How to create Harvey Balls symbols in PowerPoint

Learn how to create and manage Harvey Balls in your presentations easily and quickly, enhancing the visualization of your project progress

Do you want to know how to use them on your PowerPoint presentations and how best to manage them, in just a few clicks and without spending too much time on them?

This article will guide you through the steps to create Harvey Balls in PowerPoint, enabling you to create effective presentations with this great visual aid.

Read also: Complete Guide to Creating an Effective Presentation

What are Harvey Balls and what is their usefulness on PowerPoint?

Harvey Balls are frequently employed to track the progress of various activities and projects: in business presentations, they are often used on their own, but can also be incorporated into larger scenarios, such as within Gantt charts to monitor the status of activities, providing a clear visual representation of progress.

In addition, they are very useful in project management strategies, especially for cross-country projects where it is crucial to efficiently communicate the stages of completion.

Their customisable nature allows them to represent any percentage of completion, making them adaptable to different needs and contexts. This versatility makes Harvey Balls an essential tool for visualising progress in a simple and effective way.

How to create Harvey Balls for your PowerPoint slides

The creation of Harvey Balls in PowerPoint is a simple process, but to perform it to the best of your ability without committing inaccuracies that could rob you of valuable time, there are a few key steps you need to know.

First, click on the button to insert an oval and, while you trace it, make sure you hold down Shift to ensure that it remains a perfect circle: this is fundamental for achieving the correct shape.

Next, set the fill of the circle to blank and the outline to black.

Then, you will have to use a shape that you may not know yet: the partial circle. You will find it by clicking on the shapes button, under Shapes Bases.

Select it and add it to the slide.

Create the partial circle so that it matches the size of the original circle, ensuring it fits perfectly inside it.

Now, set the fill color of the partial circle to your desired shade, such as your company’s branding color. In the example below I have used the colour yellow, representative of our brand MLC – Lean Presentation Design.

How to manage Harvey Balls quickly and easily

Now that you have created your first Harvey Ball, start the fill from the 12 o’clock position and adjust the yellow handle to represent the desired percentage of completion.

Why 12 o’clock, you ask?

Because it is the standard method of representing the progress of projects through the Harvey Balls and is a standard immediately understandable by any viewer.

Once the Harvey Ball is configured, group the two shapes (the circle and the partial circle) using Ctrl + G. This method allows you to move the entire Harvey Ball without separating the 2 components and to easy customize and modify it, ensuring that you can create precise and visually appealing Harvey Balls for your presentations.

If you later want to create other customised Harvey Balls to represent the progress of further tasks or projects, simply copy the one you have already created, set the progress using the yellow handle and position it appropriately in your slides.

Pretty easy, don’t you think?

Read also: Design slides +300% faster with MLC PowerPoint Add-in

In conclusion

Incorporating Harvey Balls into your PowerPoint presentations is an effective way to visually represent task progress clearly and immediately. By following the steps outlined, you can create these useful visual aids in just a few clicks, saving time and enhancing the effectiveness of your presentations.

If you’re looking for more tips on how to make your PowerPoint presentations even more impactful, be sure to check out the other guides available on our blog. You’ll find numerous suggestions and techniques to improve your presentation skills.

Happy presenting and see you next time!

Takeaways

• Harvey Balls provide an easy way to represent progress and status in presentations, making complex information easily digestible at a glance.

• Their adaptable nature allows you to represent any percentage of completion, making them useful in different contexts, from project tracking to task management.

• Creating Harvey Balls in PowerPoint involves simple steps: inserting a perfect circle, using a partial circle for the fill, and customizing colors to match your branding.

• Once created, Harvey Balls can be quickly adjusted and reused, saving time and ensuring consistency in visual representation across multiple slides and projects.

• Using Harvey Balls improves the clarity of your presentations, enabling your audience to quickly grasp the progress and status of tasks, enhancing overall communication effectiveness.

FAQs

What are Harvey Balls?

Harvey Balls are symbols used to track progress in various activities and projects. They provide a clear visual representation of completion status and are useful in business presentations and project management.

How can I create Harvey Balls on PowerPoint?

To create Harvey Balls in PowerPoint, insert an oval while holding Shift to make a perfect circle. Set the fill to blank and outline to black. Add a partial circle from Shapes Bases, adjust its size to fit inside the oval, and fill it with your desired color.

How can I manage the filling of Harvey Balls?

Start the fill from the 12 o’clock position and adjust the handle to represent the desired percentage of completion. Group the circle and partial circle using Ctrl + G for easy customization. Copy and modify as needed for other tasks.