powerpoint presentation dark or light background

Should I Use a Dark or Light PowerPoint Background?

• Post author: Jacob Stauttener
• Post published: October 1, 2021
• Post category: Presentations
• Post last modified: May 1, 2022
• Reading time: 9 mins read

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Ever find yourself needing to make a presentation and you are wondering should I use a Dark or Light PowerPoint Background.

In this article we discuss when you will want to use a light versus a dark background on your presentation deck. The quick answer is that it depends on the environment you are presenting in. If you are in a large dark space, go with a dark background. For a smaller or informal space, go with a light background. It is easy to state these guidelines, but further below I will illustrate the principles and discuss my reasoning for this advice.

As a note, this post applies no matter what presentation software you are using (Google Slides, Keynote, Libre Office Impress or anything else). That said, I will be referring to the slides mostly as PowerPoint because that is what I use.

Why Worry About Choosing a Dark or Light PowerPoint Background?

When you present to a group, it is best to keep the attention of the audience on you. This is because when you put too much in a slide, or make the slides too predominant, the audience splits their attention and focuses on your slide. It is much better to have the audience focusing on you and your message rather than what is on your slides.

A PowerPoint deck should be about supporting your message rather than the focal point of your presentation. There may be times that you want the deck as your focal point (such as in a heavily technical discussion) but generally, you want the attention on the presenter.

Knowing the environment where you plan to present allows you to optimize for the space. Some people even keep two copies of the deck. A dark background one for where they are presenting and a light one for the handouts

When to Use a Dark Background for Your Slides

Use a dark background for your slides whenever you are presenting in a dark room or want to give a more formal feeling to your presentation. For illustration purposes, I made a couple of images of a presenter beside a slide. This is to quickly show you how the eye is pulled by the presentation.

Conversely, let me illustrate what a light image looks like in a large or dark room. Instantly you will see that the slide competes with the presenter for the slide. To which one do you pay attention?

Now, let’s take a look at how slides come across in smaller rooms and lighter spaces.

When to Use a Light Background for Your Slides

Use a light background whenever you are presenting to a smaller room or in a well lit space. You can also use a light background to convey an informal feel.

Dark or Light PowerPoint Background in Remote Presentations?

For remote (or virtual presentations) go with what you think is best. Personally, I like light color backgrounds. To help you judge for yourself, I did a quick mock up of a webcast showing a slide with a dark background and one with a light background.

Admittedly, all webcasting programs and collaboration programs are different and have different backgrounds. For illustration purposes, I laid out the image in the same way as the webcasting program that I use the most. If you use it too, you might recognize the layout.

Both are good, but I still like the light one for virtual presentations and webcasts. Again, the layout and background color of the empty space might be different depending on which program you use. Regardless, my preference is the light background on my PowerPoint deck. You can choose either though.

Some PowerPoint Tips for Simple Slide Design

The focus of this post is all about whether to use a dark or light PowerPoint background. That said, I want to give a few tips before wrapping up this article.

• Use dark fonts on light backgrounds
• Use light fonts on dark backgrounds
• Solid backgrounds work
• Try to avoid gradients and images under text
• Slides are for support – don’t overload them
• Limit text on slides
• 2D charts convey data better than 3D charts
• Have the slide deck complete well before the presentation date
• Don’t make the deck the night before

Now, I am not a graphic designer. If you are really good at design, you could make gradients and backgrounds with graphic elements that work well with your text. I find that a lot of presenters starting out try to make fancy looking slides and instead obscure the text and data in their presentations by accident.

If you work for a company that has slide templates, use those. The information above can still help you with your slide design and presentation though. If you are making the slides on your own, try a solid background where the data and text will go, but you can use graphic elements too around the edges of the slide and where the text is not. Simple slide design often helps convey information the best.

Bringing it together…

Using the tips above will help you decide whether to use a dark or light PowerPoint background. On top of that, I gave you some quick tips for simple slide design.

For some other tips, check out my article  The Hottest PowerPoint HotKeys for Presenters . If you want to buy PowerPoint, may I recommend  Microsoft Office 365 ? I use Office 365 myself.

Until next time, Happy Presenting Everyone!!!

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• PowerPoint and Presenting Stuff

How to Avoid the Four Biggest PowerPoint Color Mistakes

By Laura Foley

PowerPoint makes it easy to use bright, vibrant colors in a presentation, which can either be good or very, very bad. Used correctly, color can draw attention to important parts of a slide, elicit a desired emotional response, or reinforce a company’s brand identity. But poor color choices can be distracting in ways you might not even be aware of. And any time your audience’s attention is focused where it shouldn’t be, they’re missing your main message.

Some of the most common results of bad color choices in PowerPoint are illegibility, unintentional associations, unclear charts, and the creation of slides that are just plain ugly!

Illegibility

In a recent survey conducted by Dave Paradi , a well-known PowerPoint designer, it was found that one of the top five PowerPoint annoyances was “Slides are hard to see because of color choice.” Here’s an example of a slide that could be illegible under certain lighting conditions or on some monitors. There is very little contrast between the black text and the grey background, which makes the slide hard to read.

