best background colors for powerpoint presentation

By Matt Moran January 3, 2024

22 Best PowerPoint Color Schemes to Make Your Presentation Stand Out in 2024

There’s nothing worse than an amateur PowerPoint presentation. If you’re going into a business meeting or sales pitch, your presentation slides should look as professional as you do. That’s why choosing the right color scheme is so important.

In this post, we’ll be sharing a roundup of 22 of the best PowerPoint color schemes you can use to make your presentation look the part. 

All the color schemes on this list have been incorporated into templates created by professional designers, so they’re super-stylish and guaranteed to make your slides stand out.

Whether you’re an educator looking for a color scheme that will keep your students engaged, or a business professional who wants to make an impact in your next meeting, you’re sure to find something suitable below.

Tips for Choosing the Best PowerPoint Color Schemes

Before we jump into the roundup, let’s talk about how to choose the right color scheme for your needs. Here are a few things to bear in mind when you’re comparing your options.

1. Use High Contrast Colors

When it comes to color, contrast is the number one most important consideration. Text, icons, and other important graphics on your slides need to be highly readable, so you need to make sure to use high contrast colors for these elements. 

In other words, use a color with a significantly different tone/brightness from your background. Certain colors are inherently lighter/darker than others. For example, blue is much darker than yellow. As such, these colors tend to pair well together.

I’d also recommend never combining warm and cold colors, like bright red on bright blue or vice versa. This is because human eyes have trouble distinguishing interactions between the different wavelengths, which causes eye fatigue.

2. Consider Color Associations (Psychology)

People have certain subconscious associations with different colors. For example, people associate blue with trust, calmness, and reliability, which makes it a safe choice for business presentations. 

Green is associated with nature, peace, and organic products, which might make it a good choice if you’re working on a sales pitch for an eco-friendly product. 

Black evokes sophistication, seriousness, evil, and mystery, so it can work just as well for spooky Halloween lesson PowerPoints as for high-end fashion brand presentations.

Try to choose a color scheme that fits the kind of associations you want to make. If you’re working on a brand PowerPoint presentation, a safe bet is to stick with your brand colors.

3. Always Use Gradients

In nature, colors rarely appear in solid blocks – they transition gradually from one hue to the next and blend into each other.  

Because we’re used to seeing colors naturally act this way, you should try to do the same in your PowerPoint presentations by blending colors into each other using gradients. Blocks of solid color can look amateurish. 

The good news is that all the templates on this list are designed by professionals who understand this and therefore use natural color gradients to create a professional look.

4. Choose the Right Color Scheme for Your Screen Type

Finally, don’t forget to consider the screen you plan on showcasing your PowerPoint presentation on. Darker color schemes will look good on close-up screens like tablets and desktops. However, lighter colors work better for projections as they tend to be more readable. 

In particular, never use red text if you’re projecting your presentation onto an external screen, as if any kind of unwanted ambient light/glare hits the screen, the color will wash out. In fact, it’s best to avoid any brightly colored text if you’re using a projector.

22 Best PowerPoint Color Schemes

Alright, let’s jump into the list. Below, we’ve listed our top 22 favorite PowerPoint templates with awesome color schemes.

1. Shades of Grey and Yellow – Our Top Pick

If you’re looking for a darker color scheme to use for a business presentation, you can’t go wrong with the Hornette template. Darker shades of grey and black strike a serious tone that befits a corporate environment, which is offset by bold yellow highlights. 

We like how the high contrast between the darker shades and the bold yellow can be used to direct the readers’ gaze to the most important elements on the page and make key messages stand out. 

The template itself includes 50 slides, including a gallery and portfolio slide, and features creative layouts and useful graphics. All graphics can be resized and edited.

2. Teal and White

Teal is a color that blends blue’s dependability with green’s optimism and healing properties. The result is a calming, balanced color that’s packed with personality. 

This multipurpose PowerPoint template uses teal alongside plenty of whitespaces and is perfect for business and personal presentations. All elements are fully editable, and if teal and white isn’t your style, you can pick another of the 5 included premade color schemes included. 

3. Shades of Black

Dark themes are very on-trend right now. If you want to add a touch of sophistication to your presentation or strike a serious tone, you can’t go wrong with this Halbert PowerPoint template. 

The all-black color scheme looks slick and elegant, and the white text is highly readable. This template works best when you don’t have to worry about room lighting, and might be a good fit for fashion presentations.

4. Color Fun

If you want something a little more upbeat, try this Color Fun PowerPoint template. It uses a wide color palette, which can help provide enough variety to better organize the different sections and elements on your slides. 

It’s bright, upbeat, and sets a positive tone – without being too overwhelming. The designer has toned down the colors just enough that they’re not distracting and won’t cause eye fatigue.

5. Monochromatic Blue

This Tortoise PPT template uses a mix of light and darker blues to create a stylish, professional look. The download includes 150 slides in total, split into 5 colors (30 slides per variation). All graphics included are fully editable and resizable in PowerPoint. 

6. Minimalist Light Colors

Bold and bright colors can work well but sometimes, it’s best to keep things simple. This clean and modern PowerPoint presentation follows the principle of minimalism, with very light shades like beige and pale green. It comes in a 1920x1080p format and includes a bunch of awesome icons and graphic elements that are fully vector editable.

7. Orange Burst

Orange is the most vibrant color in the color spectrum. It’s full of energy and life, so it’s perfect when you want to really get your audience excited about the contents of your presentation. This PowerPoint template from aqrstudio uses orange gradients alongside circular icons and graphics.

8. Yellows and Whites

If you’re looking for a yellow template, check out Soaring by Jumsoft. It features an energetic, professional design and includes 20 master slides in the standard 4:3 side, as well as charts, diagrams, tables, and other awesome visual elements. You can choose the layout that’s most suitable for your content and customize more or less everything in MS PowerPoint.

Pastels are the color trend of the year. These lighter, softer shades of colors have been embraced by younger generations like Millennials and Gen Z and have rapidly become associated with self-care for their ‘calming effect’. If you want to incorporate them into your PowerPoint color scheme, check out this pastel template by UnicodeID.

10. Organic Greens

Working on a food-related presentation for a culinary business? Or perhaps you’re putting together a pitch deck on an environmental topic? Either way, this organic green PowerPoint template has the perfect color scheme for you. It’s ideal for health and nature-related slides.

11. Bold Red and Black

The NOVA PowerPoint template by Artmonk uses a stunning red-on-black color scheme. It’s a bold color combination that packs a punch, so it’s great for presentations in which you’re trying to break the mold and make a statement. It’ll look great on screens but might not show up well on projector displays due to the dark background.

12. Bright Multicolor

Here’s another awesome multi-colored palette that’s upbeat and fun. Wide color palettes like this are great for large slide decks as they give you a lot of options to choose from. I can see this one working really well for creative agencies and personal portfolios. 

13. Lime and Dark Blue

Blue and yellow is a classic combination. This lime and dark blue template offers a new twist on that classic combo to make it a little more exciting. If you already use dark blue as part of your brand color palette, this is a great template to use.

14. Pretty Pink

The Pretty Pink color scheme is perfect for creating feminine and youthful PowerPoint presentations. This would be perfect for female-oriented business products, or presentations about beauty, pop culture, and more.

Teal is the perfect color scheme for exuding wealth and intelligence. In color psychology, green connotes wealth and money, whilst blue evokes intelligence. Teal is the perfect blend of the two colors, which makes it a great choice for financial presentations and documentation.

16. Dark with Splashes of Color

If you want a luxurious and ultra-modern color scheme, Black with splashes of color is just the ticket. The black creates a sleek and professional feel, whilst the bold and colorful highlights make the key information in your presentation pop.  

Coral is a bold and vivid color scheme perfect for making an impact on your presentations. This PowerPoint template utilizes coral as the background of each slide which helps the text and other visuals to really stand out.

18. Classic Blue and White

If you’re looking for a clean, modern, and professional color scheme for your PowerPoint presentations, you can’t go wrong with classic blue. The color scheme evokes professionalism and technological prowess and is perfect for tech businesses and startups. The Contact PowerPoint from Envato Elements is a great example of how this color scheme can be used.

19. Pinks and Purples

Pinks and Purples is a vibrant and feminine color scheme that would work perfectly for beauty brands and retail stores. The colors are bold and inviting and have a luxurious feel. This Beauty Care template from Envato Elements utilizes this color scheme as well as unique shapes to make for a visually interesting presentation.

20. Winter Watercolors

Winter Watercolors is a great color scheme for festive presentations. The muted, blue, and green cold tones are easy on the eye and evoke a homily feeling. This would be perfect for creating slideshows for Christmas parties or other winter-themed events.

21. Coral Highlights

Unlike the last coral color scheme we looked at, which used a coral background with white text, this template uses mostly white slide backgrounds. Coral is used much more sparingly to highlight key elements on the slide. This gives the PowerPoint a more relaxed and feminine touch.

22. Primary Colors

This Primary Colors color scheme is perfect for adding a vibrant touch to your presentations. This color scheme is a modern take on the classic colors of red, yellow and blue, and would be perfect for creating fun and engaging business presentations.

Related Posts

Reader interactions, droppin' design bombs every week  5,751 subscriber so far.

You have successfully joined our subscriber list.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Notify me of followup comments via e-mail. You can also subscribe without commenting.

• PowerPoint Design
• PowerPoint Training
• Presentation Skills Coaching
• Presentation Tips

Call Us. 202.681.0725

The Psychology of Color in PowerPoint Presentations

• April 12, 2013
• Kevin Lerner

Discover how the colors you choose for your PowerPoint presentations can guide the emotional response of your audience.

What are the best colors for a powerpoint presentation it all depends on who your audience is and what you want them to feel.

When used correctly, color can help audience members sort out the various elements of a slide. But its power goes beyond mere clarification. To some extent the colors you choose for your visuals guide the emotional response of your audience.

Blue: The most popular background color for presentation slides

Blue is one of the most common background colors. It’s calming and conservative, which is why it’s very popular with business presenters, as well as for for trainers. Studies have shown that blue has the power to slow our breathing and pulse rates. Dark blue backgrounds with light text are great for conservative corporate no-nonsense presentations. Lighter blue- more common in re cent times- work well in relaxed environments with the lights on, and help promote interaction.

Examples of BLUE in Presentations

• Quest Diagnostics: A serious company with a seriously navy blue background. The subtle angled lines promote a feeling a movement and technology. Blue complements the Green of Quest’s logo, and the white title bar provides a clean but stark contrast to the body.
• This blue template for waste management firm Republic Services provides a conservative backdrop for the financials and white bullet points. The yellow titles stand out, as does the orange, red and blue themed imagery at the bottom, not to mention the company’s logo.
• This slide for Dr. Soram Khalsa’ Complementrix Vitamin system features a template with a dark blue with angled lines. And the inner portion of the template featured a light blue-hue burst of a sun-ray to convey bright life and energy.
• This slide for Lender Direct featured an image of a file folder, edited in Photoshop, with a 80 % transparency set against a light blue background. The light blue graphic helped to convey a sense of openeness , and professionalism, while maintaining the company’s blue brand.

Green: Stimulates interaction and puts people at ease

Green stimulates interaction. It’s a friendly color that’s great for warmth and emotion. Green is commonly used in PowerPoint presentations for trainers, educators, and others whose presentations are intended to generate discussion. It’s also a great color for environmental and earth-oriented discussions.

Examples of Green in Presentations

• This slide for Hills Pet Nutrition features a modern green background with textured lines promoting a warm, but contemporary feeling. Great for their topic on pet affection.
• Money is green and so is this presentation for Presidio Finance. The white text contrasts nicely with the forest green finance images, helping to project a no-nonsense image of success and accomplishment.
• In this slide for TD Waterhouse, we created top title bar in dark green, integrating smoothly with their lime green logo. The green-hued process chart on the slide image stands out comfortably against the textured grey background.
• The flowing green arcs at the bottom and green title text helps substantiate this slides message of health and vitality. Executive Success Team’s green logo and brand also promotes a relaxed and comfortable feeling, just like Mona Vie.

Red: Handle with Care in Presentations!

Red is one of the most influential colors in your software palette — but it also carries negative cultural attachments, so use it carefully. Red is also a great color for conveying passion. Or talking about the competition. Do not use Red in financial information or tables and charts.

Examples of RED in Presentations

• The rich red of Oracle is maintained in this template, featuring red title text in an inset red rectangle and a red bottom bar of binary numbers for a look of blazing edge technology
• Trace Security uses a similar red title bar element, tying in to their black and red logo and brand.
• Red and black are also colors for Sales Training Consultants, and in this slide, we used a flat beige background, with a title bar in bright red together with red bullets and a red target graphic.
• The body pages of the Grenada presentation feature Red, but in an inset border. Text is inversed in white, as is the main body area. The key states in this map are highlighted in red.

Purple: Mystical and Emotional color in presentations and design

Purple is often associated with royalty and wealth. Purple also represents wisdom and spirituality. Purple does not often occur in nature, it can sometimes appear exotic or artificial. Nearly all the clients who come to me with presentations featuring purple or lavender are women. It’s a feminine color and it’s a good color for emotional or spiritual presentations.

Examples of Purple in Presentations

• Crosley & Company’s branding is maintained with a dominant dark purple background, and orange titles.
• A soft lavender background option gives these two medical doctors a chance to add some warmth for their mostly women audiences.

Yellow, Orange, & Gold: Attention-getting colors of affluence and prestige

Yellow can create feelings of frustration and anger. While it is considered a cheerful color, people are more likely to lose their tempers in yellow rooms and babies tend to cry more in yellow rooms.

Since yellow is the most visible color, it is also the most attention-getting color. Yellow can be used in small amount to draw notice, such as key words, or highlights but not in backgrounds. Rather than using flat yellow as a background color, consider a more “golden” or orange color. Simply adding texture to a yellow background or superimposing a photo (in Photoshop) with low transparency, can add more richness to the yellow background image.

Examples of Yellow / Gold in Presentations

• This flat yellow slide is for Web-Reach, an internet consulting firm in Miami. Even though their message was to compete with the Yellow Pages phone book, their yellow background was flat and uninspired.
• With a simple fix in Photoshop, yellow became Gold, and the same slide became more robust. We added a red bar to the top, and a grey arc to the left. Same information, just a textured golden hue helped deliver elegance and style.
• A golden textured earth background helped this slide convey the message of international elegance. The green money background blends with the gold, and the black text brings a nonsense message to the page.
• A golden textured background for Fountainhead Consulting with elements of yellow, blue, red, and grey.

Black: A strong and definite color that’s often overlooked!

Don’t forget your basic black. Often overlooked, black is a background color with useful psychological undertones. Its neutrality makes it a good backdrop for financial information. Black connotes finality and also works well as a transitional color which is why the fade to black transition is powerful, as it gives the impression of starting fresh.

Examples of Black in Presentations

• It’s a matter of black and white for this construction company. It’s intro slides were pure white text on a black background, emphasizing the company’s core beliefs. After the 3 b&w slides, the room lit-up with a series of dynamic colorful slides as the speakers enlightened the audience.
• Over 10 years old, this slide from Ryder transportation remains one of the strongest visuals. Set against a flat black background, the company’s grey logomark conveys a true sense of stability and no-nonsense action. The monotone building blocks tell a strong story.

White: Pure, Fresh and Clean. But a little boring.

White is also a calm and neutral color for presentations. It’s terrific for conveying a fresh start such as a fade to white. It represents purity or innocence. Good for positive information where you want the focus purely on the message, and not competing with a brand image. It’s clean/open and inviting and can create a sense of space or add highlights. But it can also be perceived as cheap, flat (it’s the default color for PowerPoint slides) and harsh on the eyes. Consider grey as a better background color.

Examples of White in Presentations

• To help to maintain a clean and open look this consumer collaborative called on us to integrate their brand colors set against a plain white background. The blue and orange bars provided a conservative frame, while the arcs provided a contemporary look of flow and motion.
• This slide for a large architecture and construction firm featured a flat white background offset by a colorful series of modern buildings and logos.

Grey and Silver: A conservative color; Good when Black or White won’t work.

According to psychologists, grey is often thought of as a negative color. It can be the color of evasion and non-commitment since it is neither black nor white. Some say that Grey is the color of independence and self-reliance. A few years ago, silver was the most popular color for cars. And in the presentation world, this calm color is making a comeback. Grey (or “Silver”) is a softer background than the harsh default color of white, and works well on almost all presentations. A dark grey background with light text…or light grey background with dark text…you can’t go wrong!

Examples of Grey in Presentations

• Farmers Insurance’s silver background integrates subtle ray of light elements to help add depth and texture to this slide. The red, blue, and black stock images blend comfortably with the rest of the page. And the white border around the letters add a level of modernism and clarity.
• The stainless steel background of this slide helps promote a modern contemporary look, helping to link the 4 brands together.
• A clean flowing blue arc with a non-obtrusive silver background help make this slide for Margie Seyfer appear fun but conservative
• Interim Healthcare’s brand is maintained, but a muted image in silver help add depth and dimension to the slide’s message, while supporting its key points.

We perceive dark colors as being “heavier” than light ones, so graphic elements that are arranged from darkest to lightest are the easiest for the eyes to scan. On charts, it’s best to arrange colors from dark to light.

Remember that most eyes aren’t perfect. Because color perception deficiencies are common, certain color combinations — including red/green, brown/green, blue/black and blue/purple — should be avoided.

color , powerpoint , powerpoint tips , presentation design , psychology of color , style

Presentation Perfection for Clients around the World.

"We engaged The Presentation Team to do a Presentation training for our team and he did a great job. He spent time understanding our requirements and the skill level of our team members and created a course which met our expectations and goals. I highly recommend The Presentation Team as a Presentation (PowerPoint) trainer."

Navdeep Sidhu Senior Director, Software AG

"Kevin Lerner provided best-in-class services when hired to work on promotional materials for the launch of a key product at Motorola. The expertise and quality that he brought to the project were second to none and as a result, he delivered a top-notch presentation that was quickly adopted throughout the organization. Kevin is great to work with, delivers on time, is a great team player and is always willing to go the extra mile."

Maria Cardoso Motorola

"Kevin has been a working with Cox Communications to deliver world-class PowerPoint presentation visuals since 2009. His ability to meet our specific needs, timeframe, and budgets has been exceptional. His professional interaction with our team reflects his deep expertise in the industry, superior presentation design skills, and commitment to superior service."

