What are the secrets of creating compelling pitches, and using visual presentation to persuade? Design consultant and former creative director of Rolling Stone magazine, Andy Cowles, describes how good design is about engineering effortless understanding, and why design is a process rather than an outcome. He sets out how to present ideas in ways that capture attention and connect with an audience, and the need to empathise with how they want to see themselves.

Firestarters is a series of insightful conversations with the interested and interesting of the advertising, marketing, and innovation communities, focusing on the areas of challenge and opportunity in the industry.

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Chaptering
00:00: Intro
01:12: Provocation: Design is the most misunderstood term
04:00: Learnings from magazine front cover design
09:40: How to pitch ideas persuasively
11:50: Visual vs. text
14:15: Tuning aesthetics to customer needs
21:30: Rules for digital impact
24:25: What a good logo looks like
28:20: Design language
32:45: Final tips