How to avoid it: The easiest combinations to read are light text/dark background and dark text/light background.

Unintentional Associations

Certain colors are associated with celebrations, ceremonies, or emotions so their misuse in a presentation can be subtly distracting.

In the United States, this combination of red and green reminds people of Christmas. The information on the slide has nothing to do with that holiday so this color choice doesn’t make any sense.

Colors can be warm (e.g., red, orange, yellow, gold) or cool (e.g., blue, green, turquoise). Warm colors are associated with heat, anger, and excitement, while cool colors evoke cold temperatures and calmness. In the following slide, you can see how the background color contradicts the message of the text.

How to avoid it: Choose colors that support your message drawing from the color palette in your PowerPoint template.

Unclear Charts

Colors can be used to separate data points on a graph or chart. The convention is that similar data are grouped by color. For instance, in a corporate organizational chart, the President could be Color #1, the VPs could be Color #2, and the Managers could be Color #3. That way, a quick glance at the chart tells the viewer what position the person holds within the company.

Alternately, it’s confusing if every box is a different color. On the following slide, even though the chart hierarchy communicates people’s level within the company, the colors imply that each person has a different function.

How to avoid it: Use color to group like information so that people can quickly make associations.

Just Plain Ugly!

PowerPoint templates typically include color palettes that go well with the background graphics and that look good when used together. Corporate PowerPoint templates are designed using the corporate palette to support the brand. When presenters decide to use bright colors just for the sake of brightness, the results can be awful:

How to avoid it: Use only the colors within your PowerPoint template’s color palette. If you don’t have a company template, use the same colors that appear in your company’s other marketing materials, such as its website, logo, and brochures.

So how can you tell if you’re making poor color choices? When in doubt, stick to the palette provided with the template. And always get one or more people to look at your slides before your presentation so that you can gauge their responses to the colors you’ve used. Rule of thumb: if your deck looks like a rainbow washed over it, you’re probably using too many bright colors! Just because you can doesn’t mean you should.

Laura M. Foley Design has developed creative marketing tools for many companies, including Procter & Gamble, Juniper Networks, Harvard Business School, Eloqua, Polaris Venture Partners, and Atlas Venture.

A graduate of the Massachusetts College of Art and Design, Laura has over two decades’ experience in creative presentation design, marketing, and copywriting. She lives in Central Massachusetts with her husband and two sons.

Visit her site and blog .

You May Also Like: Turn Your Speaking Fear Into Your Friend | Behind the Scenes of Building a Corporate Presentation Template | Ice-Breakers for Your Presentation: 5 Proven Suggestions

The views and opinions expressed in this blog post or content are those of the authors or the interviewees and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of any other agency, organization, employer, or company.

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Choosing backgrounds: Light or dark?

It’s the most basic design decision when planning a PowerPoint project: Light background or dark? Corporate presentations often have to conform to a specific company style or template. For many of us though, we have to confront the light or dark question at the beginning of the process. Some random thoughts:

• The default seems to be a white slide with plain black text. (Add a plain black headline and a few bullets and we have that dreadfully boring look we have all come to hate.)
• Many presentation experts will say that text against a light background is most legible in bright rooms while a dark or black background is best for darkened rooms. This may or may not be true — you will have to judge for yourself.
• I personally like the dramatic effect of white or bright text against a dark background. If the text is large (it should be), there is not too much fine detail in the letterforms and there is enough contrast between the text and its background, legibility will not be an issue.
• Finally, I find the large expanse of brightness from a light background to be distracting — unnecessarily drawing the audience’s attention from the speaker.

I often use full frame images and then overlay text, but when I use a consistent background throughout a presentation I generally choose dark or black.

Experiment with your next project and see.

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5 golden rules of PowerPoint design

february 6, 2024

by Deb Ashby

Wondering how to design the perfect PowerPoint presentation? It's easier than you think–just follow five simple rules to get started:

1. Consider using templates

When building a slide deck, it’s important to maintain consistency throughout. We want to ensure we are using consistent font styles, colors and themes. This can be tricky when designing from scratch, so why not start from a template?

Microsoft Create contains hundreds of pre-made, customizable PowerPoint templates, which means you don’t have to start from scratch and the fonts and colors are already set for you.

Simply choose a template from the gallery, customize it as needed, and you are done!

2. No walls of text

We’ve all seen PowerPoint presentations where slides contain too much text. The human brain struggles to listen and read at the same time. If you are presenting to an audience, keep the text on slides to a minimum.

Consider employing the “5-5-5" rule. No more than 5 lines, no more than 5 words, no more than 5 minutes. Think short and sharp memory joggers instead of rambling paragraphs.

Where possible, consider replacing text with visuals to represent your point. People remember images more than words.

3. Be mindful of colors and fonts

No one wants their audience to leave with a headache after an hour of straining to read slides. We need to ensure that our presentation is easy to read for everyone – even for those in the nosebleed seats at the back! Think about the font you are using. Is it appropriate for the presentation? What about the font size? Can people at the back easily read? What about people with visual impairment? Ensure all text is at least 24pts.

