When it comes to PowerPoint presentation design, there’s no shortage of avenues you can take.
While all that choice — colors, formats, visuals, fonts — can feel liberating, it’s important that you’re careful in your selection as not all design combinations add up to success. We’re not saying there’s one right way to design your next PowerPoint presentation, but we are saying there are some designs that make more sense than others.
In this blog post, you’ll learn how to create an awesome PowerPoint deck and then see real presentations that nail it in exactly their own way.
What makes a good PowerPoint presentation?
A great PowerPoint presentation gets the point across succinctly while using a design that builds upon the point, and doesn’t detract from it. The following aspects make for a great PowerPoint presentation:
1. Minimal Animations and Transitions
Believe it or not, animations and transitions can take away from your PowerPoint presentation. Why? Well, they distract from the design you worked so hard on — and from your content, too.
A good PowerPoint presentation keeps the focus on your argument by keeping animations and transitions to a minimum. That said, you don’t have to eliminate them all. You can use them tastefully and sparingly to emphasize a point or bring attention to a certain part of an image.
2. Cohesive Color Palette
It’s worth reviewing color theory when creating your next PowerPoint presentation. A cohesive color palette uses complementary and analogous colors to draw the audience’s attention, emphasize certain aspects, and deemphasize bits of information that the audience might not need at a certain point in time.
3. Contextualized Visuals
An image does speak more than words. And it’s been proven that the human brain is wired to process visuals much faster than words. Take advantage of that by including graphs, photos, and illustrations that can help you build upon your point while keeping your audience’s interest.
Make sure you contextualize those visuals by explaining verbally why that image is there. Otherwise, it’ll be distracting to the audience and may potentially cause more questions than answers.
PowerPoint Design Ideas
It’s impossible for us to tell you which design ideas you should go after in your next PowerPoint, because, well, we don’t know what the goal of your presentation is. Luckily, new versions of PowerPoint actually suggest ideas for you based on the content you’re presenting. This can help you keep up with the latest trends in presentation design.
In PowerPoint 2016 and later, PowerPoint is filled with interesting boilerplate designs you can start with. To find these suggestions, open PowerPoint and click the «Design» tab in your top navigation bar. Then, on the far right side, you’ll see the following choices:
Click the «Design Ideas» option under this Design tab, as shown in the screenshot above. This icon will reveal a vertical list of interesting slide layouts based on what your slides already have on them.
Don’t have any content on your slides yet? You can easily shuffle this vertical list of slide design ideas by clicking various themes inside the color carousel to the far left of the Design Ideas icon, as shown below:
As you browse and choose from the themes shown above, the Design Ideas pane to the right will interpret them and come up with layouts. Below, we’ve included some of our favorite ones.
Atlas (Theme)
Covering a more creative subject for a younger or more energetic audience? On behalf of PowerPoint, might we suggest the cover slide design below? Its vibrant red color blocks and fun lines will appeal to your audience.
PowerPoint Ideas for This Theme:
- Use this simple theme to focus on key elements of your presentation.
- Customize the colors to match your brand or try contrasting colors for text and background for readability and visual appeal.
Madison (Theme)
This design doesn’t have the intensity of the first slide on this list. But it has a simple structure that can make any PowerPoint presentation a good slideshow.
PowerPoint Ideas for This Theme:
- Add unique and on-brand fonts, textures, and borders to this theme for classic and cool presentations.
- Add an image collage or textured photograph to create distinct and consistent PowerPoints for your brand.
Parcel (Theme)
Parcel offers a variety of slide layouts with geometric shapes. Add these shapes to your slides to create interesting visual elements. Use them for backgrounds, content, or decoration, and experiment with different shapes, sizes, and layouts.
PowerPoint Ideas for This Theme:
- Add a color-blocked background for a fun but relaxing tone for your audience, or use color blocks to highlight sections of text.
- Experiment with this PowerPoint theme’s contemporary fonts for cool slides that feel professional.
- Add a chart or graph to visualize data in your presentation.
Crop (Theme)
This PowerPoint design idea uses graphic elements such as lines and bars to give structure, contrast, and modern flair to your slides.
PowerPoint Ideas for This Theme:
- Make the most of this theme with high-quality images. Simple compositions with lots of negative space or bold focal points can help your slide’s design pop.
- Use this theme’s grid layout to create clean, organized layouts, even if design isn’t your strength.
Badge (Theme)
We’re particularly fond of this PowerPoint design style. By using lines and contrasting elements — like a burst, as shown below — you add depth to your slides. This can help your content capture and hold your audience’s attention more easily.
