Creating an effective and visually appealing PowerPoint presentation requires thoughtful design. With so many options for colors, fonts, layouts, and more, finding fresh design ideas can feel overwhelming. Follow these tips to discover creative new presentation ideas and make slides that captivate your audience.
Enable PowerPoint’s Built-In Design Ideas
PowerPoint offers a “Design Ideas” feature that examines the content of your slides and suggests design options. This can spark creativity when you feel stuck.
To use it:
- Select a slide. The Design Ideas pane will show ideas tailored to that slide.
- Go to Design > Design Ideas. A sidebar will appear with suggested designs.
- Double click a suggestion to apply it. Or close the pane to keep your original design.
The first time you use Design Ideas, PowerPoint will ask permission to access the content of your slides. This allows it to select relevant artwork and imagery.
Browse Presentation Inspiration Galleries
Websites like Behance, Dribbble, and Awwwards showcase cutting-edge presentation designs submitted by graphic designers. Browsing these sites exposes you to innovative layouts, color palettes, fonts, shapes, and graphical styles to spark your creativity.
When you see an element you like, take note so you can incorporate it into your next deck. Over time, you will compile plenty of ideas to mix and match.
Use Professionally Designed PowerPoint Templates
Instead of starting from a blank slate, take advantage of professionally designed PowerPoint templates. These provide beautiful slide layouts, stylish color schemes, modern fonts, and graphical elements.
Once you find an appealing template, customize it to fit your needs. Replace imagery, change colors, add your text, and make the design your own. This approach simplifies the design process so you can focus on content.
Take Inspiration from Graphic Design and Web Design Trends
Keep an eye on current graphic design trends in areas like website design, branding, marketing materials, and more. For example, combining vibrant gradients with bold typography is trending across visual design.
Identify elements you like and think about how they could translate onto PowerPoint slides. This will help your presentations feel fresh and modern.
Study Presentations From Innovative Companies
Research presentations from companies known for great design like Apple, Nike, Airbnb, and more. Analyze what makes their slides visually compelling.
Pay attention to details like slide transitions, animations, layouts, and graphical styles. Don’t copy directly, but let these decks spark ideas you can implement in your own way.
Use PowerPoint’s Morph Transition
PowerPoint’s Morph transition seamlessly transforms one slide into another. This lets you create cinematic motion design effects that capture attention and look sleek.
The key is layering visual elements on two slides, then using Morph to animate the transition. With creative use of images, shapes, color, text, charts, and more, the possibilities are endless.
Final Tips
- Define your core design principles – Decide what overarching style you want your presentation to have. Keep these principles in mind as you design.
- Make time for inspiration – Don’t start designing until you have soaked up ideas from various sources.
- Compile inspiration – Save designs, templates, and examples you like to review later.
- Start simple – Good design doesn’t have to be complex. Start with a simple layout and clean style.
Following these tips will give you an abundance of design ideas for your next presentation. Remember to keep it simple, consistent, and focused on enhancing your key messages. With the right approach, your PowerPoint slides will beautifully showcase your ideas and leave a lasting impact.