When it comes to color, ensure all slides have good contrast. Dark backgrounds should have light font and vice versa.

4. Use animation sparingly

Animation can really liven up an otherwise flat presentation. However, it should be used thoughtfully and sparingly. Too much of the wrong type of animation with objects flying in and zooming around the screen, while fun, can look confusing and unprofessional.

Animation should be subtle. With every animation you add, ask yourself, "Is this going to enhance my presentation or distract from it?"

5. Engage your audience

When presenting to an audience, there is usually an awkward time before the presentation begins while the speaker waits for everyone to arrive. During this time, people may start scrolling on their phones or get distracted with work emails, and it can be hard to pull the audience back.

To avoid this issue, work to grab your audience's attention before the presentation even starts. Instead of just having the title slide on the screen, consider creating "kiosk slides." These are a series of slides that contain a combination of interesting things for the audience to look at or engage with. Maybe you have an interesting image? A funny quote or fun facts? Or maybe there is a question you want them to think about prior to the session?

Create these slides and have them automatically cycle round before the presentation starts.

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Five Quick Tricks to Design Your PowerPoint Presentation

Truth is, though, PowerPoint isn’t the problem. If a presentation sucks, and the PowerPoint that the presenter is using sucks, the problem isn’t the presentation software. It’s the presentation design. And simply switching content to a different platform (making it annoyingly zoom in and out in a Prezi) won’t make the presentation any better. In fact, it often makes it worse.

If you’ve got a presentation coming up, you might take a moment to rethink what you’ve been doing with PowerPoint. Don’t be afraid to use PowerPoint; just use it well. 🙂 Here are five quick tricks to make your PowerPoint work:

Quick Trick #1: Use a Solid, Plain Background If you’ve got content that you want your audience to see, then don’t distract them with the background. Think about all the websites you like to look at. Most of them will have very simple, very plain backgrounds. And think about books! Pretty much all books that are meant to be read have solid white backgrounds. There is nothing wrong with a plain white or plain black background. And, in fact, it is almost always recommended for presentations. Note: if you are presenting in a bright, well-lit room, a white background with black text is best. If you are presenting in a dark, low-light room, then use a black background with white text. Oh, and avoid the cheesy, cliche templates. You don’t want do have the same exact design as the guy presenting right after you, do you?

Quick Trick #2: Have Far More Pictures and Graphics than Text You’ve probably heard numerous people (yourself included) say: “I’m a visual learner.” There’s plenty of research to suggest that most of us are. In fact, there is a design theory called the “Picture Superiority Effect” that suggests people are able to recall  significantly more information (up to 80% in some cases) when a picture is used to communicate instead of text. Most of us claim to know this; why, then, do so many people STILL use so much text on PowerPoints? Avoid the temptation. Even bulleted lists are annoying. Think about it: when you see text on a PowerPoint, do you try to read it all? Or do you read the title, and then zone out? One of the big problems with text on the screen is that the audience will try to read it, then try to listen to you, then try to read, etc. The back-and-forth makes it difficult to understand, since most people can’t read and listen at the same time but you’re visually telling them to do so. It’s okay to use only an image on a slide. And if you are talking about something that doesn’t have a good picture to go with it, use a blank slide. Yes, this is okay! The audience will then focus on you while you’re saying something important.

Quick Trick #3: Pick a Good Color Scheme You really shouldn’t ever use more than four colors to dominate any document. PowerPoints are no different, but if the only thing you color are headings, text, and a rule or shape, you’ll want even fewer than that. But whether you use two or five, you’ll want them to match (and don’t just try to eyeball it!) One of the best websites out there for getting good color schemes is kuler.adobe.com . Remember the mood of your content, too. Color has a psychology to it, and some colors shouldn’t be used for certain purposes. A general rule is that bright, saturated colors are used for children and for exciting, happy topics; desaturated, bright colors are used for friendly and professional settings; desaturated, dark colors are for serious and professional settings. And, just to be clear: never do light colors on light colors (yellow on white) or dark on dark (blue on black). And NEVER do blue on red or vice versa!!!

Quick Trick #4: Use Repetitive Elements To make your PowerPoint look professional, you’ll want to tie your entire PowerPoint in, as a cohesive document. One really effective way to do this is to use repetitive design elements. Think of an icon that represents your theme. Tell an anecdote at the beginning of your presentation (maybe about a tree or something) and then use an icon of a tree in the bottom corner of every slide. Something. Also, keep your typefaces repetitive. All headings should be in the same place and the same size. And they should be the same font. You won’t want to use more than two typefaces for the entire presentation, keeping the document consistent.

