Interview with Julie Terberg, Presentation Design Expert and Author
Q&A with Julie Terberg, who is presenting at the 2026 Presentation Design Conference for CreativePro
Julie Terberg is a designer, speaker, and co-author of Building PowerPoint Templates. She is also the founder of Terberg Design, a creative studio focused on crafting presentations, templates, reports, and other visual communication materials.
Julie is speaking at our upcoming online event, The Presentation Design Conference, which takes place February 17-20, 2026. We thought it would be fun to get to know her better with some Q&A.
You’re covering typography from two angles at the Presentation Design conference—solving everyday font problems and using type more intentionally for impact. What do you want attendees to walk away feeling more confident about?
I’d love for attendees to feel more confident about making font choices that won’t cause problems down the line. And I want to encourage presentation designers to think about text from the audience perspective and format type for at-a-glance readability.
What are some common myths or misunderstandings about fonts and typography that you hope to clear up in your sessions?
A common misconception is that embedding eliminates all font substitution problems. I wish it was that simple! I’ll explain why this doesn’t work for every font, how to know if a font can be embedded, and what the caveats are to embedding fonts in PowerPoint.
As for typography, poor formatting choices can lead to unreadable slides. If your audience is struggling to read what’s on the screen, they’re tuning out! I’ll show examples of poorly formatted slides and explain what you should consider doing instead.
Tell us a bit about how you first became obsessed with presentation design. What drew you to this niche?
Like many others in this industry, I fell into it. While attending art college, I got a job at a small studio designing slides for presentations. This was during the infancy of computer graphics, so it was all new, fun, and fascinating. I finished my degree and instead of heading into packaging design, I stayed put. My career evolved with technology, and I experimented with much of the new hardware and software that came along. While designing presentations for large events, I was able to see what worked best on the big screen. Colors, type, images… what did the audience see and experience as the presenter was talking? This industry will continue to change but that basic tenet, design for the audience, will always remain the same.
You grew up in Michigan, surrounded by the Great Lakes and inland lakes. How has your lifelong connection to water influenced your work?
Nature has the best palettes, doesn’t it? I wouldn’t say that water has influenced my work as much as it’s been a constant, calming presence. I’m often staring out at the lake when I’m brainstorming or problem-solving. It’s a nice break for your eyes and your mind.
This article was last modified on January 21, 2026
This article was first published on January 21, 2026
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