Jonathan Freeland VP, Video Marketing at Cox Communications

"Kevin is an enthusiastic, creative, and passionate presentation guru. Our company was impressed and felt the value of his training in 2013 that he was invited again recently to again share his knowledge. Both times he has been energetic and addressed many areas for presentation development. From planning to follow-up Kevin is personable and easygoing, motivating our teams to take their presentations to the next level."

Yoshimi Kawashima Project Coordinator, Nissin International

"Kevin helped me immensely improve my presentation slides development, from tips & tricks to aesthetics, all with the intent of getting the message across crisply and creatively. I've already received praise for decks that incorporate the skills obtained from his training. I highly recommend Kevin's services."

Era Prakash General Electric

"Kevin helped me immensely improve my presentation slides development, from "The PowerPresentations seminar opened my eyes to all the limitless possibilities in presenting."

Leah Gordillo Saint Francis Medical Center

"Kevin helped me immensely improve my presentation slides development, from "[Kevin and The Presentation Team have] always delivered 110% in terms of meeting our objectives for finished product and budget"

Paul Price Watsco Corp.

"I had more people come up to me after I spoke, commenting on the visuals you created, than I did on the subject matter!"

Andy Smith Smith & Robb Advertising

"As a Fortune 1000 company, we sought to produce a classy, yet conservative presentation for our shareholders. It was evident that you and your team listened to our thoughts as you developed the presentation..."

Will Flower Republic Services

"Your expertise in the filed of PowerPoint and general presentation techniques helped elevate us to the level necessary to beat the competition."

Mike Geary James Pirtle Construction

"Kevin brought a high level of creativity, enthusiasm, and deep multmedia experience to our team. He worked dillegently with the team to produce an outstanding proposal which we subsequently won.

Jeff Keller Accenture/L3

info @ presentationteam.com

Giving a Presentation?  We can Help.

Sign-up for free PowerPoint Tips, PowerPoint Templates, and Presentation Strategies.

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.

How Does Unlimited PowerPoint Templates Sound?

Download thousands of PowerPoint templates, and many other design elements, with a monthly Envato Elements membership. It starts at $16 per month, and gives you unlimited access to a growing library of over 2,000,000 presentation templates, fonts, photos, graphics, and more.

Maximus Template

Pitch PowerPoint

Minimal PPT Templates

Clean & clear.

Explore PowerPoint Templates

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!)

• Slidesgo School
• Presentation Tips

How to Choose the Best Colors for Your Presentations

Choosing colors for your slides is one of the most crucial decisions to make even before starting to work on your Google Slides or PowerPoint presentation. Basically, colors can help you communicate your message more effectively, and they can evoke many different feelings or emotions on your audience. Keep reading to find out how to choose the best colors for your presentation.

Color Psychology

Color temperature, neutral colors, some tips on how to combine colors for your presentation.

It is quite important to know how your audience perceives colors and how these are related to the topic you are talking about. For example, red can convey a sense of danger, but also love, depending on the context. These are some common connotations that colors have on humans:

• Red : Evokes passion and strength. It’s an energetic and intense color that represents power and determination. It’s usually present on brands related to beverages, gaming and the automotive industry.
• Blue : Conveys a sense of security, confidence, responsibility and calmness. It is the most representative color in the healthcare and finance industries.
• Yellow : This is the color of light. It is a stimulating color that conveys energy, awakes awareness and inspires creativity. You will surely find yellow in the food industry.
• Green : Undeniably, the color of nature, life and peace. This color conveys a sense of growth, balance and stability like no other. It is quite popular among big companies, especially in the energy and tech industries.
• White : It is considered the color of purity and innocence. When it comes to evoking simplicity, optimism and integrity, white is second to none. You will find it for sure in the healthcare industry, and it is making its way in the fashion industry too.
• Black : Even though black is associated with seriousness, it can also convey elegance and courage. Fashion brands and luxury products make good use this color.

Take note of these hints and try to choose the color that best suits your message. For example, in this template we used bright and vibrant colors, since it is an education-themed presentation intended for a very young audience:

Click here to download this template

Colors can be grouped based on their temperature , which can be determined by comparing any given color in the visible spectrum with the light that a black body would emit when heated at a specified temperature. So, according to their temperature, there are two groups of colors: 

• Warm colors: These range from red and orange to yellow. If you click on the footer below, you will be able to download one of our templates containing a palette full of warm colors:

• Cool colors: These range from green and blue to violet. Again, click on the footer below to download a template that contains cool colors:

Mainly, warm colors convey energy and optimism—it is like giving a warm reception to your audience. On the other hand, cool colors are associated with serenity and confidence, just what you need to have a peaceful time.

White, black and all shades of gray are not considered neither warm nor cool. In fact, we could say colors such as creme, beige, brown and others with a high amount of gray are also neutral.  These colors do not influence others and can actually be combined with almost any color. As for their meaning, elegance and solemnity are pretty much guaranteed, as well as harmony.  When combining neutral colors, oftentimes a bright color is used as a contrast to highlight certain elements and bring them to the front. Click on the footer below to see an example of a presentation with neutral colors: 

To achieve a nice color harmony and make the most of it, it is best if you take into account the color wheel, as well as the concepts of hue, saturation and brightness. 

• Hue is basically what differentiates a color from any other. Thanks to the hue, you can visually tell apart red from blue, for example.
• Brightness defines how light or dark a hue is, and measures its capacity to reflect white light.
• Saturation refers to how pure a hue is. A saturated color appears more vivid, whereas a desaturated color looks duller.

With this information, you can make several different combinations: 

• Monochromatic Color Scheme: These contain different shades of a single color. Click on the footer to see one of our monochromatic templates based on red.

• Complementary Color Scheme: These are composed of a pair of opposing colors on the color wheel. If you click on the footer below, you will be able to download a presentation template with this scheme.

Analogous Color Scheme: This scheme includes colors that are adjacent to each other on the color wheel. Click on the footer to see an example of this scheme applied to a presentation: 

Triadic Color Scheme: This uses three colors equally spaced on the color wheel. Click on the footer to download a presentation that makes use of the triadic color scheme.

In order to get the best combination, you will need to consider how many colors you will use in each slide and how you will manage the contrast between them. These should also be suitable for your intended message or your brand.   Finally, try not to overuse very intense colors—use them only for emphasis. Keep everything consistent by applying the same color to each instance of an element within your presentation (for example, use the same color in all the titles). Include illustrations or pictures that work well with the chosen palette. If you need to apply filters to the pictures, you can refer to our “ How to Apply Filters to the Pictures in Google Slides ” tutorial, or its PowerPoint equivalent. Some of our templates include color variants, making it so much easier for you to adapt them to your topic and/or brand. Just click one of the options that you will find below “Themes” on the right side of the screen. 

Selecting color variants

Do you find this article useful?

Related tutorials.

New feature available: edit our templates with Canva

Whenever you need to create, Slidesgo is there. We’re continually enhancing your presentation design process with templates that are primed to impress for any occasion. And in order to let your ideas flow best, comfort is key. How could Slidesgo help you with this? By making you feel right at home with our resources, no matter your preferred platform.You spoke, and we listened. Now, your favorite slides can be accessed on a new platform: Canva! This new format adds to our existing options (PowerPoint and Google Slides), expanding your ways to utilize our first-rate presentation content. We’ve started with a selection of Canva-ready...

How to print PowerPoint notes

Crafting an impactful PowerPoint slideshow and delivering a captivating presentation are distinct skills. The first focuses on designing appealing visuals to convey a clear message, while the second involves employing effective presentation techniques to ensure the audience grasps the idea. The content of this article will help you with the latter part of this process, guiding future presenters on how to print PowerPoint with speaker notes to enhance your presentations success and effectiveness.

Discover Our Online Presentation Software for Free

We have great news for you today! If you’ve been a Slidesgo fan for years (or months, or weeks, or days, or mere hours, we welcome everyone!), you’ll probably know for now that our templates are available mostly in two formats: for use in Google Slides and PowerPoint.Google Slides is a free tool, since you only need a Google account in order to use it. PowerPoint, on the other hand, is part of the Microsoft Office suite, so it’s not a free program, but that didn’t stop it from being one of the most popular options in the world!What if we...

Webinar: Presentation Audit

With more than 15,000 templates released on Slidesgo and a user base composed of millions of people, we estimate that the total number of presentations created adds up to… um, a lot! Our team of professional designers work very hard to provide you with editable slides so that the only thing you need to do is, well, customize the elements to your liking. Starting from any given template, the results may vary a lot depending on the person who edited the contents.Have you ever wondered “Is my presentation good enough?” and wished that an expert on presentations looked at your template...

• By Illiya Vjestica
• - January 26, 2023

What are the Best Colours for Your PowerPoint presentation?

Choosing the best colours for PowerPoint isn’t as black and white as it seems. Many factors go into picking a powerful palette – involving everything from your audience’s emotions to your talk’s cultural context and, of course, to how your slides look.

Suppose you’re taking it as seriously as you should. In that case, you need to consider all of these when deciding on your colour scheme – as nailing this aspect of your presentation’s design will help you to communicate your message in the most impactful way possible. Interested? Let’s get stuck in.

Complementary colours

It would help to consider contrast when picking two or more colours for your presentation.

Contrasting colours are valuables when it comes to heightening the visual effect of your slides. They’re instantly impactful – reeling your viewers in by drawing their eyes to the screen. Also, they enhance your slides’ other elements – such as any fonts or tables used – increasing their visibility when used correctly. There’s a reason why black is nearly always paired with white and blue with yellow or orange. Together, they create a powerful impression… and it’s all thanks to contrast.

There’s a simple way to discover contrasting colours, and that’s by using a simple colour wheel. With this tool, you can easily see which colours are the opposite of which… helping you to refine your palette and ensure your presentation has colourful clout.

It also helps to follow the 60-30-10 colour rule . It’s generally for interior decorating but can support picking a colour scheme.

What Colours should not be used in PowerPoint?

When choosing colours for your slides, it’s important to create a contrast between the background and the text. I recommend avoiding using light text on a light background.

For example, a yellow background with white text often makes the text difficult to read. Likewise, with yellow text on a white background, it’s challenging to see.

Make sure your presentation content can be seen at the back of the room. You can use a colour contrast checker to ensure you have a strong contrast ratio to ensure your slides will be readable. This will help make your text more readable and provide a clear contrast between the text and background of your slides to enable your audience to follow along easily.

What are the Most Popular Colours for PowerPoint?

Here are some of the best colour combinations in PowerPoint. You can choose to experiment with your own as well.

Red & Black

Black & Yellow

Others include:

Blue & Yellow

Black & White

Orange and blue

Yellow and purple

Black and white

The selection method is slightly different for more complex presentations using three or more contrasting colours (triadic colours, for those who want to know). Pick three equally distanced colours around the colour wheel to choose the best complementary shades. These colours should, again, work beautifully together – providing that perfect contrast you crave.

Popular triadic choices include:

• Orange, green and purple
• Yellow, blue and red

Generally, we wouldn’t advise throwing a fourth colour into the mix – or more, besides. While using bright colours can have a wonderfully eye-catching effect on your PowerPoint slides, using too many at once could make them too “busy” – overloading the audience and detracting from the potential power of the colour combinations you’ve used. Adhere to the cliche “less is more”, and your simple yet striking presentation should speak for itself.

Colour psychology

You’re probably already familiar with the basic principles of colour psychology. Essentially, it’s been said that specific colours have set effects on people – specifically, causing them to feel a particular way. For instance, red is purported to inspire anger, blue to calm, and yellow to feel joy.

While there’s something to be said for this, colour psychology (as many people understand it) isn’t a flawless theory for one big reason: emotions aren’t quantifiable! Therefore, we can’t honestly claim that specific colours create the same feelings in every person – everybody’s different, and shades carry unique meanings for most of us.

You want to tap into your audience’s context of specific colours and other psychological and physical factors that may come into play. This is where the true magic of colour psychology lies. By understanding what influences your audience when it comes to colour – and knowing which colours are paired up with which emotions and responses in their lives – you can design something that sings. For instance, did you know that while, in Western and Japanese culture, the concept of love is associated with the colour red, it’s symbolised by the colour blue in African culture and yellow in Native American?

You can also your colour choice to the theme of your presentation. More on that later.

Know your audience. Get to know what inspires them, and let that influence your palette. It could make all the difference.

Colour symbolism

So, now you know to look into contrasting colours and your audience’s association with them. But we’re missing one major factor: you. What colours reflect you the best?

There are two ways that you can approach figuring this out. The first is straightforward: looking at your brand’s existing design. If you have a strong image already – of which colours will doubtlessly play a role, used on your website, logo and elsewhere – this is where you should start when designing your presentation. After all, these colours are already associated with you, so using them will create a strong link between your PowerPoint and the rest of your materials. Further, use colours so your audience can recognise you more quickly, and your presentation should look more professional. There are a lot of pros.

Option two requires a bit of decision-making. Suppose your brand doesn’t have any firm affiliations to colour already. In that case, you should consider which colours are associated with what in the context of your presentation and overarching brand ethos. Similarly to the colour psychology we’ve discussed, these hues will help you communicate your message clearly (and colourful). Some colour combinations are considered classic. They go together

Some popular colour associations include:

• Green – nature, the environment
• Blue – the ocean, sadness (referred to as “the blues”!)
• Orange – warmth, autumn
• Red – anger, love, energy

So: what are you talking about? Are there any clear colour associations to that topic already? Drill down to the heart of your presentation’s message, and choose the colours that reflect that the most.

One final thing. Once you’ve discovered your “essential” colour – whether that’s the colour that’s most strongly associated with the topic of your presentation or the colour that you’re hoping will have the biggest influence on your audience – make sure to make it the strongest colour on your palette (for instance, the background of your slides). This should ensure it delivers the impact you’re hoping for… levelling up your talk. Perfection.

Over to Hue

We know that we’ve given you a lot to think about, but if you’re ever feeling confused over colour, remember that it all boils down to the following factors:

Your brand + your audience’s colour associations + visual effect = the best palette

Once you’ve nailed this equation, the rest should come quickly. Good luck!

Choosing the right colours is one thing – putting together a presentation your audience will never forget. That’s another. Get in touch with us today to see how we can help your slides shine.

Illiya Vjestica

Share this post:, leave a comment cancel reply.

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Learn to Pick and Create Custom PowerPoint Color Schemes!

Picking your PowerPoint presentation color palette is no easy task! You must look for a color combination that complements each other and calls attention to the presentation’s content without being distracting. Picking a color scheme for your PowerPoint presentation is an art, and takes practice and design knowledge. Luckily, there are many online resources that will help you create and pick your next PowerPoint color palette.

PowerPoint offers some pre-made color palettes you can use when making your presentations. However, it’s difficult to come up with a color scheme on your own when you already have a base color on your mind, or you need something that will go well with your brand’s color scheme.

Quick Color Theory

Using colors is both a science and an art. Professional designers spend their whole careers learning how to best harmonize colors and to create specific visual effects for their audience. However, there are still some quick color theory tips everyone can learn and use.

First things first! The color wheel is your best friend when it comes to picking color schemes for your PowerPoint presentation. The color wheel was first invented by Isaac Newton and has been a basic design tool for centuries. Just like its name says, it organizes color hues around a circle in a way that shows the relationship between primary, secondary, and tertiary colors .

The color wheel is an outstanding tool to consider because it’s an easy way to pick colors that will work well together. For example, colors that are next to each other will make your presentation look harmonious. If you want to create a high-contrast, eye-catching PowerPoint color scheme, then you might want to consider using colors that are on opposite ends of the color wheel.

If this sounds too complicated, don’t worry! Luckily, nowadays there are dozens of different color palette generators. You’ll be able to choose a base color, and it’ll automatically generate a harmonious color scheme for your PowerPoint presentation.

Colors vs Hues

You can mix the colors of the color wheel to create a practically unlimited amount of colors. That’s why professional designers prefer to distinguish between the terms ‘color’ and ‘hue’.

Color is an umbrella or general term that encompasses every hue, tint, tone, or shade we see. Hue, on the other hand, refers to primary, secondary, or tertiary colors. Hue is the ‘family’ to which a specific color belongs to. This essentially means there are 12 hues out of millions of colors.

For example, the color pastel pink’s hue is red. This means that red is the ‘color family’ from which this color comes from. Learning to recognize a color’s hue can help you recreate the color at a later time and easily find colors that are a good match for it.

Tint, Tone, and Shade: What’s the Difference?

Hues form the base of any color mixture out there. The only exception would be black, white, and gray – these are simply referred to as colors and not as hues. Mixing any of these with any other color will help you create different tints, tones, and shades out of a color.

• Tint – when you add white to any hue, the resulting color is called a tint. It’s a paler version of the original hue, and are also called ‘pastel’ colors. Depending on the amount of white added, a tint can range from a slightly pale version of the original color all the way to almost white (negligible amount of base color).
• Tone – when you add gray to any color, the resulting color is called a tone. Gray is a 50-50 mixture of black and white and is considered a neutral color. When added to any color, it tones down the intensity and brightness of the original color.
• Shade – when you add black to any color, the resulting color is called a shade. A shade is the exact opposite of a tint as it turns the original color darker (instead of lighter). A shade can range from slightly darker all the way to almost black.

Warm and Cool Colors

When talking about color theory, it’s important to distinguish between warm and cool colors. For practical purposes, you can divide the color wheel between these two groups:

Warm colors: Magenta, Red, Vermilion, Orange, Amber, Yellow

Cool colors: Purple , Violet, Blue , Teal, Green, Chartreuse

I know that’s quite a list to remember, so here’s a rule of thumb about these two groups. Red, orange and yellow hues, tints, tones, and shades all fall under the WARM category. Purple, blue and green and all their corresponding tints, tones, and shades are all COOL colors.

Warm colors are usually vibrant and are great for conveying joy and energy. Cool colors, on the other side, are more calming, relaxing colors. Deciding on what side of the spectrum you want your presentation color scheme to fall under can do wonders to help you upgrade your slide design .

6 basic tips to work with color in your PowerPoint presentations

The right color scheme can make your presentation a smashing success while the wrong colors can, well, smash it (and your credibility) to pieces. To design a presentation slide deck that looks clean and professional , using the right color scheme is vital.

Hopefully, these 6 practical tips will help you pick more easily a great color scheme for your next presentation!