Quick Trick #5: Be Creative, But Don’t Go Crazy One enormous pitfall with PowerPoint is using too many animations or crazy effects. See this great (and funny) video  for where you could go wrong. But that doesn’t mean that you can’t use visual effects for some purposes. One way to really impress an audience is to have visuals coincide with your speaking (as you say stuff, make the graphics and text appear in sync, for example). Making PowerPoint do interesting things takes a bit of time, but it can have a powerful effect if done right. And the audience may even come up to you afterwards and say, “What program did you make that with!?” (That’s a good compliment when using PowerPoint, by the way, so shoot for it!) There’s actually a lot of functionality in PowerPoint if you think creatively about its options. You might take a few minutes to review this PowerPoint for some ideas. To get the full effect, though, you’ll need to wait several minutes on each slide, since it is synced with a presentation script. If you just wait on the title slide and slide 2, you’ll get some interesting insight on how to sync text. Of course, you don’t always want to go crazy with these kinds of effects, but be aware that, at times, they can really make your PowerPoint pop.

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Top 12 Most Annoying PowerPoint Presentation Mistakes Top 10 Most Annoying Presentation Delivery Mistakes Giving Effective Presentations: 50 Things to Consider

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How to change the background in microsoft powerpoint.

Add a unique touch by inserting a picture, color, gradient, or texture into your presentation's background.

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Change the background for select slides in powerpoint, add a background for all slides in powerpoint.

In your Microsoft PowerPoint presentations, you can change your slides' background to a picture , solid color fill, gradient fill, texture fill, and even pattern fill. You can apply a custom background to all or select slides in your presentation. Here's how.

Related: How to Use an Image as the Background in PowerPoint

To use a custom background only for select slides, first, open your presentation with the Microsoft PowerPoint app.

When PowerPoint launches, in the ribbon at the top , click the "View" tab.

On the "View" tab, in the far left corner, click "Normal" to view your presentation in a normal mode.

From the slides list to the left of your screen, select the slides in which you want to use a custom background. To select multiple slides, hold down Ctrl (Windows) or Command (Mac) while clicking slides.

Once your slides are selected, in PowerPoint's ribbon at the top, click the "Design" tab.

On the "Design" tab, from the "Customize" section, select "Format Background."

To the right of PowerPoint's interface, you will see a "Format Background" pane. Here, in the "Fill" section, you will select a custom background for your slides.

Your options are:

• Solid Fill : To apply a single solid color fill to your slides, choose this option.
• Gradient Fill : To use a gradient color fill, select this option.
• Picture or Texture Fill : If you'd like to use an image or texture as your slides' background, click this option. You can then select an image by clicking "Insert" or choose a texture by clicking "Texture."
• Pattern Fill : To use one of PowerPoint's several textures as your background, select this option.

Your changes will reflect on your slides in real-time. When you have finished configuring your custom background, close the "Format Background" pane by clicking "X" in the pane's top-right corner.

And that's it. Don't forget to save your presentation to keep your changes.

In a similar way, you can also change the background in Google Slides .

Related: How to Change the Background in Google Slides

You can configure a single custom background and apply it to all the slides in your current presentation. This saves you a lot of time as you do not have to manually edit each slide's background.

To do so, open your presentation with Microsoft PowerPoint. In the app's ribbon at the top, click the "Design" tab.

On the "Design" tab, in the "Customize" section, click "Format Background."

On the right of your screen, a "Format Background" pane will open. In this pane, using the "Fill" section, you will specify a background for all your slides.

The options you can choose from are:

• Solid Fill : Use this option to apply a solid color fill to all your slides.
• Gradient Fill : Select this option to apply a gradient color fill to all your slides.
• Picture or Texture Fill : To use an image or a texture as the background, click this option. You can then click "Insert" to add a picture to use as your background, or click "Texture" to use a texture as your slides' background.
• Pattern Fill : Click this option to view various patterns that you can use as the background for your presentation.

Once you have configured your background, apply it to all your slides by clicking "Apply to All" at the bottom of the "Format Background" pane.

And instantly, all the slides in your presentation will start using the newly specified background. Happy presenting!

If you often use a specific style for your presentations, it is worth creating a custom PowerPoint template to then base all your presentations on it.

Related: How to Create a Custom Template in PowerPoint

How to Change the Background Color in PowerPoint

When it comes to creating a presentation in PowerPoint, one of the key elements you have at your disposal for customization is the background color. The default white background may be fine for some presentations, but in others, it can be beneficial to choose a different color or create a customized background that better suits your message and aesthetic. In this article, we will explore the reasons why you might want to change the background color in PowerPoint, how to select the perfect color, and the various ways to customize your background using custom colors, gradients, images, and patterns.

Table of Contents

Why Change the Background Color in PowerPoint?

Changing the background color in PowerPoint can help to enhance the overall design and visual appeal of your presentation. It also plays an important role in conveying the mood and message of your content. For example, if you are presenting data related to environmental issues, you may choose a green background to reinforce your message about sustainability. Conversely, if you are presenting on a more serious topic such as financial results, you may choose a muted tone to convey a sense of professionalism and gravitas. Ultimately, the reason for changing the background color will depend on the nature of your presentation.

Another reason to change the background color in PowerPoint is to create contrast and make your content stand out. If you have a lot of text or images on your slides, a contrasting background color can help to draw the audience’s attention to the most important information. This can be especially useful in situations where you need to convey complex information or data.

