpens focus, builds trust, and makes the story easier to absorb. That is why these tips lead with narrative and structure, not because design is unimportant, but because it works best when it is built on clarity, not decoration.
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.
How To Get Started?
If you want to hire us for your presentation design project, the process is extremely easy.
Just click on the "Start a Project" button on our website, calculate the price, make payment, and we'll take it from there.