Applying Themes: Make Your Slides Look Better

A theme in PowerPoint is a built-in mix of colors, fonts, and effects. Each theme also comes with its own slide layouts. Even if you didn’t choose one, you’ve already used the default “Office” theme. Themes help make your presentation look neat and professional without much effort.

What Is a Theme?

A PowerPoint theme changes how your slides look. It adjusts the colors, fonts, and layouts all at once. This means you don’t have to format every slide by hand.

Each theme works with its own set of slide layouts. These layouts control where text and pictures go. When you switch themes, your content shifts to match the new layout and style.

Slide Layouts Can Change a Lot

Say you use a layout like Quote with Caption or Name Card. If you switch to a theme that doesn’t have that layout, your slide might look messy or broken. Choose layouts that match your theme to avoid this.

Main Parts of a Theme

• Theme Colors: PowerPoint gives you 10 main theme colors. These also have lighter and darker versions.
  
• Theme Fonts: Each theme uses two main fonts—usually one for titles and one for body text.
  
• Theme Effects: These change how shapes and SmartArt look.
  

When you switch themes, all these parts update at once. It’s a quick way to change your presentation’s full look.

Using Non-Theme Fonts or Colors

If you use fonts or colors that don’t belong to a theme, they won’t change when you switch themes. This is helpful if you want a logo or heading to stay the same no matter what.

How to Apply a Theme

1. Go to the Design tab in the Ribbon.
2. In the Themes group, click the More drop-down arrow.
   
3. Pick a theme you like. Click it.
   
4. The theme applies to your whole presentation.
   

You can also choose a Variant of that theme. Variants use different colors but keep the same layout and font style.

You can make your own theme too. Change the fonts, colors, and effects, then save it for later. This is great if you want a custom look every time.