Finally, changing the background color in PowerPoint can also help to create a cohesive and consistent look throughout your presentation. By using the same background color on all of your slides, you can create a sense of unity and make your presentation feel more polished and professional. This can be particularly important if you are presenting to a large audience or if your presentation will be shared with others.

How to Choose the Perfect Background Color for Your Presentation

Choosing the perfect background color for your presentation can be a daunting task, but there are a few key considerations that can help guide your decision-making process. Firstly, think about your brand or the tone you want to convey. If you have a brand style guide or color palette, this can be a helpful starting point. Secondly, consider the audience you will be presenting to. Are they of a certain demographic or age group that might find certain colors more appealing or distracting? Thirdly, think about the content of your presentation and the message you want to convey. What color or color combination will best complement your data, story, or theme?

Another important factor to consider when choosing a background color for your presentation is the lighting of the room where you will be presenting. If the room is dimly lit, using a dark background color may make it difficult for your audience to read the text on your slides. On the other hand, if the room is brightly lit, using a light background color may cause glare and make it hard for your audience to focus on your presentation. Therefore, it is important to test your presentation in the actual room where you will be presenting to ensure that your background color is visible and easy to read.

The Benefits of Changing Background Colors in PowerPoint Presentations

Changing the background color in a PowerPoint presentation can have a number of benefits beyond mere aesthetics. Firstly, it can help to enhance the readability of your content. Black or dark-colored text on a white background can be harsh on the eyes, especially if you are presenting for an extended period. By changing the background color, you can create a more inviting and comfortable viewing experience for your audience. Secondly, changing the background color can help to differentiate your presentation from others. If you attend multiple presentations in a day, a unique background color can make your presentation more memorable and distinct in people’s minds. Finally, a well-chosen background color can help to convey a sense of professionalism and attention to detail, which can instill confidence and trust in your audience.

Another benefit of changing the background color in a PowerPoint presentation is that it can help to evoke certain emotions or moods. For example, using warm colors like red, orange, or yellow can create a sense of energy and excitement, while cool colors like blue or green can create a more calming and relaxing atmosphere. By choosing a background color that aligns with the tone and message of your presentation, you can enhance the overall impact of your message.

Lastly, changing the background color can also be a useful tool for branding and marketing purposes. If you are presenting on behalf of a company or organization, using the company’s brand colors in the background can help to reinforce brand recognition and create a cohesive visual identity. This can be especially effective if you are presenting to potential clients or investors, as it can help to establish a strong and memorable brand presence.

Step-by-Step Guide: Changing the Background Color in PowerPoint

Now that you understand the benefits of changing the background color, it’s time to learn how to do it. Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to change the background color in PowerPoint:

• Open PowerPoint and select the slide you want to change the background color for.
• Click on the Design tab at the top of the screen.
• Click on the Format Background button located in the right-hand corner of the toolbar.
• A Format Background pane will appear on the right side of the screen. From here, you have several options to choose from.
• To change the color of your background, select the Solid Fill option at the top of the pane. You can then choose from a range of pre-set colors by clicking on the color swatches, or you can select More Colors to create a custom color.
• Once you have selected a color, you can preview how it will look on your slide by clicking the Preview button.
• Once you are happy with your background color, click Close to return to your slide.

It’s important to note that changing the background color can have a significant impact on the overall look and feel of your presentation. For example, using a dark background with light text can create a dramatic effect, while a light background with dark text can be easier to read.

Additionally, you can also add images or patterns to your background by selecting the Picture or Texture Fill options in the Format Background pane. This can be a great way to add visual interest to your slides and make them more engaging for your audience.

Using Custom Colors and Gradients for Your PowerPoint Background

If you want to create a more customized background for your PowerPoint presentation, you can use custom colors or gradients. To use a custom color, simply select the More Colors option within the Format Background pane and create your preferred color in the Color Picker window that appears. To use a gradient, select the Gradient Fill option within the Format Background pane and choose a gradient preset or create your own gradient by adjusting the colors and stops along the gradient slider.

Custom colors and gradients can help you create a unique and visually appealing background for your PowerPoint presentation. When choosing colors or gradients, it’s important to consider the overall theme and message of your presentation. For example, if you’re presenting financial data, you may want to use a gradient that goes from green to red to represent positive and negative numbers. On the other hand, if you’re presenting a creative project, you may want to use a custom color that matches your brand or artwork. Experiment with different options to find the perfect background for your presentation.

How to Add Images and Patterns as Backgrounds in PowerPoint

If you want to take your background customization to the next level, you can also add images or patterns as your background. To add an image background, click on the Picture or Texture Fill option within the Format Background pane, and select an image from your computer or from PowerPoint’s pre-existing gallery. To add a pattern background, select the Pattern Fill option and choose from a range of pre-set patterns or create your own.

