presentation

Presentation Skill

Creates standalone HTML slide deck presentations with CSS animations, keyboard/click/swipe navigation, bullet reveal, mouse parallax, and polished visual design. Single file, no dependencies, works anywhere.

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Step 1: Choose a Mode

Ask the user how they want to work:

• Full generation: User provides content/outline upfront → Claude generates the entire presentation in one shot. Best when the user already knows what they want to say.
• Interactive step-by-step: Claude scaffolds the framework first, then builds slides one at a time — user reviews each slide before moving to the next. Best when the user is still figuring out the story or wants tight control.

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Step 2: Content & Structure (THE MOST IMPORTANT STEP)

Before writing any code, deeply understand what the presentation is actually saying.

Ask the user to provide source material — any of:

• A document, outline, or notes about the topic
• A rough slide-by-slide outline
• Key talking points, stats, or quotes
• An existing presentation to redesign
• A brain dump of everything they want to cover

Then collaboratively build the slide outline:

• For each slide: choose a type, headline, body content, and special elements
• Suggest a narrative arc: hook → context → key content → details → closing
• Flag where bullet-reveal slides help (dense content needing progressive disclosure)
• Identify which slides need images/assets vs. pure text
• Confirm final slide count and order before proceeding

This step makes or breaks the presentation. Spend the most time here.

Available slide types

Type	Class	Use Case
Title	.slide-title	Opening — large heading, subtitle, decorative shapes
Speaker/Bio	.slide-speaker	Introduce presenter — avatar, name, role, glass card
Question	.slide-familiar	Audience engagement — large centered question
Bullet Reveal	.slide-learn	Key points, agendas — progressive reveal with data-bullets
Tool/Badge Grid	.slide-setup	Tools, tech, logos — grid of badge cards
Workflow/Flow	.slide-flow	Processes, steps — connected boxes with arrows
Two-Column	.slide-llm	Text + image — split layout
Team/Grid	.slide-speakers	Meet the team — photo grid with names/roles
Glossary	.slide-gloss	Definitions — large term + definition
Closing/CTA	.slide-closing	Final slide — large text, call to action

For detailed HTML templates of each type, see slide-types.md.

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Step 3: Design Brief

Gather style direction from the user:

• Colors: brand colors, or suggest a palette (5-6 hex values with roles: primary, secondary, accent, background-light, background-dark, text)
• Fonts: heading + body font families (Google Fonts or system fonts)
• Vibe: minimal / editorial / glassmorphism / bold / corporate
• Assets: logos, images, photos to embed

Produce a brief with:

• Color palette with CSS variable names and hex values
• Typography scale (heading-xl, heading-lg, heading-md, subtitle, body-text)
• Font families and weights
• Spacing rhythm (slide padding, element gaps)
• Animation style (subtle vs. dramatic)
• One-sentence visual direction
• Slide-to-theme mapping (which slides get which background color)

For CSS/typography/animation defaults and templates, see framework-reference.md.

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Step 4: Generate the Framework

Create a single standalone HTML file with embedded <style> and <script>.

The file structure is:

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="UTF-8">
  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0">
  <title>[Presentation Title]</title>
  [Google Fonts link]
  <style>
    /* Reset, design tokens, slide system, themes, shapes,
       animations, typography, UI chrome, slide-specific styles,
       responsive breakpoint */
  </style>
</head>
<body>
  <div class="presentation">
    <!-- Slides go here -->
  </div>
  <!-- Progress bar, slide counter, nav hint -->
  <script>
    /* IIFE-based navigation engine */
  </script>
</body>
</html>

For the complete CSS architecture and JS navigation engine templates, see framework-reference.md.

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Step 5: Build Slides

Using the templates from slide-types.md:

• Full generation mode: Create all slides at once based on the outline from Step 2
• Interactive mode: One slide at a time — write the HTML, let the user review, adjust, then move to the next

For every slide:

1. Use the appropriate section.slide with theme class (.slide--primary, .slide--secondary, .slide--light)
2. Set data-theme="dark" or data-theme="light" for nav UI color adaptation
3. Add .anim classes to all content elements for entrance animations
4. Apply stagger delays (.anim-d1 through .anim-d8) in visual reading order
5. Add decorative shapes with entrance directions (.shape-enter-left, etc.)
6. Include .slide-footer with consistent content on every slide
7. For bullet-reveal slides: set data-bullets="N" and use <li data-bullet="N"> elements

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Step 6: Polish & Review

Checklist before delivery:

• All .anim classes present on content elements
• Stagger delays follow visual reading order
• Decorative shapes don't overlap content (use z-index layering)
• Color contrast is correct on all slide themes
• Bullet reveal count matches data-bullets attribute
• Responsive layout works at 768px breakpoint
• Navigation works: keyboard (arrows, Space, PgUp/Dn, Home, End), click (left 30% = back, right 70% = forward), and touch/swipe (>50px threshold)
• Progress bar and slide counter update correctly
• Header/footer chrome consistent across slides
• All fonts load correctly (Google Fonts or fallbacks)

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Step 7: Export

Default: standalone HTML — single file with base64-embedded images and assets. Works anywhere, no server needed.

To embed images as base64:

<img src="data:image/png;base64,[base64-data]" alt="...">

Optionally offer:

• Dev version: external image references for easier editing
• Individual slides: separate HTML files per slide for modular use

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Key Patterns

For design patterns, animation tips, and hard-won insights from building presentations with this framework, see learnings.md.

Quick reference

• Easing: cubic-bezier(0.16, 1, 0.3, 1) (expo-out) for all transitions
• Stagger: .anim-d1 (0.1s) through .anim-d8 (1.1s)
• Shapes: absolute positioned, mix-blend-mode: overlay, floating keyframe animations
• Glass: backdrop-filter: blur(28px) + semi-transparent white + subtle border
• Typography: clamp() for fluid sizing across projector/laptop/tablet
• Parallax: --mx/--my CSS variables tracked on mousemove
• Transitions: 700ms lockout via isTransitioning flag