PowerPoint Ideas for This Theme:
- Add badges to highlight key points and sections, or to showcase achievements.
- Add original illustrations to your presentation’s design. You might think you need to use professional illustrations for this. But adding quick doodles or sketches to this theme can help you create authentic and creative PowerPoint presentations.
If you’re not fond of the built-in PowerPoint design themes, you can always download a free PowerPoint template and input your content onto pre-made slide styles.
Let’s take a look at the best ones you can download below.
Creative PowerPoint (Template)
This presentation template uses bright colors and plenty of white space to convey a modern but fun design. Organic shapes and geometric lines and patterns add an extra visual element to the slides, achieving depth and personality. Get it here.
Download These Templates for Free
Design Ideas for This Template:
- Create custom graphics or textures and layer them on top of this template’s image layers to create beautiful slides for your brand. Be sure to use consistent styles and colors for a cohesive design.
- Get inspired by the clear visual hierarchy of this template as you customize it. Use font sizes, color, and graphics to highlight each section. This can help you make sure that important information stands out from supporting details.
Professional Style PowerPoint (Template)
These PowerPoint slides use more neutral colors and fonts to create a calm and elegant vibe. It also highlights quality images to communicate key points. Get it here.
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Design Ideas for This Template:
- This template works best with subtle pastels and muted colors. Try non-traditional color combos, like peach and mint green, for a unique PowerPoint presentation.
- Images and data visualizations will stand out in this template, so make sure you have excellent photos and illustrations to showcase.
Data PowerPoint (Template)
This template uses a rounded font to draw sharp contrast with the lines and graphs that will populate the presentation. If you want to offer engaging visuals with number-crunching content, the slide design ideas in this template are a great choice. Get it here.
Download These Templates for Free
Design Ideas for This Template:
- Try an on-brand duotone color scheme or use a dark background with this template to give your slides a simple but trendy look.
- Use the built-in icon library or import custom icons into your slides. You can use icons to represent important topics or concepts for easier skimming. This visual feature can also make your slides more exciting.
Simple PowerPoint (Template)
By pairing vibrant colors with pale ones, this PowerPoint gives an understated feel, which can draw attention to the content while still being visually engaging. Get it here.
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Design Ideas for This Template:
- Combine multiple images with vertical or horizontal formatting in this template for dynamic and beautiful slides.
- Play with contrasting typography styles. Try combining a bold heading font with a simple body font. This can help you draw attention to important information and make your PowerPoint design easy to read.
Best PowerPoint Presentation Slides
- Business Presentation Slides
- Business Plan Template
- Company Profile Template
- Marketing Plan Template
- Project Status Report Template
- Annual Report Template
- Product Launch Template
- Visual Brand Identity Template
- Infographic Template
- Financial Report Template
- Industry Trends Template
Want some inspo as you create your next presentation? Look no further — whether you’re projecting your slides in person or sharing them online, these slides will help you impress your audience.
And to make your search even easier, we’ve added gorgeous templates for the most popular business needs below. Keep reading to find the best Microsoft PowerPoint template for your next presentation.
Business Presentation Slides
Business presentations can be intense. This set of PowerPoint slides could include a wide range of important information such as:
- Company history
- Mission and vision
- Business goals
- Market analysis
- Competitive landscape
- Growth strategies
So, business presentations can be overwhelming for an audience to consume. This makes great presentation design essential.
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The Modern PowerPoint Template featured here is sleek and modern. But it’s also fun and appealing, with a streamlined design that leaves a lasting impression.
Pro tip: Use headers to communicate top priorities in your business presentation. Then, use body copy and images to add details that will support and enhance your PowerPoint.
Business Plan Template
A well-crafted business plan is vital to any business, whether it’s a startup, scale-up, or established company. A business plan can be just as complex as a business presentation, but it also needs to entice investors and partners.
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This Retro PowerPoint Template is fun, interesting, and unique. It also has easy-to-read text and plenty of space for useful images and charts. This makes it an ideal template for business presentations.
Company Profile Template
Like your business plan, your company profile is key to developing your business. But your company profile is more than a peek at your biz plan. It’s a chance to highlight your team, culture and values, major clients, and your company history.
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When done right, this presentation can show your competitive advantage and build trust for your brand. This means that your presentation slides need to be just right. Download the company profile template featured above and five more great company profile templates today.
Marketing Plan Template
The right marketing plan presentation can decide whether your team will have the budget and resources it needs to meet your goals. That’s why marketing plans need great presentation design.
After using a marketing plan template to write out your completed plan, use an eye-catching presentation…
Versión en Inglés 20 Great Examples of PowerPoint Presentation Design [+ Templates]