It’s important to note that when adding images or patterns as backgrounds, you should choose ones that are not too distracting or busy. The background should complement the content on your slides, rather than compete with it. Additionally, be mindful of the file size of any images you add, as large files can slow down your presentation and cause technical difficulties. By following these tips, you can create a visually appealing and professional-looking presentation.

Tips for Creating a Consistent Background Theme Across Your Slides

A consistent background theme across all of your slides can help to create a more cohesive and polished presentation. To create a consistent theme, simply select the Slide Master view by clicking on the View tab at the top of the screen and selecting Slide Master. From here, you can customize the background color, image, or pattern for all of the slides in your presentation, ensuring that they all follow the same design guidelines.

Common Mistakes to Avoid When Changing the Background Color in PowerPoint

While changing the background color in PowerPoint can be a great way to improve the overall design of your presentation, there are several common mistakes to avoid. Firstly, avoid using overly bright or garish colors that can be distracting or look unprofessional. Secondly, ensure that the text on your slides is legible against the background color you choose. Finally, be mindful of any color combinations that may be difficult for color-blind viewers or people with other visual impairments.

Troubleshooting Tips: Fixing Issues with Your PowerPoint Background Color

If you encounter any issues with your PowerPoint background color, such as it not showing up or not covering the entire slide, there are a few troubleshooting tips you can try. Firstly, ensure that you have selected the correct slide and have followed the steps outlined above to change the background color. Secondly, if your background color is not covering the entire slide, check that you have not inadvertently added any shapes or other objects that may be blocking it. Finally, if the issue persists, try saving your presentation and restarting PowerPoint to see if that resolves the issue.

Changing the background color in PowerPoint can be a simple yet effective way to enhance the overall design and impact of your presentation. By following the steps outlined above and keeping in mind some of the tips and common mistakes to avoid, you can create a visually compelling and professional-looking presentation that engages and informs your audience.

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PowerPoint tip 7: should the background be dark or light?

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• Michael Brown
• Presentation Skills

Is your slide showing photographs? Diagrams/graphs/charts? Just words? A mixture? 

It's going to be a judgement call, but here's a good rule of thumb. Where possible:

Make the background dark, preferably dark charcoal

Charcoal? Why not black? 

Because black is too harsh. There's  too much contrast. Our eyes don't like it, so it's harder to comprehend the message.  

A couple of extra points:

Photographs .  With few exceptions photographs should be set directly into dark charcoal without borders . However, if the photograph of an object sits in a white rectangle, you'll need a white background.

Diagrams/graphs/charts . Yes, I still favour the charcoal background, but I'm careful with the colours of the diagram - light and bright, rather than dark and dull. That's for the essential points of the diagram, but I usually use white for the supporting material, such as words and axis. It pays to decide on background before you make up the diagram - you can't drop a diagram made for a white background directly onto a dark background without making some changes. 

Just words .  There's no doubt. Our eyes take in white words on dark charcoal more easily than any other way - with obvious implications for comprehension.

A mixture of the above.   Again, lay it all on dark charcoal.

Now, a word or two of warning.

Beware of words-only slides

All right, sometimes there's no other way. You might, for example, want to display exact wording. But the screen medium suits pictures more than words - whatever the background colour. Show your audience too many wordy slides and their eyes will glaze over, undermining your message. We humans sell ideas more effectively than words on a screen.

Does reading out the words to the audience help?  Well, yes, you can justify that if you want to emphasize it in a way not obvious in the screened words. But you should know that when I carried out a survey entitled, What annoys you most about PowerPoint, the top annoyance was presenters who read aloud words the audience can see for themselves.

Beware of wall-to-wall PowerPoint

Here's some bad news for presenters who think that presentation means start-to-finish PowerPoint.

With rare exceptions, non-stop PowerPoint on the screen damages your credibility. Especially when what you're saying doesn't match what's on the screen. Photos, diagrams, or words - I urge you to do yourself and the audience a huge favour. Stand directly in front of the audience, until...

Use a screen only when the image directly and specifically illustrates what you're talking about right now.

How to turn it off?  You might like to look at another blog:    PowerPoint tip 10: insert a 'sleep slide'   

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30+ Stylish PowerPoint Color Schemes 2024

Color is an element that can make or break a design, and that rule holds true for presentation design as well. Choosing the right PowerPoint color scheme is super important.

But there’s one extra thing to consider – where your presentation will be given. A PowerPoint presentation can look quite different on a computer or tablet versus on a projected screen.

When it comes to selecting a PowerPoint color scheme, this is an important consideration. We’ve rounded nearly stylish PowerPoint color schemes as inspiration. While darker color schemes might look great close-up on screens, opt for lighter backgrounds (for enhanced readability) for projected presentations.

Note: The last color in each scheme is for the slide background.

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1. Blue, Gray Green & Orange

With a bright overall scheme that’s easy on the eyes, this color scheme can help you create a modern PowerPoint presentation that’s readable and friendly. You can even tweak the colors somewhat to better work with your brand, if necessary.

The best thing about this color palette is that it lends itself to plenty of different presentation styles and applications.

2. Violet Gradient

Using the first two colors noted above, you can create a dark-to-light monotone gradient that can make for a modern PowerPoint design style.