1. Don’t play it by ear!

Stick to a single color palette. Picking colors at random is a sure way to make a presentation that looks a little bit off. Color palettes are ways to group different colors that are proven to work. For example, monochromatic, complementary, and analogous color palettes.

Go to the next section to learn more about these different types of color palettes and how to apply them to your presentations.

2. Keep in simple

Unless you’re an experienced designer, you want to keep your color scheme simple. Just because you’ve got millions of colors to choose from doesn’t mean you should overthink it.

For beginners, a monochromatic color scheme is a good starting point. You simply can’t go wrong with this scheme because all possible color combinations are going to look good together on your slides. You’re basically just working off of one color and just using various tints, tones, or shades to make your slides look easy on the eyes.

For more advanced designers (who don’t consider themselves experts yet), a maximum of 4 colors is recommended. It will not be easy balancing 4 different colors that most likely belong to both warm and cool color categories. So, you’ve got your job cut out for you. A good rule of thumb to remember is to select a dominant color and just use the rest as supporting or accent colors.

3. Use the tools at your disposal!

You don’t need to do everything on your own. There are hundreds of online resources you can use to make your design process easier, and so goes for working with colors! Online color scheme generators are great if you’re not confident enough in your abilities to create one on your own.

You just have to pick a color, a type of color scheme, and you’ll immediately get other colors that will work well with it. In the next section, you’ll find some of my personal favorites color scheme generators and how to work with each of them.

Also, when working on PowerPoint presentation design, the eyedropper tool is your best friend. When your cursor turns into an eyedropper, just click on the color you want to use and PowerPoint will automatically change the color for you. It’ll not only make your life easier, but it’ll also help you guarantee that you are always working with the right colors.

4. Make sure you’re working with high contrast

Contrast is important in presentation slides. It is a must that your audience is able to read whatever is on your slides. You need to use a color scheme that will make your content stand out. Don’t use light colors for text if your presentations also have a light or white background.

Another word of caution: complementary colors do provide good contrast, but you don’t want to use these in text-based slides. Complementary colors are great for using them in different elements. However, since they belong to opposite extremes in the color wheel, overlapping them can be very grating to the eye! If you want to use bright, complementary colors, a neutral-color background like white, black, or grey will usually be the best option.

5. Follow the 60-30-10 rule

I’ve mentioned earlier in this article that when using 3 or more colors, you want to use 1 main color and the others as secondary or accent colors. Here’s a guideline most designers follow when they use 3 colors:

60% main color – commonly used as background color

30% secondary color – commonly used as shape fill

10% accent color – commonly used in text, borders, and outlines

Note that this is just a guideline. It doesn’t mean you need to strictly follow the 60-30-10 rule, but it’s a good idea nevertheless. If you’re using 4 or more colors, you can follow the same guideline, that is, use the main color in a large percentage of your slides and balance the rest of the colors.

6. Take your business and audience into account

Finally, there’s one last thing to remember when working with colors in presentations. And that is to focus on your brand ! Business presentations are in many ways your introduction card for your audience. It’s the first thing your potential clients and investors will see of you and your company, and it’s an excellent opportunity to make an impression. Keeping your presentation on-brand and making sure it follows your brand identity guidelines is always a great idea.

Your PowerPoint presentation slide design can convey much more than what you might imagine. Take an extra time to ask yourself: What’s your company’s mission and vision? What ideas and values do you want your audience to connect with your brand? Bright warm colors are best for conveying things like creativity, joy, and youthfulness. Cool colors, like blue, black and gray, will rather make your presentation look more sober, sleek, and elegant!

A final tip: You might also want to take into account who your audience is. You want to use colors that will resonate with their beliefs and their values. If you’re trying to persuade a group of highly successful businessmen, you don’t want to use a cartoony shade of yellow as they may not take you seriously. Likewise, you don’t want to use colors you think looks great, but may actually have a more sinister meaning to your audience. Say, for example, the color purple. It may be associated with wealth in many countries, but in Thailand and Brazil, purple represents death or mourning.

Making PowerPoint Color Palettes: 5 proven examples that work!

The first step is to pick what kind of color scheme you want for your PowerPoint presentation. Color schemes, or color palettes, are colors that have been grouped together as they work very well for graphic design. There are certain techniques to guarantee that two colors work well together. For example, choosing from exact opposites in the color wheel.

Here you’ll find 5 proven color schemes that will work every time, plus examples on how to use them in your PowerPoint presentation!

#1. Monochromatic PowerPoint Color Scheme

Monochromatic color palettes are easy to use because you use a single color hue. The only thing you need to do is to pick a base color (for example, blue) and add keep adding white, grey, or black in order to change it. Adding white will create different tints of blue. If you add grey, then you’ll get different kinds of tones . And if you add black, you’ll be creating different shades of your picked color.

Using a monochromatic color scheme in your PowerPoint is very easy. All the tints, tones, and shades will naturally work well with each other since they all come from the same color hue.

#2. Complementary PowerPoint Color Palette

If you’re looking for a high-contrast PowerPoint color scheme, then a complementary palette might be the one for you! Complementary colors are those that lay on exact opposite extremes of the color wheel. Each color has its exact opposite. For example, red and green, or blue and orange. These are colors that work well together, even if at first glance they have nothing in common.

Many brands use complementary colors because they make for bright and lively combinations, great to catch your audience’s attention from the get-go. However, complementary colors are best used in moderation. If you pick a color for a background, and its complementary pair for text, it’s probably going to be too bright and distracting. But complementary colors work great for details over a neutral background to give life and energy to your presentation.

#3. Analogous PowerPoint Color Scheme

If you want a colorful PowerPoint color scheme, but a complementary palette is too bright and bold for your tastes, analogous colors are the way to go! An analogous color scheme consists of three colors that are one next to each other in the color wheel. This makes for a really balanced and harmonious color scheme. PowerPoint presentations with this kind of color palette will probably look very relaxed and easy in the eyes.

#4. Triadic PowerPoint Color Palette

If you draw an equilateral triangle in a color wheel, the combination you’ll get is a triadic color scheme. This type of combination is great for lively combinations that are not as hard in the abrasive as a complementary one. A perfect example of this is the Burger King logo!

If you wish to use this kind of color scheme in PowerPoint, is best to pick one as your main color. Then you can use the other 2 triadic colors for details and extra elements to make them pop.

#5. Tetradic PowerPoint Color Palette

Finally, a tetradic color scheme is another bold and vibrant option. Is perfect for colorful presentations, and to highlight your creative and playful side. You’ll get a tetradic color palette by drawing a rectangle on your color wheel. Just like with the triadic color schemes for PowerPoint presentations, is better is you pick just once color as your main one, and keep the other as support.

3 Amazing Free PowerPoint Color Schemes Generators

There are many different online tools for creating color combinations. Here you’ll find some of the most popular ones that are also completely free and available online. All of these are perfect for creating an amazing PowerPoint color scheme that will fit your tastes and needs.

1. Adobe Color Wheel

This color scheme generator is amazing if you need various color options! According to your color base and setting preferences, it’ll offer you a 5 color-palette for your PowerPoint presentation. So if, for example, you pick a triadic color scheme, you’ll get 2 extra options that are still aligned with it.

It’s perfect for creating PowerPoint color schemes, as it’s very easy to use. You just need to manually drag the pointer within the color wheel until you find your base color of choice. On the left side, you’ll find all the color scheme options. And below the color wheel, you have the option to change the color codes (see next section). If you know the color code of your color base, you can also add it manually!

2. Paletton

Paletton is another great option for creating PowerPoint color schemes for your next presentation. Just like Adobe’s Color Wheel, you just need to drag the pointer across the color wheel to pick your base color. The best thing about Paletton is that it has a double color wheel. The outer color wheel has all the traditional color hues. And the inner one will allow you to pick more neatly the specific tint, grey, or shade you want of that color. It’s truly a lifesaver when looking for PowerPoint color schemes!

Above the color wheel, you’ll find the options for monochromatic, analogous, triadic, and tetradic palettes. To get the codes to use your color scheme in PowerPoint, there is the Tables/Export option. This will give you the color names in both Hex and RGB codes. If you already know the base color you’ll be using, you can add it manually in Hex code in the lower left side of the color wheel.

This one doesn’t have a color wheel, but it’s still a very interesting option for creating PowerPoint color schemes. This website creates random color palettes, which is great is you don’t have something specific in mind. The Generate button will automatically give you amazing color schemes, according to your determine settings. You can change between these (monochromatic, analogous, complementary, etc.) in the More option > Generate method . You can also pick the Explore option to see popular and trendy palettes!

But more importantly, the best feature Coolors offers is that you can create a color palette from a photo. Pick the camera option to upload or search for any image you like. Once it’s uploaded, click on the image’s colors to create your own customized palette!

You can also copy the hex code of your palette directly into your clipboard, which makes it really easy to use for creating a PowerPoint color scheme!

How to add a Customized PowerPoint Color Palette

Great! Now you have your perfect palette. But you have to add it as a PowerPoint color scheme. This might seem complicated at first, but it’s actually pretty easy, and once you’ve done, the color theme will be there, ready for you to use. This way, you won’t have to worry about looking color by color afterward!

Go to the Design ribbon > Variants section > More . Hover over Colors and you’ll get all the default PowerPoint color themes. Go to the end and click the Customize colors… options.

A “Create New Theme Colors” Window will appear. This is where you create your customized PowerPoint color scheme! Add all the colors you need to the Accent categories by clicking on each one’s arrow and selecting the More colors… option.

In the new “ Colors ” window you’ll get, add the color code of the PowerPoint color scheme you’ve come with thanks to the generators. For example, this beautiful rose-tones color palette from Coolors.

Once you copy-and-paste the hex code of each color into each accent category, you just need to name your custom PowerPoint color scheme! Save it, and next time you open the Colors option in the Design tab, you’ll see your custom-made PowerPoint color palettes.

Custom PowerPoint Design

Hopefully, these color scheme generators and quick tutorials will help you to do better and more personalized PowerPoint presentations. Design can be pretty tricky, so using a color palette can definitely make your life a little easier.

PowerPoint presentations play a huge role in what your audience’s first impression of you is going to be. You can use your PowerPoint design to convey a specific message or highlight your brand’s image. A good PowerPoint can help you not only as a visual aid for your information, but also to showcase creativity, professionalism, playfulness, trustworthiness, and so on!

However, making a good PowerPoint presentation takes time and effort. Just look at all these steps in order to get a nice, custom PowerPoint color scheme. If you want to forget about everything PowerPoint and still get amazing results, check out our professional PowerPoint design service ! Our designers here at 24Slides will make sure that you receive a presentation that will impress your audience, showcases your information, and conveys your brand essence.

Don’t believe it? You can try it for just $1 . Send our designers any slide you want, and you can be sure you’ll receive back a complete masterpiece!

Create professional presentations online

Other people also read

9 Ideas For Your Next PowerPoint Presentation

10 Ways to Make Academic Presentations More Interesting

10 Tips to Make Your PowerPoint Presentation Effective

• Documentation

How to Choose Background and Text Colors for PowerPoint Presentation

Colors play an important role in enhancing the visual appeal of your slides and conveying information. However, with countless color options available, it can be overwhelming to make the right choices.

In this blog post, we’ll explore the art of selecting the perfect background and text colors for your PowerPoint presentations. It will ensure they leave a lasting impact on your audience. 

Learn practical tips and insights to make your presentations visually appealing. We’ll also cover color psychology and how to match backgrounds with text. It’s a step-by-step guide to improving your presentation skills.

Get ready to make your slides stand out with our expert advice!

Importance Of Color Choices 

Colors significantly impact how we perceive and understand information in presentations. The psychological effects of colors play a crucial role in influencing our emotions. Knowing the significance of color choices can make presentations more effective and interesting. 

Certain colors evoke specific emotions and feelings. For example, warm colors such as red and orange energize and grab attention, making them ideal for highlighting important points. At the same time, cool colors like green have a calming effect and can be useful for conveying a sense of trust and stability.

Color contrast is also essential for improving comprehension. High contrast between background and text colors enhances readability, ensuring the information is easily absorbed. 

However, some color combinations can hinder comprehension. Using low-contrast colors, like light gray text on a white background, can strain the eyes and make the content difficult to read. It’s important to strike the right balance to ensure that your audience can effortlessly grasp the message you want to convey.

The importance of color choices in presentations cannot be overstated. When you understand the psychological effects of colors and use high-contrast combinations, you can create visually appealing slides that effectively convey your message to your audience.

Effective Background Colors

• Blue : Known for cultivating a sense of trust, calmness, and professionalism. Blue is widely used in business and educational presentations. Its versatility makes it suitable for various contexts, from corporate meetings to academic settings.
• Purple : Purple is usually associated with creativity and imagination. Also, it can add sophistication to your slides. It is a great choice for presentations related to art, design, and innovative concepts. It also represents royalty, wisdom, spirituality, and mystery.
• Green : Green symbolizes growth, harmony, and nature. It is perfect for presentations about sustainability, health, and environmental topics. It helps create a positive and refreshing atmosphere, making it suitable for inspiring and motivating your audience.
• White : A classic and timeless option, white backgrounds provide a clean and minimalist look, drawing attention to the content. It is excellent for professional settings, formal presentations, and showcasing visuals.
• Gray : Often used as a neutral backdrop, gray complements other colors and prevents distractions. It can add a touch of formality to your presentation, making it suitable for business reports and data-heavy slides.

Remember, it’s important to consider your presentation’s context and content. Make sure there is enough contrast between the background and text colors. Only then can people read it easily.

Also, consider how different colors might make your audience feel. Choose colors that match the mood and goal of your presentation.

Text Colors For Maximum Impact 

Contrast is key when selecting text colors. One of the most common mistakes in color selection for presentation slides is a need for more contrast between the background and text colors. If you want the audience to see the text on the screen, it must be a high-contrast color with the background. As a result, the text appears to float above the background rather than blend in with it.

Using lighter text colors like white, light gray, or pastel shades for a dark background creates a striking contrast that makes the text pop. This high contrast ensures clear visibility of the content and prevents eye strain. It’s particularly useful when presenting in dimly lit rooms or on large screens.

Conversely, darker text colors like black, dark blue, or deep brown for a light background create a sharp contrast that enhances readability. The dark text stands out vividly against the bright background, making it easy for the audience to follow the presentation, even from a distance.

Remember, the goal is to ensure that the text is readable without causing any discomfort to the audience. Maintaining a strong contrast between text and background can effectively convey your message and keep your audience engaged throughout the presentation.

Common Mistakes In Color Choice 

Red and Green- Using red and green together can be tough for color-blind people. Many people need help telling these colors apart, leading to confusion and misunderstandings.

Another mistake is using too many bright and clashing colors. It can make the presentation look messy and unprofessional. Also, using text and background colors that need more contrast can make it hard for everyone to read the content. 

To avoid these pitfalls:

• Consider using color combinations easily distinguishable by individuals with color blindness.
• Opt for high-contrast colors for text and background to enhance readability.
• Use a color palette with limited colors that complements the presentation’s theme and maintains consistency.

Test your color choices on different devices and screens to ensure they appear as intended. By being mindful of color choices and their potential impact, you can create visually appealing presentations that effectively communicate your message to all viewers.

Color Schemes For Professional Presentations

• Grey and Yellow : Grey represents neutrality and sophistication, while yellow symbolizes energy and optimism. They create a balanced and modern look suitable for business and corporate presentations.
• Blue and White : Blue is widely associated with trust, reliability, and professionalism, making it a popular choice for business settings. White complements blue, providing a clean and minimalist backdrop that enhances readability. This combination exudes a sense of clarity and authority, making it suitable for formal presentations and reports.

Using professional color combinations makes the presentation look nice and put together. It shows that the presenter is skilled and trustworthy, which helps build a good impression with the audience. Also, these colors are easy on the eyes so that the audience can focus on the content without problems.

The Role Of Color Psychology in Presentations 

Understanding the fundamental concepts of color psychology allows you to strategically use colors to deliver your message and impact your audience.

Warm colors grab the audience’s attention and emphasize essential points in the presentation. For example, highlighting key statistics or impactful quotes in red can draw the eye and make the information stand out.

Conversely, cool colors like blue, green, and purple are often used in professional settings to convey a sense of reliability and credibility. 

Neutral colors, like gray and white, can be used as background colors to enhance readability. Combining neutral colors with bolder accents can create an elegant and professional look.

Colors have a strong effect on how people feel and think. Companies pick colors that match their personality for logos and ads. Using these colors in presentations can help people recognize the brand. People remember the message better. By knowing how colors make us feel, presenters can use them wisely to get the audience’s attention. 

Customizing Your Presentation’s Color Scheme 

Step 1: Launch PowerPoint and open the presentation you want to customize.

Step 2: Tap on the “Design” tab at the top of the screen. It will display various design options.

Step 3: Select “Customize Colors…” from the drop-down menu to open the ‘Create New Theme Colors’ box.

Step 4: Choose the colors you want for your slide by clicking the color button next to the item. Select a new color from the pull-down menu if you want to change it.

Step 5: The Colors dialog box’s Standard tab displays a total of 127 colors, as well as white, black, and various shades of gray. Tap the Custom tab to use a color that doesn’t appear in the dialog box.

Step 6: Click Reset to start again using the colors you used when you first started.

Step 7: To save your customized color palette, enter a name in the Name area below and tap Save. The palette you saved gets added to the pull-down menu’s Colors gallery.

By following the above steps, you can customize the color scheme of your PowerPoint presentation.

Start Working On Your PowerPoint Background And Text Colors

We must consider the importance of background and text colors in PowerPoint presentations. Selecting the right color schemes can impact the audience’s perception and engagement. 

Aim for high contrast between text and background to ensure readability. And avoid potential pitfalls that may hinder comprehension. Professional color schemes, like gray and yellow, can elevate the presentation’s impact. It creates a polished and cohesive visual experience.

By making thoughtful color choices, presenters can craft attractive PowerPoint presentations. These well-designed visuals communicate their message, fostering better understanding.  The strategic use of colors makes the presentation impactful, leaving a lasting impression on viewers.

Sign up to download

Recent blogs.

