Start from the master, not a blank slide
A brand deck template is a set of slide masters and layouts: title, section divider, one and two columns, chart, full-bleed image, quote. Generated content should be placed into those layouts rather than composing new ones, or every deck drifts. Keep 16:9 at 1920x1080 as the default canvas unless a venue screen needs something else, embed or supply licensed fonts so the deck does not fall back to a system font on a presenter's laptop, and compress images for screen so files still send by email. A template with locked positions for logo, footer and slide number removes most of the checking before anyone reviews the content.
Data slides are built, never generated
Image models draw charts that look right and are wrong: bars that do not match their labels, axes with invented scales, numbers close to the real ones. A chart on a slide should come from the source data through the charting tool, with the source and date in small type below it. Start bar charts at zero, label units, and state the one message of each chart in the slide title, such as 'Returns fell after the size guide launched'. When AI drafts the narrative, check every figure it quotes against the source, because a single wrong number in a board or investor deck undoes the credibility of the rest.
Imagery for concept slides, without the AI look
Generated imagery earns its place on slides that carry an idea rather than evidence: a customer moment, a future store concept, a metaphor for a strategy. The generic look comes from default choices: glowing blue light, robots and handshakes, plastic skin, perfectly symmetrical compositions and an orange-and-teal grade. Brief the image as a photographer would, with the brand's lighting, palette, camera distance and real settings, and reuse the same style across the deck. Label concept imagery as illustrative when it shows things that do not exist yet, so nobody mistakes a mock-up of a store for a store.
Accessibility and reuse after the meeting
Decks are read after the meeting as often as they are presented, so they need to work without a speaker. Give each slide a unique title, set the reading order, add alt text to images and charts, and keep text contrast at WCAG AA levels: 4.5:1 for normal text and 3:1 for large text. Avoid text baked into images, which screen readers and translation tools cannot reach. The studio produces slide imagery from the brand hub, so colours, image style and approved claims match the rest of the campaign, and saved elements keep products and characters consistent from the first slide to the last.
Updated 25 September 2026