1.1.6: Design Basics
- Page ID
- 63175
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\(\newcommand{\avec}{\mathbf a}\) \(\newcommand{\bvec}{\mathbf b}\) \(\newcommand{\cvec}{\mathbf c}\) \(\newcommand{\dvec}{\mathbf d}\) \(\newcommand{\dtil}{\widetilde{\mathbf d}}\) \(\newcommand{\evec}{\mathbf e}\) \(\newcommand{\fvec}{\mathbf f}\) \(\newcommand{\nvec}{\mathbf n}\) \(\newcommand{\pvec}{\mathbf p}\) \(\newcommand{\qvec}{\mathbf q}\) \(\newcommand{\svec}{\mathbf s}\) \(\newcommand{\tvec}{\mathbf t}\) \(\newcommand{\uvec}{\mathbf u}\) \(\newcommand{\vvec}{\mathbf v}\) \(\newcommand{\wvec}{\mathbf w}\) \(\newcommand{\xvec}{\mathbf x}\) \(\newcommand{\yvec}{\mathbf y}\) \(\newcommand{\zvec}{\mathbf z}\) \(\newcommand{\rvec}{\mathbf r}\) \(\newcommand{\mvec}{\mathbf m}\) \(\newcommand{\zerovec}{\mathbf 0}\) \(\newcommand{\onevec}{\mathbf 1}\) \(\newcommand{\real}{\mathbb R}\) \(\newcommand{\twovec}[2]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\ctwovec}[2]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\threevec}[3]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cthreevec}[3]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\fourvec}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cfourvec}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\fivevec}[5]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \\ #5 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cfivevec}[5]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \\ #5 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\mattwo}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{rr}#1 \amp #2 \\ #3 \amp #4 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\laspan}[1]{\text{Span}\{#1\}}\) \(\newcommand{\bcal}{\cal B}\) \(\newcommand{\ccal}{\cal C}\) \(\newcommand{\scal}{\cal S}\) \(\newcommand{\wcal}{\cal W}\) \(\newcommand{\ecal}{\cal E}\) \(\newcommand{\coords}[2]{\left\{#1\right\}_{#2}}\) \(\newcommand{\gray}[1]{\color{gray}{#1}}\) \(\newcommand{\lgray}[1]{\color{lightgray}{#1}}\) \(\newcommand{\rank}{\operatorname{rank}}\) \(\newcommand{\row}{\text{Row}}\) \(\newcommand{\col}{\text{Col}}\) \(\renewcommand{\row}{\text{Row}}\) \(\newcommand{\nul}{\text{Nul}}\) \(\newcommand{\var}{\text{Var}}\) \(\newcommand{\corr}{\text{corr}}\) \(\newcommand{\len}[1]{\left|#1\right|}\) \(\newcommand{\bbar}{\overline{\bvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\bhat}{\widehat{\bvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\bperp}{\bvec^\perp}\) \(\newcommand{\xhat}{\widehat{\xvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\vhat}{\widehat{\vvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\uhat}{\widehat{\uvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\what}{\widehat{\wvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\Sighat}{\widehat{\Sigma}}\) \(\newcommand{\lt}{<}\) \(\newcommand{\gt}{>}\) \(\newcommand{\amp}{&}\) \(\definecolor{fillinmathshade}{gray}{0.9}\)Apply Design Themes
The most significant way to add visual impact to a PowerPoint presentation is to apply a design theme. A design theme is a named combination of formats that comprise of colors, fonts, backgrounds, and other effects. Themes exist throughout Microsoft Office so that files created in one application tie together with files created in other Office applications. While the default Office theme is plain and boring, users can choose from a gallery of other themes to give the presentation a new look and feel. To change the theme, select a theme from the Themes group on the Design tab. More themes are available by clicking the More button.
Hover over a theme thumbnail to see the theme name. It’s also easy to quickly change the look and feel of a theme by using variants in PowerPoint. Each theme has its own Variants that apply some predefined color and effect variations. Variants appear to the right of the themes in the Design tab. Variants can be further customized by clicking the More button to modify the theme colors, fonts, effects or background styles. To further customize a design theme, it is easy to apply a new variant while everything else about the theme remains the same.
Many organizations have a standard, recognizable theme that should be consistently used to follow the organization’s branding standards. While a theme can be applied to individual slides, it is advisable to apply one theme to an entire presentation, which creates a uniform, professional look.
Formatting the Slide and Slide Background
While each design theme has its own background colors, patterns or images, every slide in a PowerPoint presentation can modify a background by changing colors, gradient fills, or adding/subtracting graphics. The background is the area behind the text and graphics on a slide.
To customize the presentation’s background, click the Format Background button in the Customize group of the Design tab. The Format Background pane will appear to the right of the slide pane. When choosing a different color or gradient fill for the slide background, consider ensuring that a proper contrast between the font colors and the background make the presentation easy to read for your projected audience. A dark background might be appropriate with good lighting, but a dark room might necessitate using a light background color. The Transparency slide bar can mute the color by increasing the transparency percentage. A graphic can be inserted and strategically located to the side of the content placeholder by adjusting the Offset percentages.
After defining all background settings, click the Apply to All button to update all slides with the new background. The slide illustrated below has the Facet theme with a custom background and a graphic offset to appear to the left of the content placeholder.