Struggling to fill your open teaching position with a qualified and passionate educator? You’re not alone. But what if there were targeted online spaces teeming with talented teachers eager for the right opportunity? In this blog post, we will drive you to 10 amazing teacher job boards for employers you can use to find capable…  Read More » 10 Best Teacher Job Boards For Employers

Imagine a world where job seekers have everything they need in one place. No more hopping between websites or spending hours searching for the perfect opportunity. That’s the power of a job aggregator – a platform that gathers job postings from all over the web and presents them in a user-friendly way. If you’ve ever…  Read More » A Quick Look At How to Build a Job Aggregator

In the fast-paced world of recruitment, efficiency is key. Job wrapping is a technological innovation that streamlines the process of advertising open positions. It essentially automates the transfer of job postings from a company’s career website to various online job boards. This proves beneficial for both employers and job boards. For employers, job wrapping eliminates…  Read More » What is Job Wrapping? Detailed Guide

Recruitment Blogs

Reach out to us.

Newly Launched - World's Most Advanced AI Powered Platform to Generate Stunning Presentations that are Editable in PowerPoint

Researched by Consultants from Top-Tier Management Companies

Powerpoint Templates

Icon Bundle

Kpi Dashboard

Professional

Business Plans

Swot Analysis

Gantt Chart

Business Proposal

Marketing Plan

Project Management

Business Case

Business Model

Cyber Security

Business PPT

Digital Marketing

Digital Transformation

Human Resources

Product Management

Artificial Intelligence

Company Profile

Acknowledgement PPT

PPT Presentation

Reports Brochures

One Page Pitch

Interview PPT

All Categories

9 Beautiful Color Palettes for Designing Powerful PowerPoint Slides

Anuj Malhotra

Color is fascinating. It is stimulating. It is like the universe itself- Infinite.

No matter how much you read on colors and their meanings, color theories, color wheel and types of color schemes , importance of color in design and what not, it still appears fresh and enlightening. Such is the power of colors- it makes you hungry for more knowledge, more thinking, more feeling and literally more hungry if you use warm colors like the exciting yellow and orange at an eating place. Even more romantic: just recall the abundance of colors and the romantic energy they evoked in La La Land!

Source- YouTube

So when we say, “Color plays an important role in design”, it is actually an understatement. It plays a huge role. It evokes a range of emotions, helps our eye navigate smoothly across the design, and sets the tone for the overall message you want to convey.

Unfortunately, as much as colors and their combinations are put to a wonderful use in web design and graphic design, they are grossly neglected in the presentation business. Half of the presentations are still reminiscent of stone age- dot points and essays thrown on white slide. The other half uses the safe blue (nothing wrong in that as blue represents professionalism) but all the time blue, seriously? Audience begins to feel blue.

P.S. Did you know Blue is the world’s favorite color ! It is! But I can place a bet of million dollars (not that I have it) that it is not the above blue. This is PowerPoint’s default color when you insert a shape or SmartArt.

It’s time to get creative while using colors in presentation slides! Forget about your brand colors if they are not exciting. Change them too. We desperately need to use this powerful design element and nonverbal communication tool to bring our presentations to life! But how?

We have done the hard work and found 9 awesome color palettes that would work wonders for presentations. Many are a beautiful combination of warm and cool colors (warm colors being red, yellow and orange that seem to approach us while cool colors being violet, blue and green that appear to recede from us). Also sharing the inspiration behind these color palettes. Let’s devour them one by one:

Also Read : A Super-Fast Guide to Business Plan Templates

9 Creative Color Combinations You Can Steal for Your Slides

Color palette #1- powerfully memorable (red and grey).

This color palette comprises basically 2 colors- red and grey and shades of them. This high contrast color scheme is applicable to all types of presentations, especially where you need to pitch your products or services. Red adds energy to the content and the slide, while grey grounds the slide, makes it look professional and lets red be the centre of attraction.

Red is also a great color for a brand since it signifies warmth, confidence and energy. Being such a memorable, emotionally intense color and having high visibility, it boosts brand recognition, and hence, is an integral part of bold color palettes. Here’s the color palette for you:

Download this Color Palette

We have also provided the darker variations of each color (called as Shades in color terminology) and lighter versions (called tint) in case you need to highlight or tone down a certain color based on your requirements and company branding.

P.S. To use such color palettes, simply save them and use the Eyedropper tool from the Color menu in PowerPoint:

If you want the exact color code in case you are using an older version of PowerPoint, you’ll have to manually enter the RGB color values for each hue. Simply click the More Colors… option given above the Eyedropper option and manually enter these values:

• Color 1- Red (Red- 224, Green- 69, Blue- 86)
• Color 2- Dark Red (Red- 43, Green- 21, Blue- 21)
• Color 3- Grey (Red- 242, Green- 242, Blue- 242)
• Color 4- Dark Grey (Red- 127, Green- 127, Blue- 127)

Inspiration Behind this Color Palette:

DDB Canada created a heartfelt campaign for The Historica Dominion Institute and in support of The Memory Project to pay tribute to its soldiers on 11/11/11. The sombre grey and lots of white space evokes the vacuum caused by the absence of those soldiers. The use of a single bright color- red- creates a dramatic effect and evokes awe in the viewers. Here’s the brilliant print ad:

Source- bestadsontv.com- The Historica-Dominion Institute: Remember 11/11/11

Do not draw the meaning that this combination is for special occasions. Every presentation is special for you. You want your message to be remembered. So use light grey as background and red in the foreground to highlight the most important phrase, icon..basically the core of that slide. Here’s a real estate PPT slide that applies such color palettes beautifully:

Also notice how dark grey has been used for text instead of the standard black. It creates a harmonious look and feel, and the slide overall looks creative and professional at the same time.

Give a Red-Carpet Look with this Color Scheme:

When following color palettes, you can switch the background and foreground colors- red as background and white or light grey as foreground. That will give a red-carpet look to your presentation:

Presentation Rule To Remember: Have High Contrast for Easy Readability

By and large, this rule will save you from making color disasters:

• Light Background Colors- Dark Foreground
• Dark Background Colors- Light Foreground

There was another color in the color scheme- dark red, almost resembling brown which is a very masculine color. You can use that too where you need to use color other than red; as we did in the slide below:

Alternatively, we could replace the serious dark red with the happy bright red in the above slide and use a shade of grey for the remaining 28% as we do not want to highlight that portion. We want to highlight 82% and since red is a perfect accent color (accent colors are colors used for emphasis); let’s use the same:

Which slide would perform better? Tell us later when you are done with this article; let’s move on to our second color palette:

Color Palette #2- Vibrant and Young (Plum, Orange, Teal & Grey)

Why do presentations have to look “old”? Why have they become synonymous with draining life out of audience? Too much text. Check. Bad design and layout. Check. Devoid of color or dull colors. Check, check. Well, for those who cannot chop off content due to some reason and have limited design and layout knowledge, we published an article on 15 Ways To Turn A Very Text-Heavy, Bullet-Ridden Slide Into Amazing! For the last problem i.e. dull colors, we are publishing this article. This color scheme (comprising plum, orange, teal and grey) screams young and is in no way less professional than any other color scheme:

Grab this Color Palette

Color codes for the hues:

• Color 1- Plum (Red- 184, Green- 13, Blue- 72)
• Color 2- Orange (Red- 242, Green- 151, Blue- 36)
• Color 3- Dark Teal (Red- 43, Green- 106, Blue- 108)
• Color 4- Dark Grey (Red- 64, Green- 64, Blue- 64)

The beauty herself and icon of the young generation- Emma Watson- stuns in a color-oozing ad by Lancôme, owned by L'oreal. She is the brand ambassador of Lancôme and her vibrance is matched by the beautiful spring colors in the ad below which you would have surely looked even before reading all this text.

Courtesy: Lancôme

Warm orange, seductive plum, innocent pink, mysterious dark teal- the above ad has all the face-turning colors. Doesn’t look relevant to presentations? That’s what I thought too before I extracted the colors and applied it to my slides. Boy, they look so vibrant!

The dark grey adds a professional touch while the plum and orange colors inject interest into the slide. Plum, very similar to purple, is a rich color that is associated with royalty and romance. Orange is the color of joy and creativity while Teal is the color of sophistication, confidence and serenity. If you feel combining these colors is creating a color riot, just choose any 2 contrasting colors from this palette and make your slides rock like these:

Color plays a very important role of grouping elements here. The reader can easily read the content alternatively as the process goes, or read the dark teal group and orange group separately. A picture will form in his head and if asked to recall the process later, he will remember the color blocks and quickly recall the content too.

The color palettes you choose depend on your preferences totally. That said, try using the brightest color sparingly or else it would overwhelm the audience and overpower everything. In the slide below, we reserved the plum color for the title alone:

Have you ever seen any Human Resource presentation so vibrant before? I never had. Let’s move to color palette 3:

Color Palette #3- Retro Rocks (Dark Blue, Tan & Green)

As conflicting as it may sound, your presentations can look old but it has to be stylishly old! Yes, I mean retro. Who doesn’t like the retro look and feel whether it is fashion, art or presentations for that matter. Here’s a color palette (comprising dark blue, tan and green colors) to give that retro vibe to your presentations!

Download this Color Scheme

Here’s the color code for each hue:

• Color 1- Dark Blue (Red- 4, Green- 37, Blue- 58)
• Color 2- Tan (Red- 225, Green- 221, Blue- 191)
• Color 3- Green (Red- 76, Green- 131, Blue- 122)

“Home is wherever you park.” A beautiful vintage poster I came across on the web immediately caught my attention thanks to its classic and nostalgic color scheme.

It’s dreamy quality comes from the dark blue sky, the green ground and the moon and the stars. The best color palettes mirror real life- they are relatable and thus more “human”. Since Dark Blue signifies power and knowledge, it is a perfect color for corporate presentations. Let’s apply it to our slides and see how it looks:

The slide looks a poster, doesn’t it! What better do you want. Each PowerPoint slide should be worthy of sharing on social media networks like Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and LinkedIn. Since the look is so classic, your presentations also get the timeless look and feel. Here’s another presentation slide that is so poster-ish and larger than life:

Color Palette #4- Dominating Duo (Teal & Red)

This brings two of my favorite design colors together- Teal and Red. Color experts, interior designers and graphic designers can’t get enough of Teal. It is trendy and unique- neither blue nor green. It appears as if it has been discovered only recently, especially where presentations are concerned. I see Teal dominating infographics but can’t recall even one in presentations!  

Teal, as we said before, signifies trustworthiness, serenity and reliability. Complementing it and conflicting it is the energetic and sexy red. Use the lighter version of Teal which is Aqua as your slide background and you have a soothing, calm effect while red grabs the audience eyeballs.

Use the Eyedropper tool to extract these colors or apply the following color code:

• Color 1- Aqua (Red- 131, Green- 211, Blue- 212)
• Color 2- Dark Teal (Red- 45, Green- 129, Blue- 131)
• Color 3- Dark Red (Red- 145, Green- 12, Blue- 7)
• Color 4- Orange (Red- 244, Green- 129, Blue- 83)

A movie poster. Didn’t know my search for comedy movies would land me to the colorful and lively movie poster of Nacho Libre . The red flowing cape is understood and nothing out of the box but the hero’s teal tights surely caught my attention. Red looks all the more ravishing thanks to the ample teal in the background. Have you watched this movie? If you judge a book by its cover and correspondingly a movie by its poster, then the movie surely appears interesting.

Well, presentation mostly is not a comedy affair or a showbiz. But like any other visual communication, it has to attract audience attention and sustain it. Let’s replicate this color combination in our presentation slides and see how it looks:

The font is awesome but even an ordinary italic font in bold red could hardly go unnoticed. The darker shades of teal and red add mystery to the look and feel making one curious to see what comes next. This scheme is great for your Title slide and Section Header slides.

If you are using images in your text slides like in the one below, you can use just one color since the image already contains its own colors and adding teal and red would make the slide look busy. So you can use shades of teal and create a beautiful slide like the one below:

Color Palette #5- Authoritative Punch (Dark Green & Tan)

It’s said that age also influences your color preferences. Probably, the audience of your presentation is not the millennials but the investors and C-suite executives. You do not want to risk using orange and reds and appear non-serious. You want to look dead-serious and super-professional. Blue is a safe choice as I said. However, color palettes like this comprising 2 colors- Tan and Dark Green- are a better alternative and makes your slides look different from others:

Use this Color Palette Template

• Color 1- Dark Green (Red- 42, Green- 50, Blue- 46)
• Color 2- Tan (Red- 216, Green- 203, Blue- 187)
• Color 3- Blue-Gray (Red- 33, Green- 36, Blue- 39)
• Color 4- Brown (Red- 141, Green- 128, Blue- 111)

We have all searched for breathtaking wallpapers for our laptops and phones. What makes them breathtaking? Amazing landscape and colors. Here’s one such wallpaper I found on Pixabay. It is magical and mysterious. The forest dark green evokes awe, especially when it is surrounded by plenty of white space and light colors.

Let’s apply this color scheme to a serious presentation topic such as Customer Relationship Management:

Since dark green is an established army color as it camouflages with surroundings, you can leverage this association to your advantage. Use shades of green and tan in the slides that follow and give an authoritative look and feel to your presentation:

Color Palette #6- Crystal Clear (Turquoise, Teal & Blue)

If you have been using sky blue in your presentations, you can continue doing that. It is a refreshing and calming color that instantly brings to mind images of sky and sea. Also want to add a touch of sophistication to your presentations? Choose the Turquoise color instead. It is a combination of pale blue and green and brings to mind the turquoise gemstone.

Like blue, it is also refreshing and calming and symbolizes depth, stability and wisdom. More importantly, it’s crystal clarity signifies open communication, healing and emotional stability. A shade of turquoise is Teal that we used a little while back along with red. A lighter version of turquoise is aqua which when contrasted with white looks all the more pure and relaxing.

Color palettes like this one however puts turquoise against its darker shades like dark blue, teal and green to add authority, wisdom and sophistication to your presentation.

Grab this Beautiful Color Scheme

• Color 1- Turquoise (Red- 39, Green- 195, Blue- 243)
• Color 2- Dark Teal (Red- 12, Green- 113, Blue- 133)
• Color 3- Dark Teal (Red- 5, Green- 112, Blue- 145)
• Color 4- Dark Blue (Red- 3, Green- 52, Blue- 83)
• Color 4- Black (Red- 0, Green- 0, Blue- 0)

One can watch marine life for ages. The colorful beings inhabiting the crystal clear waters are a treat to watch. So, when I stumbled upon this BBC One documentary on tiny Japanese fish “pufferfish” designing a sculpture on the seabed, I was awestruck. It proved useful for my color palettes inspiration too. Here’s the cute fish:

Source- Youtube (BBC One Documentary)

Imagine this is as the background for your presentation- Lovely! The fish’s piercing black eye, dark blue shadow, the specks of green on its tail and skin wonderfully complement to create this natural color scheme. Let’s steal it for our PowerPoint presentation:

White looks the perfect contrasting color for blue. But the Teal color lends more power to the word “grow”. Of course, the typography also plays its part in reinforcing the message. By the way, if you want to add typography to your skill arsenal, do check out these 11 Typography Tweaks And Text Effects To Spice Up Your Presentation Content .

There is a lot of blue in this color palette but it won’t make anyone feel the blues. Take a look at this business slide to adapt to the right color palettes:

Color Palette #7- It’s American-ish (Red & Blue)

Fourth of July is around the corner. So why not use a color palette inspired by it.

There’s a reason America adopted red and blue along with white for its national flag. Red symbolizes courage and sacrifice, blue symbolizes vigilance and justice while white represented innocence and purity. The beloved American superheroes wear their patriotic colors with pride. See Spiderman's suit- red and blue. What about Superman and WonderWoman! Their traditional outfits too had dominantly red and blue combination.

That does not mean you have to be an American to use the color palette that we are sharing. We are using a totally different variation of red and blue. So use the following color palette without any hesitation:

Download this Dynamic Color Palette

RGB values for each hue:

• Color 1- Rose (Red- 255, Green- 86, Blue- 87)
• Color 2- Dark Teal (Red- 55, Green- 108, Blue- 138)
• Color 3- Light Orange (Red- 242, Green- 217, Blue- 187)
• Color 4- Blue-Grey (Red- 99, Green- 143, Blue- 169)

Never knew surfing on Facebook during office hours could also be productive. A video on my timeline “7 Signs You Are Perfect For Each Other” by FilterCopy got me glued with its beautiful color scheme.

Let’s apply this dynamic color scheme to our slides. Here is a slide which looks bold and powerful. There is a beautiful balance of masculinity and femininity too with dark blue and soft red.

White is a perfect contrasting color for easy readability, whether you take red and white combination or blue and white. Blue on red doesn’t look bad either. It scores a little less on readability as compared to white but if font size is not too small, you can carry off red and blue together with style like in the slide below:

Color Palette #8- Opposite Attraction (Blue & Yellow)

Opposites attract. So let’s take 2 opposite color forces- one that is attention-grabbing and one that is conservative. One that represents summer and the other winter. Yellow and blue. A warm and cool color in one single slide gives you the perfect balance- the youthful energy and the professional touch.

Use this Color Palette

Color 1- Dark Blue (Red- 2, Green- 81, Blue- 150)

Color 2- Orange/Mustard (Red- 253, Green- 179, Blue- 56)

Inspiration Behind This Color Palette:

A newsletter from an online shopping portal in my inbox coaxing me to shop for Father’s Day definitely convinced me (to steal the color palette for this article). It was perfect for the occasion as blue is considered the color of men and yellow calls for celebration.

