Consulting Slide Design & Ghost Decking Certification

The Consulting Slide Design & Ghost Decking Certification is a free intermediate-level, 20-minute skill test from Science of Apps. It tests consulting slide design and ghost decking — building a ghost deck from the storyline, action titles and the horizontal and vertical logic of a deck, choosing the right chart for each message, chart hygiene with labels, sources and honest scales, layout, alignment and visual hierarchy, tables and frameworks, colour and accessibility, executive summary and appendix slides, and quality control before client delivery — written to Minto, Wilke's Fundamentals of Data Visualization, Duarte, Nielsen Norman Group, WCAG and PowerPoint guidance for 2026 and 2027. Score 70% or more on its 20 questions to earn a verifiable Consulting Slide Design & Ghost Decking certificate (SOA-CSDG). Every question is based on published standards and research — including Fundamentals of Data Visualization (Claus O. Wilke) (O'Reilly / author site), The Pyramid Principle: Logic in Writing and Thinking (Barbara Minto) (Minto International), Resonate: Present Visual Stories that Transform Audiences (Nancy Duarte (2010)) — and each answer is explained with its source.

Science of Apps offers a free Consulting Slide Design & Ghost Decking Certification, written for 2026 and 2027. It tests storyline and ghost decking, charts and data visualisation, layout and visual design and quality control and delivery with 20 original scenario questions in all, each naming its published source; you get an instant score and a verifiable certificate with a credential ID you can add to LinkedIn.

Read the four skill areas on this page, then take the 20-minute test online — no fee, course or sign-up. You see every answer explained when you finish. Score 70% or more and you get a Consulting Slide Design & Ghost Decking certificate straight away, on screen, as a PDF and by email, with a credential ID anyone can verify.

Yes. The questions are original scenarios written by Science of Apps, and each one is based on a public source you can read: Fundamentals of Data Visualization (Claus O. Wilke) (O'Reilly / author site); The Pyramid Principle: Logic in Writing and Thinking (Barbara Minto) (Minto International); Resonate: Present Visual Stories that Transform Audiences (Nancy Duarte (2010)); PowerPoint help & learning (Microsoft Support); 5 Principles of Visual Design in UX (Nielsen Norman Group); Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2 (W3C). The source is shown under each question and linked in the answer review. Science of Apps doesn't copy questions from other tests.

Four skill areas with five questions each, drawn from a bank of 10 per area so a retake brings new questions: Storyline and Ghost Decking (Ghost decks, Action titles and Deck flow); Charts and Data Visualisation (Choosing chart types, Chart hygiene and Honest scales); Layout and Visual Design (Grid and alignment, Visual hierarchy and Colour, text and accessibility); Quality Control and Delivery (Checking accuracy, Consistency and formatting and Presenting and adapting). Every question is an original scenario written to the 2026–2027 standard, with the published source named under it.

Management consultant or business analyst, Strategy or corporate finance professional, Product marketing or investor relations manager, MBA student and Presentation designer. It suits students at leading universities, career switchers and experienced professionals who want quick, verifiable proof of Consulting Slide Design & Ghost Decking knowledge in 2026 and 2027.

MBB, Big 4 strategy and in-house strategy teams hire heavily from tier-1 campuses; these are the skills used day-to-day after the case interview. Passing earns a founder-signed Science of Apps certificate with a credential ID and QR code that recruiters can verify.

A ghost deck is an early skeleton of a presentation with the planned action title on each slide and a sketch or placeholder of the chart or content needed to prove it. It lets the team agree on the storyline and analysis plan before spending time on the work.

One message per slide stated as an action title, a chart or visual that proves that message, clear labels and sources, a clean layout aligned to a grid, and nothing on the slide that does not support the title.

Yes. The test is online, in English and free everywhere — people take it from India, the US, the UK, Europe, Africa, Latin America and Asia-Pacific. Your certificate is dated with your own local date and can be verified from anywhere at scienceofapps.com/certification/verify/.

20 questions — 5 from each of 4 skill areas — with a 20-minute limit. You need 70% (14 of 20) to pass and 90% for distinction.

We rate it Intermediate: assumes hands-on experience in the role. It has 20 scenario questions — 5 from each of 4 skill areas — and a 20-minute limit. You need 70% (14 of 20) to pass and 90% for distinction.

Nothing. There is no fee to take a test, to receive the certificate, to have it emailed or to verify it, and no sign-up.

On our server, not in your browser. The answers never reach the page until you submit, so a certificate can only be earned by passing. Each certificate gets a unique credential ID stored by Science of Apps.

You see your score for each area and every question with the correct answer and why, with the published source behind it. You can retake after 30 minutes, and the retake draws questions you haven't seen yet.

No. Every certificate is dated, so it always shows when you passed. Retake a test any time for a newer date or a higher score.

Yes. After you pass, Add to LinkedIn opens the Licenses & certifications form with the certificate name, Science of Apps as the issuer, the issue date, your credential ID and the verification link filled in. You can also download it as a PDF or PNG, and it's emailed to you as a PDF.

Every certificate has a credential ID and a QR code. Scanning it, or entering the ID at scienceofapps.com/certification/verify/, shows the holder's name, the certification, the score and the issue date from our records.

No. They are Science of Apps' own assessments of applied skill. They aren't issued by a university or standards body, and they work best alongside a portfolio that shows the skills in real work.