Prezi: The Zooming Presentation Editor!
Prezi is something that is easy to get excited about. In the field of presentation software not much has changed since the advent of Microsoft’s PowerPoint. For years the formula has been the same. New Slide. Title. Bullets. Picture. Repeat. Prezi hopes to change the way you see presentations from now on.
As stated Prezi is a zooming presentation editor, which is novel since it doesn’t restrict you in the ways that PowerPoint inherently does by boxing you into slides in a progressive line. Prezi gives you the freedom to instead create your own content arranged however you like, and trace a path from concept to concept. The best way to understand Prezi is to see it in action.
Getting Started
To start you should create your own account. there are three options ranging from the free Public access option to the much more substantial Pro account for $170. we’ll be using a free Public account for our explanation.
Give the appropriate information and click the link in the email to register the account. From there there are several Prezi presentation tutorials. however, we’ll hope to get you started right away.
Using Prezi
The first thing you should notice about Prezi is that the interface is extremely simplified. this is achieved by the zooming function that makes Prezi so unique and simultaneously by redundancy of mouse clicks, key strokes, and hotkeys.
The Main Menu Interface
Prezi's interface is simultaneously innovative, elegant and intuitive
Clicking on Place opens the editor to create or change your presentations. When you click Place, it moves and zooms to fill the Prezi bubble’s spot. In that sense the menu can dialate and expand just like the rest of your presentation.
Presentation Controls
Controls the view and progress of the presentation
From left to right, the magnifying glass zooms out and can give you an overview of the entire presentation as a whole; useful for visualizing the flow and feel of it in editing. the box with arrows makes the presentation full screen for actually presenting your work. The left pointing arrow takes you back one step on your presentation path, and the right pointing arrow takes you forward one step. You can also, for presentation purposes, move forward with the Tab key.
The Transformation Zebra
This tool allows you to manipulate elements on Prezi's 2D canvas
The large blue and white striped circle you see in front of you is the “Transformation Zebra” (get it stripes…zebra…its funny). The center-most circle with vertical stripes is how you Move your objects around in space. The next band comprised of concentric circles is the Size adjuster it increases or decreases the size of your object in relation to the other objects around it. The outermost ring made up of rays is the Rotation tool. Using these three controls effectively it is possible to do almost anything in the truly vast 2D space.
Progressing the Presentation
Once you have your objects created and ready you can create the logical progression of the presentation by clicking on the Path option on the menu circles. once you click that you merely click on the objects in the order that you want them to be presented. Prezi will automatically zoom and rotate to make it legible so don’t worry about orientation.
Last few Hints
Prezi is a sharp looking interface and seems incredibly impressive and powerful but, just like the first time you saw a PowerPoint presentation and thought the typewriter noise was amazing. Remember functionality and serving your audience’s needs over something you think looks or sounds awesome. However, at the same time Prezi is a powerful creative tool. So, feel free to play around and do fun and interesting things with it. The wow factor of Prezi’s unique interface is only enhanced with useful information. So to help get those creative juices flowing, here’s a small Prezi I’ve made to showcase some possibilities.
Related Posts
Also check out http://www.ahead.com – similar zoom interface and more layout options if you need to have your own look and feel.