So, if you love using blue for your presentations, please do. But try yellow or mustard this time as in the color palette and breathe life into your corporate presentations! Yellow is also the color of innovation; so we felt the color palette was perfect for this slide:

The yellow used here is not the bright yellow or the bright orange that professionals detest using. It is soft orange or mustard that does not look childish from any angle. Use shades of blue and yellow to avoid making the slides look too colorful. Notice how dark blue has been used for human face instead of a new color:

Color Palette 9- Down to Earth vs. Royal (Brown & Gold vs. Dark Purple)

How about using earthy colors for our presentation that gives an impression we are grounded in our roots! Earth tone color schemes include combination of browns and tans. The soil, clay, dirt and rocks give us neutral colors that can be used to give a down-to-earth look to our presentation. Here’s such a scheme that contains all the neutral colors except one- dark purple that is a color of royalty:

Grab this Color Scheme

According to your choice of color palettes, here are the values to get the exact hue:

• Color 1- Gold (Red- 254, Green- 174, Blue- 2)
• Color 2- Brown (Red- 110, Green- 54, Blue- 42)
• Color 3- Light Yellow (Red- 241, Green- 226, Blue- 160)
• Color 4- Dark Purple (Red- 32, Green- 12, Blue- 37)

An image of a yellow excavator on a construction site on Pixabay had all the feel-good earthy colors. You could also extract the sky blue color from this image although it is mostly covered by yellowish clouds. Wonder where we got the purple from? See the excavator’s shadow and the front portion where vehicle number is displayed:

Source: Pixabay

Let’s take the first 2 colors from such color palettes and apply this to a presentation slide- golden background and brown foreground. The gold color adds spark and prestige to the slide while the masculine brown gives power to the content:

Now, let’s apply the last 2 colors from this palette- pale yellow and dark purple. It’s a high contrast scheme and gives a royal look and feel to the slide. Let’s use the pale yellow as the background on the same slide and replace brown with purple. Which looks better?

Want to make your presentation look more royal and sophisticated? Use purple as the presentation background and use the soft yellow for your content, shapes and icons:

That’s all we had to share on color palettes with you for today. As we said in the beginning, color combinations can be infinite. Hope you exploit the power and psychology of color palettes to inject vitality into your PowerPoint presentations and other designs!

And hey, which color palette(s) did you like the most? Please give us your valuable feedback in the comments below. And if you found the article useful, spread the word. Here’s a pre-populated tweet to get you started:

Tweet This Post To Your Followers

Related posts:.

• 19 Colors from Pantone 2000-2018 Color of the Year [Design Inspiration]
• Shape Lives with Top 25 PowerPoint Backgrounds for School
• [Updated 2023] 25 Best Aviation PowerPoint Templates for the Air Transport Industry
• [Updated 2023] Top 10 Sales and Marketing Google Slides Templates for Sure Shot Business Success

Liked this blog? Please recommend us

31 thoughts on “9 Beautiful Color Palettes for Designing Powerful PowerPoint Slides”

This form is protected by reCAPTCHA - the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Digital revolution powerpoint presentation slides

Sales funnel results presentation layouts

3d men joinning circular jigsaw puzzles ppt graphics icons

Business Strategic Planning Template For Organizations Powerpoint Presentation Slides

Future plan powerpoint template slide

Project Management Team Powerpoint Presentation Slides

Brand marketing powerpoint presentation slides

Launching a new service powerpoint presentation with slides go to market

Agenda powerpoint slide show

Four key metrics donut chart with percentage

Engineering and technology ppt inspiration example introduction continuous process improvement

Meet our team representing in circular format

Best PowerPoint Color Palettes and Color Themes for Presentations in 2024

This article is about PowerPoint color palettes and color themes. It is well known that a good color palette can completely change how your presentation looks. But if you’re someone who doesn’t have the time to pick out color palettes, and experiment, then don’t worry. This article will help you out. Here are some of our top picks of the best PowerPoint color themes that can transform your presentations from average to all the rage!

Psst… if you want the TLDR version of this article check out our Insta post (and follow us for more such posts):

View this post on Instagram A post shared by SlideBazaar | PowerPoint Templates (@slidebazaar)

Also, check out PowerPoint background , animated PowerPoint background , and confetti animation PowerPoint for a visually impressive touch.

Table of contents

Dark background and light text​ – red and black, blue, yellow and white color theme​, blue and white color palette, dark duotone gradient and light color combination, orange and white color theme, black and green color palette, blue – green gradient color scheme.

Here are the color codes for you to copy and paste: #292929 , #E33737 and #CCCBCB and here’s what a template made with that color scheme looks like:

This PowerPoint color theme gives your presentation a very sleek and stylish look. If you design your slide well, you’ll have a beautiful presentation that is legible, engaging and impactful. Red and black go really well together, and combining them with grey or white, gives your slides a professional touch. Feel free to copy the color codes try them out on your slides. You can also speed up the process by simply downloading the above template and then customizing it to your needs, which barely takes a few minutes.

Why and when to use this color scheme?​

• Black and white is a sophisticated color combination but when combined with a contrasting and striking accent color, the overall deck will look sleek, stylish, and engaging.​
• The color red is chosen as the accent color here due to its effect of getting the audience excited about an idea. Moreover this color prompts the user to take quick actions, hence this color can be used to highlight areas which need to be quickly acted upon.​
• Use this accent color to call attention to specific phrases or points which require more focus.

Here are the color codes: #21325E , #F1D00A , and #F0F0F0 . This is what a PowerPoint presentation with that color scheme would look like:

This color scheme for PowerPoint gives your presentations a very refined, professional look. The combination of the three colors, navy blue, yellow, and white looks really good. This type of PowerPoint color palette is perfect for corporate presentations. Try it out today by using the color codes, or by using the PowerPoint template above.

Why and when to use this particular color scheme? ​

• For a lively presentation that also serves the purpose of being executive, a combination of navy blue, yellow and white colors work well.​
• The color yellow is an attention grabber and should be used in small doses to highlight important facts, dates, statistics, etc.​
• These decks will be useful in presenting business reports of start-up brands or other budding companies.

The color codes are #113F67 ​, #226597 ​, and #F3F9FB . Here’s what those colors would look like in a PowerPoint presentation.​

This is yet another PowerPoint color palette that’s perfect for professional presentations. Blue and white is a very common color pattern, often used in business presentations. It’s fairly simple to use, and can really beautify your presentation. Download the template above to get started.

Why and when to use this particular color scheme?

• One of the most commonly used color schemes in PowerPoint, especially by various business corporations for their presentations, this colour scheme is a no-nonsense choice and can be powerful when used effectively.
• According to color psychology, this blue exudes traits like loyalty and trust, hence this theme can be used while presenting company profiles or business plans.
• Tech businesses and start-up brands also go with templates with this chromatic pattern for their presentations.

The color codes are: #C00000 – #113F67 and #FFFFFF . Here’s what your presentation will look like with this color scheme:

This particular PowerPoint color palette gives your presentations a modern, even futuristic vibe, depending on how you use it. Personally I am not a fan of gradient colors, but if executed well like in this template above, it can look absolutely gorgeous. So if you’re interested in this color palette for your next presentation, download this template and customize it to your needs.

• Duotones gradient themes are in trend right now due to the modern vibe it gives off.
• Using gradients in PowerPoint backgrounds are more beneficial in accommodating contrasting hues without going over the top.
• These colors create a strong impression yet makes the overall presentation look legible and comprehensive. Balance the colors well while creating the deck without making the gradient overpowering for the eyes.

The color codes are #F96D00 , #F2F2F2 , and #222831 and here’s what a PowerPoint slide would look like with that color theme:

This beautiful PowerPoint color palette consists of a combination of orange, white and black. You can make some amazing slide designs with these colors, I mean just look at the slides above! Orange is a great color to use since it’s not a very common color you see in presentations. Your presentation will definitely stand out, and be engaging with this color scheme.

• Orange is deemed to be a color which stimulates our creative juices. To mellow down the bright hue, it is paired with white and black.
• If the end goal is to try something new or engage in creative activities, orange color focused template should be used for your presentation.
• Usually used in informal scenarios, this is apt for educational purposes mostly, or for group activities.

The color codes are #191A19 , #4E9F3D – #1E5128 , and #FFFFFF . Here’s a PowerPoint template with the color scheme:

This PowerPoint color palette is great for technology related presentations. It is already giving me low-key matrix vibes. You can also use this color scheme for finance related presentations.

• This color combination is mainly seen while presenting topics related to gaming, technology, and other futuristic elements. Alternatively, they are also useful in presenting finance reports when used in balance with white.
• Green encourages participation of audience when used with the right color pair. For interactive queries or sessions, use this color theme.

The color codes are #4F98CA – #50D890 , and #FFFFFF . Here’s what a PowerPoint presentation would look like with this color scheme:

Another color scheme for PowerPoint which is great for corporate and business related presentations. The colors are mild, and are pleasing to the eyes. It’s a great theme if you want a simple design for your presentation.

• Blue-Green gradient is another favorite theme among corporates and tech related brands while creating presentations.
• This color scheme is pleasant to the eyes, and is efficient in delivering calculated messages when combined with black color text.
• While being presented on a screen, these colors ensure that the audience doesn’t get lethargic, and makes it easier to process.

There you go, some of our top picks for the best PowerPoint color palette for your presentations! We hope this article was helpful, and you’re able to create stunning presentations with it. We’ll be updating this article with more color schemes, and templates, so make sure you bookmark this page and come back later! Until next time, cheers!

At SlideBazaar, we help you create engaging and memorable presentations. Choose from our collection of professional templates or opt for our custom design services for a personalized touch. Your presentations deserve to be elevated to new heights, and we’re here to help you achieve just that!

BROWSE BY CATEGORY

• PowerPoint Templates
• Keynote Presentations
• Infographic
• Free slides

QUICK LINKS

• Frequently Asked Questions
• Terms & Conditions
• Privacy Policy
• DMCA Policy

EMAIL NEWSLETTER

Get updates of our PowerPoint templates and slide designs before anyone else.

• Tips & Tricks
• PowerPoint Templates
• Training Programs
• Free E-Courses

Using The Right Colors In Powerpoint Presentations

Home   >  Presentation Design > Colors in PowerPoint

In this article you will learn the art of using colors effectively. By understanding the significance of colors and where to use them, you can make your message more impactful and memorable.

Select a color theme for your presentation

What is the purpose of colors in PowerPoint slides? 

Contrary to popular belief, colors serve a far more critical function than just making your slides look attractive. They can help you highlight a critical point, make your slide deck look consistent, convey emotions, and ultimately make your message more effective. By using the right colors, you can create a visual hierarchy that guides your audience's attention to the most important information on your slides. For example, using a bold, contrasting color for your call-to-action can help it stand out and encourage your audience to take action. Colors can also be used to evoke emotions and set the tone for your presentation.  Mastering the use of colors in your PowerPoint presentations can make a significant difference in how your message is received.

Watch the video below to learn...

3 Ways to Choose Colors in PowerPoint

How to Use Your Company Colors as Color Theme

You can pick the exact color of your Company logo  using free software or the PowerPoint Eye Dropper Tool. Watch the video below to know more.

How to find custom color palettes

If you are looking to find a beautiful color palette to use in your presentation, please check the video below for a great resource:

The meaning behind different colors

The colors you choose can evoke emotions and influence your audience's perception of your content. In the rest of this article, we will explore the significance of common colors used in presentations and where to use them for maximum impact.

Download 10 Free PowerPoint Title Sets Click here to sign up & Download ALL 10 PowerPoint templates showcased below for free.

The Power of Red:

Red is a color that exudes excitement and energy. It inspires action and motivates people to take charge. 

Take a look at the following PowerPoint title templates:

Free Red PowerPoint Title Template

Free Red PowerPoint Title Template 2

When to use Red:

Use red when you want your audience to take action. It's perfect for sales presentations where you want your audience to sign on the dotted line or project presentations where you want to encourage your team to meet deadlines. Red is a powerful color that can drive results.

However, it's important to use red in moderation as it also signifies danger. In finance presentations, for example, it's best to use red sparingly.

The Calming Effect of Blue:

Blue is a color that signifies professionalism, trust, and credibility. It's no wonder that most business presentations use a blue theme. When used correctly, blue can create a sense of calmness and reassurance in your audience.

Take a look at these blue themed title templates:

Download Free Blue Color PowerPoint Template

When to use Blue:

Use blue as a base color when you want to inspire trust and credibility in your audience. If your presentation is about your company's values and tradition, blue should be your color of choice. Blue is also an excellent option for finance presentations and investor presentations.

Exuding Warmth With Orange:

Free PowerPoint Background with Orange Colors

The color orange is known to evoke feelings of warmth and happiness. It's like a bright and sunny day that fills us with positive energy and joy. So, if you want to bring cheer to your presentations, consider using orange as your background color.

Orange PowerPoint Title Template for Free Download

When to use orange

It's important to use the color orange wisely. While it's perfect for presentations aimed at youth or children, it may not be suitable for serious settings. But, if you're looking to raise funds for a good cause or announce a happy initiative for your staff, orange can convey care and warmth.

Shades of Versatile Green:

Green is a versatile color that represents nature, novelty, abundance, and cheerfulness. 

Green PowerPoint Nature Title Template

When to use green

It's a natural choice for presentations about health or ecology, and it can also convey hope in finance presentations.

Free Green Lines PowerPoint Title Set

However, it's worth noting that people with color blindness may find it difficult to read green and red combinations. So, be mindful of your audience and choose your colors wisely.

The Classy Purple:

Purple has long been associated with royalty, class, and exclusivity. Yet, it's not a color that's commonly used in corporate presentations. By incorporating purple into your design, you can convey a sense of luxury, richness, and style that will set your presentation apart.

Free PowerPoint Title Set - Purple

When to use Purple:

Financial institutions often use purple to convey exclusivity. It is a great choice for brochures and other marketing materials. When used in the background of your presentation, purple can add a touch of dignity and sophistication that will impress your audience.

The Allure of Black:

Black is a color that evokes a sense of strength, sophistication, and conservatism. It's a versatile color that pairs well with most other colors, making it a popular choice for designers looking to add richness to their designs.

Free Black Color PowerPoint Title Template

When to use black

In presentations, black is often used as a background color to highlight product packaging or other key elements. Because it's the absence of color, black can make other colors appear brighter and more vibrant.

It goes well with most colors and hence used by most designers to add richness to their designs.

Choosing the Right Colors:

When it comes to selecting the right colors for your presentation, it's important to experiment and find the combination that works best for your message. If you're unsure, stick to white backgrounds with a few design elements to break up the monotony. Remember, the colors you choose can have a significant impact on how your message is received. By incorporating the right color into your design, you can create a presentation that's memorable, impactful, and professional.

Return to Top of  Colors in PowerPoint Page

Return to main  Presentation Design Page

Share these tips & tutorials, get 25 creative powerpoint ideas mini course &  members-only tips & offers. sign up for free below:.

7 Things To Keep In Mind When Selecting The Best Colors For Your Presentation

• By Judhajit Sen
• May 8, 2024

The impact of colors on slide presentations is profound. Colors don’t just about make slides look pretty; they influence how your audience feels and understands your message. Different colors evoke various emotions and associations. For instance, red can express urgency or danger, while blue can evoke calmness and trust.

Choosing the right colors is crucial. For instance, a pitch to new clients might need exciting colors to energize them, while a presentation to long-standing investors might require stable and reassuring hues.

Professionalism is key. Amateurish presentations can tarnish your image. Your slides should match your professionalism, making color selection vital.

But it’s not just about aesthetics; it’s about conveying information effectively. High contrast between background and text aids readability, while low contrast can hinder comprehension. Striking the right balance ensures your audience grasps your message effortlessly.

Color choice impacts perception. It aids retention and enhances visual appeal, making your presentation memorable. Whether you’re restricted by brand colors or have the freedom to choose, picking the right palette is essential for success. So, ensure your color scheme reflects your message and captivates your audience, setting the tone for your presentation’s success.

Key Takeaways

• Branding : Incorporate your company’s color palette to maintain brand identity and convey a consistent message.
• Readability and Contrast : Prioritize high contrast between foreground and background colors for optimal device readability.
• The 60-30-10 Rule : Balance dominant, secondary, and accent colors using this straightforward guideline for harmonized color proportions.
• Color Psychology : Understand how colors evoke emotions and perceptions to convey your message strategically.
• Color Groups : Differentiate between warm and cool colors to avoid mixing across groups and prevent visual discomfort.
• Color Schemes : Choose color combinations that suit your audience and setting, prioritizing readability and consistency.
• The Color Wheel : Utilize this tool to grasp color relationships and categories, guiding your selection process for cohesive presentations.

Seven Things to Remember When Selecting the Best Colors for Your Next Presentation

Incorporating branding elements into presentations is vital for conveying a consistent message. Start with your company’s color palette, ensuring it complements the logo and brand colors. This cohesion reinforces brand recognition without overpowering the message. For instance, HubSpot subtly integrates its signature orange across presentation slides, maintaining brand identity without overt logos.

Even with predefined templates, understanding color selection remains crucial. You may need to choose colors for visuals to ensure text clarity, enhancing comprehension within brand guidelines.

Colors wield psychological influence, shaping perceptions and emotions, thus becoming integral to branding and marketing strategies.

Consistency reinforces professionalism. Use consistent color schemes, fonts, and layouts throughout presentations to strengthen your message, identity, and credibility. Aligning with brand colors fosters trust and familiarity, which is essential for audience engagement and recognition . Whether using predefined palettes or online tools, maintaining brand-aligned consistency enhances presentation effectiveness.

Readability and Contrast

Creating slides with optimal readability and contrast is crucial for effective communication. When choosing colors, prioritize high contrast between foreground graphics or text and the background to ensure clarity and visibility. This contrast not only enhances readability but also aids individuals with color blindness in distinguishing content.

Using light and dark contrasts within color groups, such as black text on a white background or white text on a navy background, enhances text visibility and readability. Avoid color combinations that strain the eyes or lack sufficient contrast, like neon green text on a dark background.

Incorporating neutral colors, such as gray or white, as background shades can further enhance readability and professionalism. Whether using dark or light backgrounds, ensure text colors contrast sharply for maximum impact.

Before finalizing your presentation, test your color choices for readability, accessibility, and compatibility across different devices and screens. Utilize contrast checker tools to measure contrast ratios and color blindness simulators to assess accessibility. By prioritizing readability and contrast, you can create visually engaging slides that effectively convey your message to all viewers.

The 60-30-10 Rule

The 60-30-10 rule is a straightforward guide for harmonizing colors in your slides. It advises using 60% of a dominant color, 30% secondary color, and 10% of an accent color. The dominant color serves as the backdrop or main hue. The secondary color complements or contrasts with the dominant one. The accent color adds emphasis to crucial elements like headings or graphs.

To apply this rule effectively, consider the rule of thirds. This principle advocates for distributing color proportions to create balance and visual interest. By allocating 60% to the dominant color, 30% to the secondary, and 10% to the accent, you establish hierarchy and contrast without overwhelming your audience. For instance, you might employ a light background (60%), dark text (30%), and vibrant highlights (10%) to achieve this balance.