Take this concept and expand it to any other colors you like for your spin on this modern color scheme.

3. Mint and Orange

On paper, these colors don’t seem to blend all that well, but with the right application min and orange on a black background can work.

Use a pair of colors like this for presentations where you are trying to make a bold statement or impact. This concept is often great for trendy topics or ideas that are a little unconventional.

4. Bright Blue and Light

The brighter, the better! Bright blue color schemes are a major trend in PowerPoint design … and for good reason. The color combination creates a bright, light feel with easy readability. Those are two things that pretty much everyone wants in a presentation template design.

The other thing that’s great about a color scheme like this – which focuses on one color – is that it matches practically everything else in the design with ease. It’s great for image-heavy presentations or those where text elements are a key focal point.

5. Teal and Lime

Two colors that you might not expect to see paired create a classy combo that’s interesting and engaging. Both teal and lime are considered “new neutrals” and work with a variety of colors easily. (What’s somewhat unexpected is putting them together.)

What’s great about this PowerPoint color scheme is that the extra interest from the hues can help generate extra attention for slides. The template in the example also mixes and matches teal and green primary color blocks to keep it interesting from slide to slide.

6. Colorful Gradients

Gradients are a color trend that just keeps reinventing and resurfacing. In the latest iteration, gradients are bright with a lot of color. Designers are working across the color wheel for gradients that have more of a rainbow effect throughout the design, even if individual gradients are more subtle.

What you are likely to see is a variety of different gradients throughout a project with different colors, but maybe a dominant color to carry the theme. Use this for presentation designs that are meant to be more fun, lighter, and highly engaging.

7. Light Blue Minimal

This color scheme with light blue and a minimal aesthetic is super trendy and so easy to read. You can add a lot of style with a black-and-white style for images or a deep blue accent for header text.

While a pale blue is ideal here, you could also consider experimenting with other pastels and the same overall theme for a modern presentation design.

8. Bright with Dark Background

The combination of bright colors on a dark background can be fun and quite different from the traditional PowerPoint color schemes that are often on white or light backgrounds. This design style for a presentation is bold and engaging but can be a challenge if you aren’t comfortable with that much color.

When you use a style like this, it is important to think about the presentation environment to ensure that everything will look as intended. A design like this, for example, can work well on screens, but not as well on a projector or in a large room.

9. Navy and Orange

The navy and orange color combination is stylish and classic for presentation design. To add a fresh touch consider some of the effects such as the template above, with color blocking and overlays to add extra interest.

What makes this color combination pop is the element of contrast between a dark and a bright pair. The navy here is almost a neutral hue and works with almost any other design element.

10. Dark and Light Green

A modern take on a monotone color scheme involves using two similar colors that aren’t exactly tints and tones of one another. This pairing of dark green and light (almost minty) green does precisely that.

What’s nice about this color scheme is that the colors can be used almost interchangeably as primary elements or accents. It provides a lot of flexibility in the presentation design.

11. Bright Crystal Blue

Blue presentation color schemes will always be in style. The only thing that changes is the variance of the hue. This pair of blues – a bright crystal blue with a darker teal – works in almost the same way as the pair of greens above.

What’s nice about this color palette though is that the dark color is the accent here. That’s a modern twist on color design for presentations.

12. Blue and Yellow

Blue and yellow are classic pairings and can make for a striking presentation color combination. With a bright white background, these hues stand out in a major way.

What works here is the element of contrast. A darker blue with a brighter yellow creates an almost yin and yang effect with color. The only real caution is to take care with yellow on a white or light background with fonts or other light elements.

Teal is a personality-packed color choice. If you are looking for a bold statement with a PowerPoint template, start here.

While the above color scheme also includes a hint of yellow for accents, the teal color option is strong enough to stand alone. You could consider a tint or tone for a mono-look. It also pairs amazingly well with black-and-white images.

Teal is a fun color option that will provide a lot of practical use with your slide deck.

14. Bright Coral

This color scheme is one of those that you will either love or hate. The bright coral color is powerful and generates an immediate reaction.

It’s also quite trendy and will stand out from many of the other more bland PowerPoint colors that you may encounter. This is a great option for a startup that wants to present with a bang or a brand that has a similar color in its palette. It may not work so well for more traditional brands or those that are more conservative with their slide designs.

15. Dark Mode Colors

A dark mode color scheme might be the biggest trend in all of design right now, and that also applies to presentation design.

This purple and emerald color paired with black with white text looks amazing. It is sleek, modern, and has high visual appeal without having to use a lot of images.

This works best for digital presentations when you don’t have concerns about room lighting to worry about.

If you aren’t ready to jump into dark mode on your own, the Harber template above is a great start with nice color, gradients, and interesting shapes throughout the slide types.

16. Navy and Lime

A navy and lime combination is a modern take on colorful neutrals that are anything but boring.

These colors have a nice balance with a white or light background and are fairly easy to use. With so many brands already using blue in their base color palette, this is an option that works and is an extension of existing elements for many brands. (Use your blue and add the lime to it.)

