And the overhead projector was used in a lighted conference room, so that people could see the presenter and one another and consult papers, and black-on-white was easier to read.
The style of light-on-dark came from 35mm slides in 35mm projectors, almost always used in darkened rooms and easier to read in the dark.
When PowerPoint expanded from acetate overheads to also make 35mm slides, templates in both styles (dark-on-light, light-on-dark) were included. Both styles persist in today's electronic presentations, for use in appropriate surroundings, although it is easy for presenters to make a poor selection.
It was clearer when the rule was that a photocopied transparency measuring 8.5 x 11 inches should be dark-on-light, and a transparency measuring 24mmx36mm in a 2-inch square mount should be light-on-dark.
Man, I used to have to rent overhead projectors for an academic conference until 2009! Some of the profs were seriously old school and their acetates were hand drawn.
Thankfully the number of projectors went down from 15 to 5 to "1 just in case" over the years.
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Because at the dawn of PowerPoint, most presentations were printed on to acetate and delivered with an overhead projectior.
And the overhead projector was used in a lighted conference room, so that people could see the presenter and one another and consult papers, and black-on-white was easier to read.
The style of light-on-dark came from 35mm slides in 35mm projectors, almost always used in darkened rooms and easier to read in the dark.
When PowerPoint expanded from acetate overheads to also make 35mm slides, templates in both styles (dark-on-light, light-on-dark) were included. Both styles persist in today's electronic presentations, for use in appropriate surroundings, although it is easy for presenters to make a poor selection.
It was clearer when the rule was that a photocopied transparency measuring 8.5 x 11 inches should be dark-on-light, and a transparency measuring 24mmx36mm in a 2-inch square mount should be light-on-dark.
Man, I used to have to rent overhead projectors for an academic conference until 2009! Some of the profs were seriously old school and their acetates were hand drawn.
Thankfully the number of projectors went down from 15 to 5 to "1 just in case" over the years.
And the world has moved on, something Microsft seems to very poor at adapting to.