Color Psychology

Understanding color psychology is essential when creating presentation slides. Colors evoke emotions and perceptions, influencing how your audience interprets your message. Different colors carry distinct meanings and associations, impacting your presentation’s overall mood and reception.

For instance, red signifies passion and urgency, while blue conveys trust and professionalism. Warm colors like red and orange grab attention, making them suitable for highlighting important points, while cool colors like green evoke a sense of trust and stability.

Cultural upbringing, brand exposure, and personal experiences influence individuals’ emotional responses to colors. Therefore, while color meanings provide guidance, they aren’t absolute. It’s crucial to consider your audience’s context when selecting colors for your slides.

Color psychology plays a crucial role in marketing and branding. It aligns colors with brand identity and messaging to evoke desired emotions and perceptions. By strategically using colors that resonate with your message and audience, you can enhance the effectiveness and impact of your presentation.

Color Groups

Colors can be divided into two main groups: warm and cool colors. Warm colors include reds, oranges, and yellows, which tend to stand out and attract attention. On the other hand, cool colors encompass greens, blues, and purples, which recede into the background and draw less attention.

It’s advisable to avoid mixing colors from these groups as they can create unpleasant contrasts. For instance, red text on a blue background or green text against an orange background can strain the eyes and make reading difficult.

Creating a color palette using colors from the same group is beneficial when designing presentation slides. For example, a combination of blue, purple, and gray blends harmoniously without competing for attention.

While warm and cool colors generally have distinct effects, they may vary depending on quantity and contrast. For instance, small black shapes on a white background may appear more noticeable due to the contrast, emphasizing the importance of considering these factors when combining colors on slides.

Neutral colors like white, black, and beige complement warm and cool colors and serve as versatile options for backgrounds or accents. However, caution should be exercised when crossing the warm/cool boundary, as mixing colors across these groups can lead to visual discomfort, especially for individuals with color blindness.

Utilizing PowerPoint themes can simplify color combinations, as theme colors are curated to complement each other and perform well in various presentation environments. By understanding color groups and their effects, presenters can create visually appealing slides that effectively convey their message while avoiding visual distractions and discomfort for the audience.

Color Schemes

A color scheme in presentations is a collection of colors that work well together, creating a pleasing and unified appearance. You can easily find suitable color palettes using online tools, or you can start with your logo or brand colors and build from there.

Professional presentations often use specific color combinations, such as gray and yellow or blue and white. These combos are seen as professional because they balance sophistication with energy and optimism or trustworthiness with clarity and authority, making them perfect for business settings.

Consider your presentation screen when choosing colors. Darker schemes suit close-up screens, while lighter ones are better for projections to ensure readability. Avoid bright colors, especially red text on projectors, as they wash out easily.

When choosing colors, think about your audience and setting. Neutral colors like blue, gray, and white are great for professional presentations, while brighter ones like yellow or green might work better for creative or educational topics. Always prioritize readability and avoid jarring color combinations.

Stick to your chosen color scheme throughout the presentation for consistency. Limit yourself to three or four colors to maintain cohesion and avoid distractions. Ensure enough contrast between text/graphics and the background for clarity.

The Color Wheel

The color wheel is a potent tool for understanding color relationships and categories. It features three primary colors (red, yellow, and blue) , three secondary colors (orange, green, and purple) , and six tertiary colors (like red-orange or yellow-green) . This wheel helps in creating diverse color schemes for presentations.

Isaac Newton, at the age of 23, invented the color wheel. He realized how colors, perceived by humans, blend to form captivating combinations. His categorization included:

1. Primary Colors : Red, yellow, blue 2. Secondary Colors : Orange, green, violet (formed by mixing primary colors) 3. Tertiary Colors : Colors like red-orange or blue-violet (resulting from mixing primary and secondary colors)

Understanding the color wheel involves recognizing warm colors (reds, oranges, yellows) and cool colors (blues, greens, violets). Warm colors evoke feelings of energy and brightness, while cool colors suggest calmness and serenity.

Three fundamental color combinations are essential:

1. Complementary Color Combinations : Colors opposite each other on the wheel create high contrast and catch attention. 2. Analogous Color Combinations : Colors adjacent on the wheel, offering balance with one color dominating the foreground and the other as the background. 3. Triadic Color Combinations : These vibrant and harmonious colors evenly spaced on the wheel form a dynamic contrast. Creating a triangle on the wheel reveals these three colors.

Selecting the Perfect Palette: Best Color Choices for Your Presentation

Choosing the right colors for your presentation is more than just making it visually appealing. It’s about conveying your message effectively and creating a lasting impression on your audience. From branding alignment to readability and psychological impact, here are seven essential considerations when selecting colors for your next presentation.

1. Branding : Ensure your color choices align with your brand identity to reinforce recognition and trust.

2. Readability and Contrast : Prioritize high contrast for readability and accessibility across different devices and screens.

3. The 60-30-10 Rule : Harmonize colors using this simple guide for balanced color proportions.

4. Color Psychology : Understand how colors influence emotions and perceptions to evoke the desired response from your audience.

5. Color Groups : Differentiate between warm and cool colors and use them strategically to create harmony and avoid visual discomfort.

6. Color Schemes : Explore various color combinations, considering your audience and setting, to maintain consistency and enhance readability.

7. The Color Wheel : Use this powerful tool to grasp color relationships and categories, guiding your selection process for cohesive and engaging presentations.

By mastering these fundamental principles, you can craft presentations that mesmerize your audience and convey your message.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1. How do colors impact presentations? Colors play a significant role in presentations, influencing the audience’s emotions and understanding. They can evoke various feelings and associations; for instance, red can convey urgency, while blue instills calmness and trust.

2. Why is choosing the right color important? Selecting suitable colors is crucial as they reflect professionalism and enhance message clarity. Different presentations require different color tones; for example, vibrant hues may energize new clients, while stable shades reassure long-term investors.

3. How can I ensure my presentation looks professional? Maintaining professionalism in presentations is vital for a positive image. Matching color schemes to your brand’s identity fosters consistency and credibility, reflecting your expertise.

4. What role does readability play in color selection? Readability is essential for effective communication. Optimal contrast between text and background aids clarity, ensuring your message is easily understood. Consistency in color usage enhances readability and professionalism throughout the presentation.

Enhance Your Presentation with Perfect Colors

Are you struggling to find the right colors for your presentations? Let Prezentium , the AI-powered business presentation service provider, be your guide. With our expertise in visual design and data science, we offer three specialized services tailored to your needs:

1. Overnight Presentations : Send us your requirements by 5:30 pm PST, and wake up to a stellar presentation delivered to your inbox by 9:30 am PST the next business day.

2. Prezentation Specialist : Our team of experts transforms your ideas and meeting minutes into captivating presentations. We also assist in creating new designs and templates.

3. Zenith Learning : Join our interactive communication workshops and training programs, combining structured problem-solving with visual storytelling for maximum impact.

Harness the power of color psychology and strategic color selection to elevate your presentations. Whether you need to align with your brand, prioritize readability and contrast, or master the 60-30-10 rule, Prezentium has you covered.

Don’t miss the opportunity to captivate your audience and leave a lasting impression. Contact Prezentium today and take your presentations to the next level!

Why wait? Avail a complimentary 1-on-1 session with our presentation expert. See how other enterprise leaders are creating impactful presentations with us.

A Comprehensive Guide to Crafting a 30 60 90 Day Sales Plan

12 ice breakers for presentations to help you succeed, a comprehensive guide to formal vs. informal presentations.

Unsupported browser

This site was designed for modern browsers and tested with Internet Explorer version 10 and later.

It may not look or work correctly on your browser.

• Communication

25 Best PowerPoint Color Scheme Templates for 2024 Presentations (Free Downloads)

What's one way to make your presentation more interesting? Answer: by choosing an exciting PowerPoint color palette.

"I am a believer that color affects people's moods." - Lily Pulitzer

We live in a colorful world. But many PowerPoint presentations lack the vibrant colors that get attention. Your PPT color theme is important.

This tutorial shows you the best PowerPoint color themes. You'll see complementary colors that work together. Your presentation will look good and build your confidence. You’ll benefit from expert designers and studio-quality PPT color palettes.

Sure, you'll see free colorful PowerPoint templates in this article. You'll also see great premium options for PPT color theme. Get the best combination of cost and color with these low-cost colorful PowerPoint templates.

The Top Source for Premium Colorful PowerPoint Templates (With Unlimited Downloads)

We've included free colorful PowerPoint templates later on in this tutorial. But first check out our premium templates. They offer a much more complete solution for your presentation color palette needs.

Envato Elements offers unlimited access to thousands of Premium PowerPoint templates including colorful PowerPoint templates! One flat rate gives you unlimited access. This deal is hard to beat!

Elements unlocks the best PowerPoint color schemes in templates. It also gives you access to other assets like graphics, background music, and illustrations. It's the perfect combination with colorful PowerPoint templates.

Need colorful PowerPoint templates but not ready to subscribe? No worries, we've got you covered. With Envato Market, source low-cost color wheel PowerPoint templates . You don't have to choose between cost and professional design thanks to Envato Market.

Read on to see five of the best colorful PowerPoint templates.

5 Premium Options For PowerPoint Templates With Bright Colors in 2024

Want to see what our favorite marketplaces have to offer? Let's look at five PowerPoint templates with presentation color palettes for PPT that are sure to garner attention: 

1. Fancy - Colorful PowerPoint Template

This color palette for PPT features dozens of bright pastel slides. This pack delivers the best presentation colors available anywhere. Flexible slides adapt quickly to all types of content. Plus, every design element is entirely customizable, giving you total creative control. 

2.  Color Multipurpose Presentation

The name speaks for itself. A color palette for PPT like this serves up beautifully illustrated slides at every turn. Drag-and-drop placeholders make adding your images and videos a breeze. The colors are simple to change up right inside of PowerPoint.

3. Color FUN - PowerPoint

Are you looking for fun, colorful PowerPoint templates? Need over 50 slides with custom icons and infographics? That’s exactly what the Color FUN PowerPoint offers, all inside a simple and easy-to-use slide deck.

The bright and vibrant colors in this template work beautifully together. This template would work well for a young startup that wants to present a bold brand.

4.  Qitcher - Color Geometry PowerPoint Template

Qitcher is the perfect marriage of vibrant tones and geometric shapes. The combined effect is fresh, modern, and unforgettable. Qitcher is one of the most versatile and best PowerPoint color scheme templates out there. It has 43 custom slides, maps, charts, and mockups,

Here’s another template that would work well with creative presentations. The purple is the main color. Then you can use the orange for main calls to action and balance the whole palette with the subtle pink and yellow tones.

5. Colors - PowerPoint Template

Using PowerPoint templates with bright colors helps you add contrast and visual interest to your slides. Contrast is the name of the game here, with a plethora of slides sharing five color palettes for PPT. No free offering could ever match this one.

This palette gives off a polished and professional look. It’s a great choice for corporate presentations thanks to its analogous color scheme.

25 Top Free Color Schemes PowerPoint PPT Templates to Download for 2024

The web is a deep place with many free templates, and we've got a shortcut to show you great options. Envato gives out free premium files every month. These links often include free colorful PowerPoint templates with a built-in color palette for PPT.

Here's what you should check out:

Every month Envato Elements offers 12 different hand-selected files, (fonts, presentations, videos, and more). Create a free account to download  this month's free premium files  now.

Or try Envato Market for free. They offer seven handpicked monthly freebies. Log in with your Envato Market account to get  this month's handpicked premium freebies . 

If those two links don't have what you need, then check out all the free colorful PowerPoint templates below. While we recommend using the premium options for color wheel PowerPoint templates, sometimes your budget must  be zero. Here are 25 usable options:

1.  Psychedelic Vibrant

Psychedelic tones characterize this set of free colorful PowerPoint templates. An abstract style is used throughout the basic set of slide designs. It’s an option if you need to build bright and straightforward slides.

2. Exclusive Free PowerPoint Template

An array of colors form the PowerPoint color schemes templates found here. Twenty-five slides are included, which you can customize inside the app.

3. Free Colorful PowerPoint Background

Neon rainbow tones are the driving force behind this PowerPoint template color palette. You’re able to choose between standard and widescreen layouts to fit your screen size.

4. Creative Studio PowerPoint Templates

Your business can use colorful PowerPoint templates too, with this blue, pink, and purple layout as one slide deck example.

5. Bold Presentation Template / 3 Color Schemes

Bright hues and shades are often the best presentation color palettes because they keep audiences focused. With three layouts, these free colorful PowerPoint templates are an option if you need more palettes. Sixty-eight slides are included.

6. Hume Presentation Template

Hume uses colorful circles in shades of red, orange, yellow, and green. With PowerPoint, you can change those to better fit your specific wishes.

7. Colorful Product Roadmap Timeline

The Colorful Product Road Map Timeline is a bright status tracker layout that you can tailor to your own project needs.

8. Free Colorful PowerPoint Template

This color palette for PPT has individual pixels that span the full spectrum. These color wheel PowerPoint templates are available for personal or business presentation projects.

9. Free Golden PowerPoint Template

This presentation color palette helps you illustrate growth, prosperity, and success. In this template, gold is the featured color throughout.

10. Punaca Free PowerPoint Template

Punaca is an abstract set of free colorful PowerPoint templates. They leave design power in your hands. The PPT’s built-in editing features let your create a custom presentation color palette. The included colors and illustrations make this one a choice for younger audiences.

11. Noor PowerPoint Template

You'll find shades of blue, green, black, and purple with this PowerPoint color palette generator. Over 140 slides can be found inside the download.

12. Gradient Colorful PowerPoint Templates

Gradient colors are useful backdrops for many slides. This PowerPoint template color palette features pink, yellow, green, and blue.

13. Teal Banded Presentation (Widescreen)

This free colorful teal PPT slide template is optimized for widescreen displays. This is a standard presentation that can be used for all types of topics.

14. Silvia Presentation Template

Orange, peach, and red tones are the default colors in the Silvia Presentation Template. This color palette for PPT allows you to customize those while retaining the illustrated design.

15. Dumaine Free Presentation Template

The best presentation color palettes are generally those that stand out. The dark backdrop and bright tones in Dumaine are available.  Capitalize on this in your next project. Basic text and image placeholders are included.

16. Colorful Florals PowerPoint Templates

Flowers are often associated with sunny colors, and this template features them heavily. The illustrations have a hand-drawn look and feature funky, almost retro shades.

17. Business Market Free Presentation Template

White, black, and orange make up this PowerPoint template color palette. It's optimized for business use but fully editable in PPT.

18. Surrey Presentation Template

Green and blue elements form this collection of colorful PowerPoint templates and layouts. Gradient colors and custom icons place this pack on the modern end of the design spectrum. 

19. Free Color Splash PowerPoint Template

The blue and orange color splashes here look like bright 3D inkblots. There's space included for your text and images around the sides.

20. Svage Presentation

This color palette for PPT contains retro tinted shades throughout. . Thirty-five slide layouts are included. The color tones look great without being too distracting.

21. Colorful World PowerPoint Templates

Color wheel PowerPoint templates like this place color pixels on a sphere. Picture a disco ball with every color of the rainbow. That is what this template features with its colors.

22. Colorful Leaves PowerPoint Templates

This color palette for PPT uses leaves in a variety of colors to border every slide.

23. EleveAds - Presentation

The bold contrasts in this presentation color palette allow content to stand out. Especially when paired with your text, photos, and more. EleveAds does it through heavy use of tinted overlays.

24. Tybalt Free Presentation Template

These PowerPoint templates include bright colors such as magenta and pink. These colors help illustrate slides with a watercolor appearance.

25. Vertical Colorful Bars PowerPoint Template

The name says it all. This PowerPoint color scheme template makes use of colorful bars that resemble a vertical rainbow. Add your text boxes and photos to build custom slides with it. If you’re undecided on a specific color shade to use, this one is an option to use several at once.

How to Customize a Premium PowerPoint Template In 5 Easy Steps

Once you've got your PowerPoint template, it’s time to customize it. This customization makes it match your presentation’s topic and your branding. For the purposes of this tutorial, I’ll be using the premium Nexia PowerPoint template from Envato Elements. 

Let's get started:

1. Customize Your Title Slide

Let’s start by customizing the title slide of your PPT template. Start by double-clicking the text and then press CTRL+A to select the placeholder text. Delete it and enter the title of your presentation. 

Don’t forget to add an engaging photo by double-clicking the image placeholder. Select the photo from your computer and press Insert and your beautiful title slide is done! 

2. Add Your Content

The next step is to add the content of your presentation. All you've got to do is double-click the text, delete it, and then type in or paste your presentation contents. 

As you’re adding your content, feel free to delete the slides you don’t want. Also, duplicate the slides that have a layout you like. To delete or duplicate a slide, right-click on it and then press Delete Slide or Duplicate Slide .  

3. Make Use of Icons

A great way to customize your presentation is to make use of icons. Most premium PowerPoint templates come with custom icons that you can add anywhere in your presentation. To do this, scroll all the way down to the icon slides and choose an appropriate icon. Press CTRL+C to copy it and then use CTRL+V to paste it on any of your presentation slides.

4. Add Your Photos

To add photos to your presentation, double-click the placeholder. Locate the image on your computer and press Insert . Then, repeat this process for every slide that uses an image. 

5. Customize Fonts and Colors

Finally, don’t forget to customize the fonts and colors used in your presentation. You can choose a new font from the dropdown menu on the home tab when you select the text on a slide. To change colors, right-click on a colored area and select Format Shape . Click on Fill > Solid Fill and choose a new color.

Top 5 Tips for Creating Color Palette for PPT

Are you ready to start adding color to your presentation? These five tips about PPT color palettes can help:

1. Rotate Colors

To bring your presentation to life, change the background color of your slides. This creates a more colorful presentation and makes it more eye-catching. Try alternating background colors that are in your color palette every slide. 

2. Partial Color Blocking

Filling in the entire background with a single color works well. But you can also block out part of the slide.

Take the single colored background and have it cover a half or a third of the slide. You can have it cover either vertically or horizontally. This works great when you have images to include next to the color blocked background. 

3. Keep It Simple

When you use a lot of color in your presentations, you'll want to keep the other elements simple. The colorful design already adds a great deal of interest. Bogging your slide down with too many images or text can make your design seem crowded.

4. Include Isolated Images

Isolated images are images that contain only a single person or item. When layered over the top of a colored background, you create a professional look to your slides.