Also, with this color combination, the idea of a minimal overall slide structure is nice so that the power of the colors and impact comes through. They work beside images in full color or black and white.

17. Modern Blue

When you aren’t planning to use brand colors – or maybe as a startup or independent contractor so you don’t have them yet – a modern color combination can add the right flair to a PowerPoint presentation.

The bright grayish-blue in the Lekro PowerPoint template – you can find it here – adds the right amount of color without overwhelming the content. Plus, subtle orange accents help guide the eye throughout this PowerPoint color scheme. https://elements.envato.com/lekro-powerpoint-presentation-67YW3M

18. Blackish and Yellow

While at first pass, black and yellow might seem like a harsh color combination, it can set the tone for a project that should emanate strength. This PowerPoint color scheme softens the harshness of the duo with a blackish color, that’s grayer and has a softer feel.

Pair this combo on a light background or with black and white images for a stylish, mod look.

19. Orange and White

A bright color can soften the harshness of a stark PowerPoint design. Especially when used for larger portions of the content area, such as background swatches or to help accent particular elements.

The Sprint template makes great use of color with a simple palette – orange and white with black text – but has slide ideas that incorporate the color throughout for something with a more “designed” look to it. (And if you aren’t a fan of the orange, change the color for use with this template to keep the modern feel.)

Purple presentations are in. The color, which was once avoided by many in design projects, has flourished with recent color trends.

Because more funky, bright colors are popular, a presentation with a purple focus can be acceptable for a variety of uses. The use in Batagor template has a modern design with a deep header in the featured color, which works best with images that aren’t incredibly bold in terms of color.

21. Blue-Green Gradients

Another trending item in color is the use of gradients. This trend can be applied to PowerPOint presentations as well.

Use a blue-to-green gradient for a soft and harmonious color scheme that won’t get in the way of content. Use each hue alone for accents and informational divots throughout the presentation design.

22. Black and White

Minimalism is a design trend that never goes away. A black-and-white (or gray) presentation screams class and sophistication.

It can also be easy to work with when you don’t want the color to get in the way of your message. And if a design can stand alone without color, you know it works.

23. Reds and Black

If you are designing a presentation for viewing on screens, such as desktops or tablets, a dark background with bright color accents and white text can work well. (This combination gets a lot trickier on projector displays.)

While reverse text and red aren’t always recommended, you can see from the Nova template that they can be a stunning combination. But note, this modern color scheme is best for specific content and audiences.

24. Blue and Pink

This color scheme is a spin on Pantone’s colors of the year from 2016. https://designshack.net/articles/graphics/how-to-use-the-pantone-color-of-the-year-in-design-projects/ The brighter, bolder versions of rose quartz and serenity and fun and sophisticated.

The unexpected combo sets the tone with a strong, trustworthy blue and adds softness with the paler pink. The colors work equally well with white or darker backgrounds.

25. Blue and Green

Blue and green accents can help a black or white background come to life in a presentation template. The colors here can work with either background style, based on how you plan to display your presentation.

What’s nice about these colors is that they are pretty neutral – since both are found in nature – and can be used with ease for design or text elements in a PowerPoint color scheme.

26. Beige and Gray

If you are looking for a softer color palette, consider beige and gray. These hues can work well on screens or projected, making them a versatile option.

The nice thing about such a neutral palette is that it gives content plenty of room, so that will be the true focus of the presentation.

27. Tints and Tones

While the purplish blue-gray in the Business PowerPoint Presentation template is stunning, it represents a greater trend in presentation design. Pick a color – maybe your dominant brand color – and use tints and tones for the presentation color scheme.

By mixing the color with white or black and gray, you’ll end up with a stunning set of color variations that match your messaging.

28. Bold Rainbow

While most of the color schemes featured here only include a color or two, bright color schemes with wider color variations are trending.

This distinct “rainbow style” can be somewhat difficult to use without rules for each color. Proceed with caution.

29. Bright Neutrals

Lime green is the brightest “neutral” you might ever use. A fun palette that’s versatile can be a solid foundation for a color palette.

It works exceptionally well in the Rouka PowerPoint template thanks to a pairing with a subtle gray background. Using a light, but not white, background can be great for screens and projected presentations because it takes away some of the harshness of a white background. The subtle coloring is easier on the eyes for reading and viewing.

30. Rich Browns

Browns aren’t often what comes to mind when thinking of building a color scheme, but rich browns can be a modern option.

Pair a neutral beige-brown with a darker color for an interesting contrast that works with almost any style of content.

31. Mint Green

Go super trendy with a modern and streamlined palette of mint green and gray on white. While this combination can have a minimal feel, it also adds a touch of funkiness to the design.

Add another hint of color – think orange – for extra accents.

32. Dark Gray and Blue

It doesn’t get more classy than a combination of grays and blues. This new take on a classic color scheme adds another brighter blue as well to pick up on modern trends.

Just be careful with text using a dark background such as this one. White is probably your best option for typography (and look for a font with thicker strokes!)