Tips for Quick Slide Design
“I’m not creative at all” is one of the most common complaints I hear when discussing PowerPoint design. There’s a misconception going around that you need to be Michelangelo to create good-looking presentations. The ironic thing is that you don’t need to create works of art to make an impact and drive your audience to take action.
Especially, if you’re creating PowerPoints in a corporate – or similar office – setting.
In fact, some might argue that if your presentation is “too beautiful” it might distract from your message altogether. If you’re a professional creating presentations to inform, educate, or influence you’re probably better off spending time on the content than a fancy design.
But that’s just my two cents. Hopefully, that allows you to take a sigh of relief and know that you don’t need to have the world’s best template to give a really good presentation.
So this week, I’m sharing a few tips for quick slide design that won’t have you working through your lunch hour.
Customize an Existing PowerPoint Theme
You’ve likely seen the default PowerPoint themes and thought they were boring, ugly, or not a good fit for your presentation. Or maybe all three! But did you know that you can completely customize these themes and save them for easy access in the future?
And It’s not as time-consuming as you might think.
If you click on the Design tab in PowerPoint, you’ll find the themes at the top of the screen.
Select a base theme to work with from the Theme Gallery section. Then, head over to the Variants section to start customizing by clicking the “down” arrow (looks like an arrow with a little line).
The first thing you’ll notice is that you’re automatically given additional color schemes to use. You’ll also find the option to customize font combinations, effects, and background styles.
Once you’ve made the theme your own, you can click the “down” arrow near the Theme gallery and select “Save Current Theme”. Give your theme a name and you’re good to go! A completely customized theme in just a few minutes!
Want a bonus tip? Right-click on your theme in the Theme gallery and select “Set as Default” if you want to use that theme for all new presentations.
Use the PowerPoint Design Ideas Feature
Looking to take the look of your presentation one step further? This is the perfect opportunity to try out the PowerPoint Design Ideas feature.
Simply select the appropriate slide and head over to the Design tab at the top of your screen.
PowerPoint analyzes the content of your slide and automatically generates design ideas for you to consider. It’s like having your own graphic designer without the costly fees.
The suggested designs will show on the right side of your screen. Just click the option you want to use.
(Note: This is currently available for Microsoft 365 users only.)
Create Your Own Slide Layout
When it comes to tips for quick slide design this is probably the most basic but it can still save you a good amount of time. I like to call this one “thinking outside of the slide” because it throws the mundane slide layouts we’re accustomed to out of the window and puts you in the driver’s seat! If you’re tired of the standard title-on-top-with-textbox-underneath layout, you’ll enjoy this one.
Start by clicking the View tab at the top of your screen. Next, click Slide Master in the Master Views section.
Near the top left, click Insert Layout which will add another slide to the list you see on the left side of the screen.
Then, click the drop-down menu for Insert Placeholder near the top left. Select the type of content you want to add to the slide and then use your mouse to drag and drop the placeholder box to the right location. You can also click and drag the corner of the placeholder box to resize it.
There are many different types of placeholders which makes it very convenient for you to add content later. Some of the options are text, images, online images specifically, multimedia, and charts.
You can also right-click the slide in the left-hand preview menu and rename it so that it’s easy to find.
When you’re done, make sure to click the Slide Master tab and Close Master View.
Your custom slide layout will now be available for you to select when you add new slides to your presentation.
Conclusion
And there you have it! 3 easy tips for quick slide design that will save you precious time – and sanity. And good news, I’ll be adding video tutorials so keep an eye out for those coming very soon! In the meantime, if you need a little extra help with any of these tips feel free to shoot me an email at whitney@whitneydwalter.com or DM me on socials @whitneydwalter. 😉