5. Match Image Colors With Background

A great way to add a professional touch to your presentations is to use images that use the same color as your background. This creates a more unified design and looks more visually appealing. 

Let's now have a look at five on trend color schemes for PPT color themes.

5 On-Trend Color Schemes for PowerPoint PPT Presentation in 2024

We’ve explored a wide variety of top (free and premium) colorful PowerPoint templates. They’re the ideal starting point for your next project. 

To build winning slide decks, you need to embrace the top trending best presentation color palettes in 2024. Read on to explore five popular options:

1. Go Easy on the Eyes With Colorful Backgrounds

Let’s face it: many presentations aren’t easy on the eyes. Small fonts overlay blinding bright backgrounds. In 2024, that’s not okay anymore. Not only are those slides bland, but they’re also tough to look at hour after hour. 

By using dark colorful backdrops, you instantly introduce new style and boost readability. Your audiences will thank you and reward you with more attention.

2. Call Out Hyperlinks With Highlights

Sometimes it pays to link your audience to other sites for more details on your presentation topics. But left alone, an ungainly blue URL ruins the aesthetic of even the best-designed slides. 

Luckily, that’s easy to fix. With just a few clicks, customize the color (and title!) of all your hyperlinks, making them seamlessly merge with any slide design. Learn more and get started here: 

3. Add More Content by Contrasting

It’s commonly thought that the amount of content on a slide should be kept to a minimum. That’s usually true. But if you need to pack in a bit extra, color is a great way to do it. 

By using contrasting colors, it’s easy to call out content elements. This allows for more detailed slides that stay visually appealing and uncluttered.

4. Bring Data to Life With Colorful Charts

Merely talking through numbers doesn’t cut it in 2024. Audiences demand (and expect) clear and concise visuals. By adding colorful charts to your deck, bring your data to life in a flash. 

You can use color to illustrate differences and key points in the data. All these changes are simple right inside PowerPoint. Ready to build colorful charts of your own? We've got a full tutorial ready to help:

5. Go Retro and Create Timeless Designs

Retro colors are trending in 2024 as  they deliver timeless style year after year. They’re popular with audiences of all ages, and with templates, they’re easy to add to your projects. 

Retro colors are warm, helping to add soft contrast to your text and images. They look great on-screen, and seemingly never fall out of favor.

Discover More Top Microsoft PowerPoint Template Designs

You've already seen many color wheel mock-ups of PowerPoint templates. But that's only the beginning of the world of PowerPoint templates! We keep the best premium templates posted in our guide, Microsoft PowerPoint Templates (Ultimate Guide to the Best PPT) .

Here are three of the top template articles. Many of them include selections of colorful PowerPoint templates. Use these extra PowerPoint color schemes to streamline your design work:

5 Benefits of Using the Premium PowerPoint Presentation Templates With Colorful Designs

Are you still wondering if a premium PowerPoint template is the best choice for you? Why use a premium template when there are dozens of free templates available online. 

Here are five reasons to use a premium PPT template for your next presentation in 2024:

It saves you time . Premade PowerPoint color schemes templates already have the design taken care. The slide layouts are built for you. All you've got to do is add your details to the placeholder text and photos. 

The finished slide deck has a polished look . Premium templates were made by professional designers. You can rest assured that the finished slide deck will have the best possible design. 

Plenty of slide and content ideas . Wondering what to include in your presentation? Look to your premium template for content and slide ideas! You’ll find tons of suggestions and content that every slide deck should include.

They’re easy to customize . Premium templates have professional designs, but you can still customize the slides. Change colors, use a different font, drop in your photos, add icons. There are plenty of ways to add your personal details to your PowerPoint template. 

The presentation stands out . Most slide decks have a plain design or use the default templates from Microsoft Office. Premium color PowerPoint templates help your presentation stand out. 

Benefits of Envato Elements (The Power of Unlimited Use)

Envato Elements is a unique service. For a flat-rate monthly subscription , you’ll get access to thousands of great PowerPoint templates and other design elements. 

Sign up for Envato Elements. Access and download thousands of unlimited use designs and templates. You'll get access to colorful PowerPoint presentation templates, stock photos, and much more. Envato Elements has it all for one low price. 

Common PowerPoint Questions Answered (FAQ)

The best PowerPoint templates will help you create a standout presentation. But you might still be wondering if PowerPoint is the right choice for your presentation. Here we’ve gathered the most common questions about PowerPoint to provide you with answers: 

1. Is PowerPoint Better Than Keynote or Google Slides?

All three programs are a great choice to create your next presentation. The answer to this question depends on your personal preference and the program you’re most familiar with. 

Keynote is often used by people who want a simple program. Google Slides is typically used if you want to easily collaborate with others. 

PowerPoint is typically used in more corporate settings. We've got a detailed comparison guide that you can use to decide which program would work better for you:

2. What Types of Presentations Can I Make With PowerPoint?

PowerPoint is a great choice for any type of presentation. Use it for school presentations, corporate presentations, webinar slide decks, and more. 

3. Can I Download PowerPoint for Free?

PowerPoint can't be downloaded for free. But there's a free online version of PowerPoint that you can use if you’re on a tight budget:

4. Can I Share PowerPoint Presentations With Others?

Yes, you can! It’s easy to do via a sharing link, inviting people to collaborate with you or sending a copy of the presentation:

5. Which Fonts Should I Use In PowerPoint?

Your presentation should be easy to read even for participants that are far away from the screen. That’s why some fonts are better suited for presentations than others.

For example, script or decorative fonts aren’t easy to read so shouldn’t be used. Sans-serif fonts make a great choice as well as some serif fonts. Learn more about which fonts to use in our detailed guide below:

Learn More About Making Great PowerPoint Presentations in 2024

Know what goes great with the best presentation colors? More knowledge that helps you work with PowerPoint templates with bright colors. In our guide,  How to Use PowerPoint (Ultimate Tutorial Guide) , we've got a complete set of tutorials to master the app.

Here are three of our favorites. Combine them with PowerPoint template color palette selections to create an excellent presentation:

Build a PowerPoint With the Best Presentation Colors Today

The best presentation colors help you stand out. Take a chance with your next design. Use  something more colorful than the classic PowerPoint templates. Use the best PowerPoint color schemes available on Envato Elements. 

The premium colorful PowerPoint templates (with unlimited downloads) you saw in this article are a presenter's best friend. With PowerPoint templates featuring bright colors , you've got everything you need. They are much better than the free options. The premium templates give you the best presentation colors in a convenient package.

Open up your color palette with the help of color palette for PPT. It's the fastest way to add a bit of fun to your next presentation!

Editorial Note : This post was originally published in July of 2020. It’s been updated with contributions from Brenda Barron and Daniel Strongin . Brenda and Daniel are freelance instructors for Envato Tuts+.

• Design Tips
• Tips & Tutorials

The Power of Color: How to Apply Color Theory in Your Presentations

Stop putting your audience to sleep with boring presentations learn how to apply color theory for a more impactful and engaging design..

In the digital age , presentation skills are more important than ever . With countless slideshows, webinars, and virtual meetings happening every day, it’s easy for your message to get lost in the noise. That’s where color theory comes in.

Color theory is the science and art of using color to create a harmonious and impactful visual experience . By understanding how colors interact and how they affect our mood and perception, you can take your presentations from boring to brilliant.

In this article, we’ll explore the basics of color theory and how you can apply it to your presentations to create a lasting impression on your audience. We’ll cover everything from color psychology to color combinations and show you how to use them to create compelling and effective presentations.

First, we’ll dive into the psychology of color . Did you know that different colors can elicit different emotional responses from your audience? For example, red is often associated with passion and energy, while blue is often associated with calmness and trustworthiness. By understanding the psychological impact of colors, you can use them strategically to enhance your message and connect with your audience on a deeper level.

Next, we’ll explore color combinations . Choosing the right colors can make or break your presentation. We’ll teach you the basics of color harmonies and show you how to create eye-catching color schemes that are both aesthetically pleasing and effective at conveying your message.

We’ll also cover practical tips on how to use color in your presentations , such as how to choose the right font color, how to use color to highlight important information, and how to avoid common mistakes that can detract from your message.

By the end of this article, you’ll have a solid understanding of color theory and how to apply it to your presentations . You’ll be able to create stunning visuals that capture your audience’s attention and leave a lasting impression. So, whether you’re a seasoned presenter or a beginner just starting out, this article is for you. Get ready to take your presentations from boring to brilliant with the power of color theory.

Psychology of Color

Color has a powerful impact on our emotions and perception. Understanding the psychology of color can help you use it to your advantage in your presentations, making them more engaging, memorable, and effective.

Let’s start with red. Red is a high-energy color that is often associated with passion, excitement, and urgency. It can stimulate the senses and increase heart rate and blood pressure. That’s why you’ll often see it used in advertising and marketing to grab people’s attention and create a sense of urgency. However, too much red can be overwhelming and even aggressive, so use it sparingly and strategically.

These are just a few examples of how color can affect our emotions and perception . By understanding the psychology of color, you can use it to your advantage in your presentations, creating a visual experience that not only looks great but also resonates with your audience on a deeper level and create the mood and atmosphere you want. So, choose your colors wisely and get ready to make an impact with the power of color psychology. Remember to balance colors appropriately and use them strategically to enhance your message and connect with your audience on a deeper level.

Color Combinations

Choosing the right color scheme for your presentation can be a daunting task, but it’s essential to creating a cohesive and impactful visual experience for your audience. Here are some tips on how to explore color combinations and choose the right colors for your presentation.

Start with a color wheel

A color wheel is a great tool for exploring color combinations. It shows the relationship between primary, secondary, and tertiary colors and can help you create complementary, analogous, or triadic color schemes. Play around with different combinations to see what works best for your message and brand.

Consider your brand

If you have an established brand, you may want to use your brand colors in your presentation to reinforce brand recognition. If not, consider the values and message of your presentation and choose colors that reflect those. For example, if your presentation is about nature, you may want to use green and earth tones.

Think about the mood

Different colors evoke different emotions and moods. Consider the mood you want to create in your presentation and choose colors that reflect that. For example, if you want to create a calming and peaceful atmosphere, you may want to use light blues or soft pastels.

Use contrast

Contrast can make your presentation more visually interesting and help important information stand out. Choose colors that contrast well with each other, such as black and white or red and green. But be careful not to use too many contrasting colors, as it can be overwhelming for your audience.

Keep it simple

Too many colors can be distracting and take away from your message. Stick to a few main colors and use them consistently throughout your presentation. This will create a more cohesive and professional look.

Consider accessibility

It’s important to choose colors that are accessible to all individuals, including those with color blindness. Avoid using color alone to convey important information and use high-contrast color combinations to make it easier for everyone to read and understand.

Test it out

Before your presentation, test out your color scheme on different devices and screens to ensure it looks good in all environments. You can also ask a few colleagues or friends for their feedback on the color scheme and adjust as needed.

In summary, exploring color combinations and choosing the right colors for your presentation takes some thought and consideration. Use a color wheel, consider your brand and the mood you want to create, use contrast, keep it simple, consider accessibility, and test it out. By following these tips, you can create a visually appealing and effective presentation that connects with your audience on a deeper level.

How to Choose the Right Color s for Presentations

Using color effectively in your presentations is an important part of creating a visually engaging and impactful experience for your audience. Here are some practical tips on how to use color in your presentations.

Choose the right font color

Font color is crucial for readability, so it’s important to choose a color that contrasts well with your background. For example, black or dark gray text works well on a light background, while white or light text is better on a dark background. Avoid using light-colored text on a light background or dark-colored text on a dark background, as it can be difficult to read.

Use color to highlight important information

Color can draw attention to important information and help it stand out from the rest of the content. Use a contrasting color to highlight key points, such as statistics or quotes. But be careful not to overdo it, as too much color can be overwhelming and detract from your message.

Create a consistent color scheme

A consistent color scheme can make your presentation look more polished and professional. Choose a few main colors and use them consistently throughout your presentation. This includes font color, background color, and accent colors. Use shades of the same color to create depth and interest.

Avoid common color mistakes

There are a few common mistakes that can detract from your message. For example, using too many bright or clashing colors can be distracting, while using too many pastel or muted colors can be boring. Avoid using neon colors, as they can be difficult to read and can give your presentation an unprofessional look.

Consider cultural differences

Different cultures can associate different meanings with colors. For example, in Western cultures, white is often associated with purity and innocence, while in some Asian cultures, it’s associated with mourning. Be mindful of the cultural context of your audience and choose colors that are appropriate.

Use color in charts and graphs

Charts and graphs can be made more visually appealing and easier to understand by using color to differentiate data sets. Use consistent colors throughout the chart or graph to create a clear visual hierarchy.

In summary, using color effectively in your presentations requires some thought and consideration. Choose the right font color, use color to highlight important information, create a consistent color scheme, avoid common color mistakes, consider cultural differences, and use color in charts and graphs. By following these practical tips, you can create a visually engaging and impactful presentation that resonates with your audience.

Tips and Tricks: How to Make Your Presentation Look Professional

Applying the theory of color to your presentations can take your design game to the next level. Here are some tips on how to apply color theory effectively in your presentations , along with some modern design tips to enhance your visuals .

Understand the basics of color theory

Understanding color theory is essential to using color effectively in your presentations. It’s important to understand the different color schemes, such as complementary, analogous, and monochromatic, and how they can be used to create visual interest and harmony. Additionally, knowing the emotions and associations that are commonly associated with certain colors can help you create a mood or convey a message.

Choose a color palette

Once you have a basic understanding of color theory, it’s time to choose a color palette for your presentation. You can choose a color palette based on your brand colors, the theme of your presentation, or the emotions you want to evoke. Stick to a limited color palette to keep your design cohesive and avoid overwhelming your audience.

Create visual interest with contrast

Contrast is important for creating visual interest and directing the viewer’s attention. Use contrasting colors to create a hierarchy of information and draw attention to important elements. This can include using a bright color for headings or important text, or using a contrasting color for buttons or calls to action.

Use color blocking

Color blocking is a modern design trend that involves using large areas of color to create a bold and impactful design. Use color blocking to create a strong visual hierarchy and make important information stand out. For example, you can use a bright color for the background of a slide and use a contrasting color for the text.

Consider typography

Typography is an important part of design, and it’s essential to consider the relationship between your font and your color palette. Choose fonts that complement your color palette and create a harmonious design. Use a bold font for headings and a more subtle font for body text. You can use a free tool like Google Fonts to search for the right font.

Add texture

Texture can add depth and interest to your design, and it can be achieved through the use of patterns or images. Use texture sparingly, as too much can be overwhelming. Consider using texture to add visual interest to backgrounds or to create contrast between different elements. Also, you can use our free backgrounds to enhance your slides.

In conclusion, applying the theory of color to your presentations requires a basic understanding of color theory, the ability to choose a color palette, creating contrast, using color blocking, considering typography, and adding texture. By following these tips, you can create a visually engaging and modern design that effectively communicates your message to your audience.

YOU MAY ALSO LIKE:

Download these aesthetic intense color gradient backgrounds to improve your PPT or Google Slides presentations.

Are you ready to create presentations that captivate and engage children? Follow these tips and…

Discover indispensable strategies to craft conference presentations that captivate and resonate with your audience.

Keeping your audience's attention for long periods can be one of the biggest challenges whilst…

Slideshows are quick to produce, easy to update and an effective way to inject visual…

Tags for this article

Share this article on social media, you may also like.

The Ultimate Guide to Creating Conference Presentations That Resonate with Your Audience

Creating Conference Presentations: A Guide to Captivating Your Audience

• SUGGESTED TOPICS
• The Magazine
• Newsletters
• Managing Yourself
• Managing Teams
• Work-life Balance
• The Big Idea
• Data & Visuals
• Reading Lists
• Case Selections
• HBR Learning
• Topic Feeds
• Account Settings
• Email Preferences

How to Make a “Good” Presentation “Great”

• Guy Kawasaki

Remember: Less is more.

A strong presentation is so much more than information pasted onto a series of slides with fancy backgrounds. Whether you’re pitching an idea, reporting market research, or sharing something else, a great presentation can give you a competitive advantage, and be a powerful tool when aiming to persuade, educate, or inspire others. Here are some unique elements that make a presentation stand out.

• Fonts: Sans Serif fonts such as Helvetica or Arial are preferred for their clean lines, which make them easy to digest at various sizes and distances. Limit the number of font styles to two: one for headings and another for body text, to avoid visual confusion or distractions.
• Colors: Colors can evoke emotions and highlight critical points, but their overuse can lead to a cluttered and confusing presentation. A limited palette of two to three main colors, complemented by a simple background, can help you draw attention to key elements without overwhelming the audience.
• Pictures: Pictures can communicate complex ideas quickly and memorably but choosing the right images is key. Images or pictures should be big (perhaps 20-25% of the page), bold, and have a clear purpose that complements the slide’s text.
• Layout: Don’t overcrowd your slides with too much information. When in doubt, adhere to the principle of simplicity, and aim for a clean and uncluttered layout with plenty of white space around text and images. Think phrases and bullets, not sentences.

As an intern or early career professional, chances are that you’ll be tasked with making or giving a presentation in the near future. Whether you’re pitching an idea, reporting market research, or sharing something else, a great presentation can give you a competitive advantage, and be a powerful tool when aiming to persuade, educate, or inspire others.

• Guy Kawasaki is the chief evangelist at Canva and was the former chief evangelist at Apple. Guy is the author of 16 books including Think Remarkable : 9 Paths to Transform Your Life and Make a Difference.

Partner Center

Home PowerPoint Templates Template Backgrounds

Professional PowerPoint Backgrounds & Templates for PowerPoint

Your search for aesthetically appealing and professional PowerPoint backgrounds for Microsoft PowerPoint presentations ends here. SlideModel PowerPoint backgrounds are carefully designed to engage any given industry’s audience. Download some of the most striking and impressive PPT templates.

PowerPoint background templates are created with PowerPoint vector graphics, allowing the user to fully customize its appearance and effects. You can include the backgrounds in your existing presentations without any issues and keep the visual quality of the shapes. Our backgrounds can be adjusted to different aspect ratios and presentation layouts.

PPT Backgrounds are a powerful tool for branding and idea retention; professional speakers organize their message around a common visual theme that will help the audience retain the message.

Featured Templates

Editable Low Poly Backgrounds for PowerPoint

Modern Gradient Backgrounds for PowerPoint

Creative Cutout Layout for PowerPoint

12 Tips List PowerPoint Templates

Navy Blue Abstract PowerPoint Background

Purple Abstract PowerPoint Background

Green Blue Purple Abstract PowerPoint Background

Dark Blue Curved Wave PowerPoint Background

Pink Purple Orange Yellow Animated Gradient PowerPoint Background

Blue Purple Animated Gradient PowerPoint Background

Brand Management PowerPoint Template

Cyber Security PowerPoint Slides

Business Slides Carnival PowerPoint Template

BioTech PowerPoint Template

Restaurant Business Plan PowerPoint Template

Superhero Template for PowerPoint

A PowerPoint background is an essential component of any presentation. It can make or break your presentation, so choose slide backgrounds with PowerPoint shapes that will feature a “wow factor” from a graphics standpoint and easily depict your content to your audience. We’ve compiled a list of Cool Backgrounds For Google Slides and Microsoft PowerPoint presentations, such as the e-commerce PowerPoint Template , designed to engage the audience.

These professional backgrounds for PowerPoint presentations were designed with special attention to colors, shapes, icons, graphs, and other valuable elements that make them visually appealing and aid in communicating effectively with your audience. We have PowerPoint backgrounds to cater to audiences of various industries. The choice of appropriate colors and themes is made while designing PPT background templates for every industry.

For example, we can take the Weather Report Dashboard for PowerPoint , a beautiful weather-themed template. You can use this template to create weather forecasts and reports. Numerous usable and editable PPT Background templates are available with Microsoft PowerPoint, Google Slides, and Keynote that you can download and customize to suit your preference.

Alternatively, you can download other Microsoft PowerPoint themes and presentation designs with creative layouts and slides.

When to use Aesthetic Backgrounds?

When creating formal communication materials, like a Company Presentation or Business Presentation, it is essential to define a homogeneous style with aesthetic backgrounds and different PowerPoint Slides. When you must impress your audience with a branded visual, it is vital to have a PowerPoint background themed to your brand. Aesthetic backgrounds create this effect of a cohesive design with impactful visuals. With SlideModel, you can use a PowerPoint Background template designed to be cohesive and match your branding.

PowerPoint Backgrounds for Every Audience

From aesthetic backgrounds, to casual or educational content, our PowerPoint and Google Slides Background templates will help you achieve an outstanding visual impact. If you are searching for colorful background templates or simple minimalist backgrounds, SlideModel can provide the effect you need with the usability required to help you save time.

What are the best background and text colors for a PowerPoint presentation?

High contrast background colors are the best. These colors are easily visible to the audience and aid in communication. Use light, white text, and bright colors; on light backgrounds, use a dark or black color. It makes the graphs or shapes on each slide visible to the audience, and they can read the text. Avoid using color gradients. 

To improve accessibility, don’t use 100% pure white or pure black. Instead, opt for a lesser percentage of contrasty solid colors, making it much more comfortable reading the slides in dark room presentations.

How to add a background picture to a slide?

Use the simple DIY steps below to add a background image to a slide:

• Choose the slide to which you want to add a background image
• Choose design as the background format.
• Fill in the background format with a picture or texture of your choice.
• Click on the select file and insert the image of your choice.

Download Unlimited Content

Our annual unlimited plan let you download unlimited content from slidemodel. save hours of manual work and use awesome slide designs in your next presentation..

How-To Geek

7 things i wish i’d known before i made my first powerpoint presentation.

Your changes have been saved

Email Is sent

Please verify your email address.

You’ve reached your account maximum for followed topics.

Quick Links

The slide master saves time and aids consistency, you can remove image backgrounds, cropping images is surprisingly easy, powerpoint has a presenter view, the designer feature instantly professionalizes your slides, the selection pane makes animating much easier, useful keyboard shortcuts.

As with many Microsoft 365 programs, PowerPoint can take some getting used to. Here are seven things I've learned over the years which, had I known about them earlier, would have saved me a lot of time and helped me hit the ground running with slick, professional slides.

In this article, I'll talk about the features available to Microsoft 365 subscribers in the PowerPoint desktop app. Some of these tools are accessible in the web-based version of the program, but—as with all Microsoft 365 programs—the app offers the best flexibility.

One of my main PowerPoint bugbears is seeing slides with different layouts and color schemes, so when I'm creating a slideshow, I like to make sure my viewers don't have the same experience. The best way to ensure your slides are consistent is by using the Slide Master —and doing so will also save you lots of time.

You can use the Slide Master on a blank PowerPoint presentation or a Microsoft template. However, if you have already amended some slides in the Normal view (such as font colors), some changes you make in the Slide Master will not apply to these slides.

In the View tab on the ribbon, click "Slide Master."

You will then see a new Slide Master tab on the ribbon, and your thumbnail pane on the left of your screen will change to a new view.

The top slide thumbnail is the master slide, and all related layouts are displayed underneath. Any formatting changes you make to the top slide—such as font colors, borders, or images—will be duplicated in the remaining slides. In this example, I've added a green border to the slide's text area and changed the title font to blue. I have also moved the slide title area to the right and added a small image to the left, and you can see all these changes applied to the other slide thumbnails below.

You can also make changes to specific slide types. For example, if I wanted the title layout slide to have a yellow background, I would move down to the second thumbnail in the screenshot above and change that slide layout only.

When you have made all the necessary changes, click "Close Master View" in the Slide Master tab, or "Normal" in the View tab.

Then, in the Normal view, to add a new slide, click the "New Slide" drop-down option in the Home tab and choose from the newly designed layouts.

If you have a busy slide with lots of objects, your image backgrounds can take up some valuable space. Instead, you can edit the images to keep the foreground only —as a result, your slide will appear less cluttered to your audience, and you're keeping only the focal point of your photos.

First, upload your image to PowerPoint. To do this, in the Insert tab on the ribbon, click "Pictures," and then choose the appropriate location.

Now, with your image selected, head to the Picture Format tab, and click "Remove Background."

PowerPoint will then attempt to identify which parts of your picture are the foreground and which parts are the background, keeping the former and removing the latter. The part it intends to remove will be highlighted in purple.

If you're happy with which parts of your picture are to be removed, click "Keep Changes" in the Background Removal tab. However, sometimes, PowerPoint's background recognition might not work perfectly well, as in my screenshot above. In this case, I would click "Mark Areas To Remove," and use the freehand pen to tell PowerPoint where the rest of the background is. Each time I click and then unclick, the image will update accordingly.

If you make any mistakes when drawing out your area, simply press Ctrl+Z (undo) to bring back the part you just removed. Luckily, you don't have to be perfectly accurate with where you draw your areas to remove—this process is satisfyingly intuitive.

When you're done, click "Keep Changes."

You will then see the new image with only the foreground retained. Simply select, copy (Ctrl+C), and paste (Ctrl+V) the image if you want to use it somewhere else in your presentation.

Is your image too big? Or do you just want to make the background smaller? PowerPoint lets you do this in just a few clicks.

Select your uploaded image and, in the Picture Format tab, click the "Crop" drop-down arrow. You will then see five options.

• Crop —Clicking this option will place black handles around the edge of your picture, which you can then drag to cut out the necessary parts of your photo (see the screenshot below).
• Crop To Shape —If you click this button, you'll see a choice of shapes that you can select to change your image shape without distorting its ratio. Some shapes will let you adjust their dimensions, but others (such as the oval) will be a set cropping shape.
• Aspect Ratio —If you need your image to be a certain aspect ratio (the image's height versus its width), click "Aspect Ratio," and choose one of the set parameters.
• Fill —This lets you resize the image so that the entire picture area is filled. This is only applicable if you have already changed the image cropping.
• Fit —Finally, this option lets you resize the image so that it displays in full within the picture area. Again, this will only work if you have already cropped the picture.

Whichever cropping option you choose , simply click anywhere away from the image once you're happy, and your amendments will apply to your pic. Press Ctrl+Z to undo this, or click the Crop icon again to revert the image to its original shape or amend the dimensions.

If you're presenting your PowerPoint on a projector or screen, when you press F5, you will automatically see the Presenter View on your primary screen and the slideshow on the other. In this screenshot, the Presenter View is on the left (my laptop screen), and the slideshow is on the right (my second screen).

The Presenter View is great for showing you what the next slide or animation will be, but the best use of this tool is the notes section. When preparing your presentation (before you press F5), click "Notes" under a given slide, and type some comments into the area that appears.

Then, when you press F5, you'll see these notes in the Presenter View.

While you can use Excel's many templates to help you choose your slide layouts, I prefer to use the Designer tool , mainly because it designs your slide based on what you type.

Open a blank PowerPoint presentation and head to your title slide. Then, in the Home tab on the ribbon, click "Designer." You'll then see some nice designs appear in a sidebar on the right, which you might choose to click through to find a suitable layout.

But wait! Don't jump straight into a design. First, try typing a title into your first slide—in our example, we'll type Technology—and see how the design suggestions change to suit your theme.

Add a sub-heading to your title slide, and see the design suggestions update again. Once you see an appropriate design, simply click your choice. When you create new slides, the rest of the presentation will be designed to match your title slide.

If you have lots of objects—such as images and text boxes—on one slide, it can sometimes be confusing which object is which when adding and organizing your animations. In my screenshot below, you can see that the images are labeled with random numbers, so identifying the individual pictures and their animations can be difficult.

Instead, I find that naming the objects individually makes this process a lot clearer. In the Home tab on the ribbon, click the "Select" drop-down arrow, and choose "Selection Pane." You'll then see the Selection Pane appear on the right, listing all the objects on that particular slide.

From here, you can rename the objects by double-clicking the placeholder names and typing your preferred object name.

Now, when you reopen the Animation Pane via the Animation tab on the ribbon, you'll find it much easier to organize your animations.

Do you have only a few hours to create your PowerPoint presentation? There are many keyboard shortcuts you can use in PowerPoint , but speed up the process by learning and using these handy ones:

Whether you're a PowerPoint newbie or a power user, hopefully, some of these tips will make your life a little easier. As well as these hints, there are some other traps you might fall into when creating your presentation, so make sure you avoid making these common PowerPoint mistakes .

• Microsoft PowerPoint

Combining colors in PowerPoint – Mistakes to avoid

By Robert Lane

Why do some color combinations work so well in your presentations, and why do other color combinations make your presentations difficult to watch? PowerPoint expert Robert Lane explains how to combine colors to make effective and professional-looking slides.

With PowerPoint You have all the Tools but ...

Newer versions of PowerPoint have marvelous tools for helping even the “artistically challenged” among us get beyond bullet points and create effective, graphically appealing, downright professional-looking visual slides. That’s fantastic! Now the question is … how should we use those tools? Most of us have never been trained as graphic artists and don’t necessarily know the rules for making visually attractive and meaningful content.

Because the discussion of “effective visual communication” might fill an entire book, let’s narrow the focus here to concentrate solely on the use of color in PowerPoint. What are good, and not so good, ways of using color on slides?

Color Groups

One way to approach colors is to classify them into two broad groups: warm and cool colors (Figure 1). Reds, oranges, and yellows are referred to as warm colors. They tend to pop out and attract attention—especially a bright red. Greens, blues, and purples are cool colors. They tend to recede into the background and draw less attention, especially darker shades. White and very light colors also catch the eye, whereas black and very dark colors generally are less noticeable.

Figure 1 – Color Groups

Note, however, that above effects are not absolutely fixed. They can flip. The quantity and contrast of one color compared to another also comes into play. For example, if we place small black shapes on a solid white slide background, the black shapes pop out as more noticeable, versus the sea of white around them (Figure 2). In this case, the brain is more interested in figuring out if shapes communicate some form of meaning or pattern, rather than merely reacting to their color characteristics. Not surprisingly, some optical illusions take advantage of this phenomenon.

Figure 2 – Color Quantity and Contrast

Consider the color groups, as well as quantity and contrast, when combining colors on slides. It’s pretty safe to combine warm colors with each other and shades of brown (Figure 3) or cool colors with each other and shades of gray (Figure 4). White, black, and beige are neutral colors and go well with all colors in either group.

Figure 3 – Warm Colors Group

Figure 4 – Cool Colors Group

Where most PowerPoint designers get into trouble is combining colors across the warm/cool boundary. Absolutely NEVER do what is depicted in Figures 5 and 6. If you stare at either of these images for very long, your eyes begin screaming. They have trouble distinguishing interactions between the color wavelengths, resulting in fatigue and discomfort. Mixing bright blues and reds is a terrible practice to inflict upon audiences, and unfortunately it happens all too often. The same goes with mixing reds and greens.

Figure 5 – Red and Blue Color Combinations Cause Eye Strain

Figure 6 – Red and Green Color Combinations also Cause Eye Strain

A red and green combination also brings up the issue of color blindness, which apparently affects approximately 7 percent of men and 1 percent of women. Inability to notice the difference between red and green colors is the most common form of color blindness. For example, let’s say you place green text on a red background, as in Figure 6. If the text color’s shading (amount of darkness) has little contrast with the background color’s shading, some viewers will not be able to read that text at all! Avoid such problems by never mixing these two colors, especially in a text versus background combination.

Julie Terberg, a graphic designer and PowerPoint MVP, also points out that using the themes in PowerPoint can make your color combination choices easier (Figure 7). Theme colors have been chosen to look good together (although, still use caution) and to work well in both light and dark presentation environments.

Figure 7 – Using Theme Colors Make Your Choices Easier

The Forgiving Nature of Color Gradients

Interestingly enough, the process of combining colors is much more forgiving when using gradients—colors that fade into each other. Beginning with version 2010, PowerPoint offers a greatly improved, user-friendly interface for making gradients, by the way (Figure 8).

Figure 8 – Adding a Gradient to a Shape

Because nature regularly blends colors this way (think of a sunset), we are used to seeing colors gradually transition from one hue to the next, meaning that you can get away with combining just about any color set and still end up with a reasonably attractive and professional look. Just make sure the transitions are gradual.

Try blending colors to make a custom-designed slide background, a decorative shape—perhaps for a sectional background (Figure 9) or navigation button (Figure 10)—or even jazzy, 3-D text (Figure 11).

Figure 9 – Purple, Gold and Gray Gradient inside a Shape

Figure 10 – Gradient-filled Shape used as a Navigation Button

Figure 11 – Gradient-filled PowerPoint Text

Color and Text Considerations

Going back to the issues of color quantity and contrast (black dots on the white background), those considerations are especially important when slides contain text. Unless such text exists in a navigation button or is purely decorative, generally the goal is for audience members to be able to read it, right? Therefore, opting for a simple background that contrasts sharply with the text color helps the message pop out and attract attention (Figure 12).

Figure 12 – Text Color should Contrast Sharply with a Background

Placing text on top of pictures is popular but can be tricky because controlling the contrast then becomes more difficult. The solution, again, is to make sure the text color contrasts as much as possible with a majority of the picture’s colors and then add a distinct shadow or glow to the text (Figure 13).

Figure 13 – Shadow on Text Helps it Appear more Distinct on top of a Picture

General Color Issues

Here are a few additional PowerPoint-related color tips we’ve discovered over the years:

Using red text is almost never a good idea. That particular color, of all colors, tends to washout when projected on a screen if any kind of unwanted ambient light also hits the screen—perhaps from sunlight streaking through a window or glare from a poorly aimed stage light.

Unless there is a particularly good reason for using brightly colored text … don’t. Stick with white or light beige on a dark background or black (or otherwise very dark color) on a light background. Your slides will have a more professional appearance as a result.

Stay away from gradients in text unless the words are large and intended to be primarily decorative in nature.

When using gradients, simplicity is your friend. Limit the number of colors, and, whenever possible, try using combinations that are readily found in nature for maximum appeal.

Need more help?

Want more options.

Explore subscription benefits, browse training courses, learn how to secure your device, and more.

Microsoft 365 subscription benefits

Microsoft 365 training

Microsoft security

Accessibility center

Communities help you ask and answer questions, give feedback, and hear from experts with rich knowledge.

Ask the Microsoft Community

Microsoft Tech Community

Windows Insiders

Microsoft 365 Insiders

Was this information helpful?

Thank you for your feedback.

Create designs that inspire

Trending searches, productivity, social media, generate stunning ai-powered visuals.

A girl rides a skateboard while walking her dog. The girl is wearing a purple sweatshirt, baggy jeans and boots. She has expressive, round brown eyes and a look of determination. The background is an out of focus park and the girl is in a 3d illustrated animation style.

A watercolor hummingbird, centered, in red and yellow with a soft cream, watercolor background.

A banana with sunglasses surfing a blue wave.

Front-facing view of a mountain with floral decorative elements, papercraft quilling style, in pastel pink, blue and purple colors.

An abstract background of melting liquid with a metallic sheen, dark purple and gold colors with reflective studio light.

Illustration of a man playing a decorated steel pan drum.

A macro, detailed portrait of the face of a Dalmatian dog staring straight ahead with bright blue eyes on a solid pastel blue, out of focus background. The portrait is realistic with studio lighting.

A yellow sun with orange rays rises over white and purple clouds in a pop art style. There should be a halftone effect and screen printing aesthetic. The orange rays radiate outward and fill the background.

A group of assorted donuts in a pink bakery box.

A portrait of a man in a digital collage style. The man is wearing thick red glasses with circular patterns in blue and orange on the inside of the frames. The man is in a red polka dot shirt with a background of thick, brightly colored lines in pink, blue, and red. Collaged into the background is a ferris wheel and a circus tent.

A profile view of a caterpillar crawling on a moss-covered rock with the lush, green forest in the background, macro view, detail, close-up.

Cartoon style woman with a blue hat, fishing on a river near a forest.

A colorful street scene in the style of Mexican mural art. The street has adobe-colored shops on both sides with striped awnings. There is a fountain in the center and trees and mountains in the distance.

A single pink ranunculus in the style of a vintage botanical drawing.

A unicorn stands on a wooden pier looking out over clouds below, with a starry night sky above.

Create and edit in an instant with Microsoft Designer

Image generator

Generate any image you can imagine with just a text description.

Background remover

Remove the background from your image in one click.

Sticker creator

Describe the sticker you want, and our AI will generate it for you.

Browse thousands of customizable templates

Fresh picks.

Celebrate an occasion

Food and drink

How it works

1. Start with the perfect template

2. Customize it with help from AI

See the templates for:

3. Share your creation with the world