what is layout in powerpoint presentation

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PowerPoint vs Other Presentation Tools: Which is Right for You?

When it comes to creating impactful presentations, there are numerous tools available in the market. However, one of the most popular and widely used applications is Microsoft PowerPoint. While PowerPoint has been the go-to choice for many professionals and educators, it’s important to consider other presentation tools as well. In this article, we will compare PowerPoint with other presentation tools to help you decide which one is right for you.

PowerPoint: The Classic Choice

Microsoft PowerPoint has been around since 1987 and continues to dominate the presentation software market. It offers a wide range of features and functionalities that make it ideal for creating visually appealing slideshows. With its user-friendly interface, anyone can quickly learn how to use it effectively.

One of the key advantages of PowerPoint is its compatibility with various operating systems, including Windows and Mac. This means you can easily create presentations on one device and present them on another without any compatibility issues.

PowerPoint also provides a vast library of templates, themes, and design elements that allow users to create professional-looking presentations in no time. It offers a plethora of customization options, allowing you to tailor your slides according to your specific needs.

Prezi: The Dynamic Alternative

Prezi is a cloud-based presentation software that takes a different approach than traditional slide-based tools like PowerPoint. Instead of using slides, Prezi allows users to create dynamic presentations on a virtual canvas where they can zoom in and out and navigate through content freely.

This unique feature makes Prezi an excellent choice for storytelling or when you want to present information in a nonlinear format. It enables presenters to create engaging visuals that captivate their audience’s attention from start to finish.

Additionally, Prezi offers seamless collaboration features that allow multiple users to work on the same presentation simultaneously. This makes it an excellent choice for teams or individuals who need real-time collaboration capabilities.

Google Slides: The Collaborative Solution

Google Slides is a web-based presentation tool that is part of the Google Workspace suite. Similar to PowerPoint, it offers a range of features to create visually appealing presentations. Its intuitive interface and easy-to-use tools make it accessible to users of all skill levels.

One of the standout features of Google Slides is its collaborative capabilities. Multiple users can work on a presentation simultaneously, making it ideal for team projects or remote collaboration. It also allows for real-time commenting and editing, ensuring seamless communication among team members.

Another advantage of Google Slides is its integration with other Google Workspace apps such as Google Docs and Sheets. This integration allows users to import data directly from these apps, saving time and effort when creating presentations.

Keynote: The Mac-Friendly Option

If you are an Apple user, Keynote is the presentation software designed specifically for you. Keynote offers a sleek and modern interface with powerful tools that allow users to create stunning presentations effortlessly.

One of the key advantages of Keynote is its seamless integration with other Apple devices and software. You can easily create presentations on your Mac and present them using your iPhone or iPad without any compatibility issues.

Keynote also provides a wide selection of pre-designed templates that cater to various presentation styles. Additionally, it offers advanced animation and transition effects that can enhance the visual appeal of your slideshows.

Choosing the right presentation tool depends on your specific needs and preferences. PowerPoint remains a solid choice for its versatility, while Prezi offers a dynamic alternative for nonlinear storytelling. Google Slides excels in collaborative capabilities, especially for remote teams, while Keynote provides an excellent option for Apple users seeking seamless integration across devices.

Consider the features, ease-of-use, collaboration options, and platform compatibility when deciding which presentation tool suits you best. Ultimately, selecting the right tool will empower you to create impactful presentations that engage and impress your audience.

This text was generated using a large language model, and select text has been reviewed and moderated for purposes such as readability.

MORE FROM ASK.COM

• Different types of slide layout in PowerPoint

Whether you’re getting ready to perform a new hire training, report financials, bidding or conduct an end of the year summary, let PowerPoint join your team.

PowerPoint layouts make it possible to organize and host important data and information the company wants to share with its employees and partners. In other words, a Powerpoint presentation reflects the identity and image of the company, hence the importance of creating a clear, organized and aesthetic slideshow that communicates your message in a professional way.

PowerPoint business uses

A Powerpoint layout is essential for all companies (large groups, ETI, SME, TPE) with more than 10 powerpoint users.

For example:

• Companies with many sales reps having to match presentations to their customers.
• Companies that respond to a call of tender via powerpoint support.
• Companies where internal presentations are part of everyday life (training, project monitoring, financial reporting)

The benefits of creating PowerPoint layouts?

A properly constructed Powerpoint layout allows you and your team to keep a consistent look in all your presentations, simply and quickly. Powerpoint layouts are simply “ready-to-use” slide templates, combining different fixed objects and pre-defined editable elements.

In addition to being a great communication asset, a Powerpoint layout has many technical advantages:

• Respecting the company’s identity through a personalised and balanced artistic direction • Consistency and clarity of the entire presentation in accordance with a predefined and automated graphic chart • Ease and speed of work for all your employees who can put their energy where it counts, on basic data and information, instead of worrying about configuration

Whether it’s a simple slide-centered title or a complex combination of text fields, pictures and graphics, PowerPoint layouts are very effective tools. Here are some layouts to help you build your arsenal of reusable slides within your company.

Title Slide layout

The title slide layout is very important. It is a preview of the upcoming content for the rest of your presentation. Quality cover shows your audience how carefully your project has been handled. The most obvious benefit of using a title slide is informing listeners of what they will see and learn. Consider a title slide as a cover of a book or report. The cover mask gives the tone, the graphic chart and the artistic direction of the slideshow.

In a title slide layout the editable parts are usually the background image, the title, subtitle and some optional elements such as the date, or the name of the presenter.

Table of content Slide Layout

A table of contents will give your audience an overview of your Powerpoint presentation. It must be clear and precise in order to facilitate the general understanding of the subject.

The editable elements of a Summary slide layout are the titles of the different parts of your presentation as well as the number of the corresponding pages. Even though the table of contents is at the beginning of the slideshow, it will be the last one written.

Tip: Do not add a page number until you have finalized your presentation.

Simple Text Content Slide layout

Simple Content slide layout includes the title of the slide, a subtitle, and a central text box. All these elements are editable.

Two Text Content Slide layout

The twocontent slide layout is a variant of the previous mask. The main advantage of dividing the text into two blocks is to make reading more smooth and enjoyable, especially if the text is long.

The editable elements are the title, a possible subtitle and the two text blocks.

Content Slide layout [Text + Picture]

The Content [Text + Picture] slide layout offers a design that allows you to insert text and an image in 2 spaces reserved for this purpose. This type of mask can be declined in several variants with a horizontal or vertical permutation of the boxes.

The editable elements are the title, the possible subtitle, the body of the text and of course the image.

Content Slaide layout [Texts + Pictures]

This layout is an extension of the previous one that allows to insert several texts and several images on the same slide. There can be different variations, with 3 boxes or more, with horizontal or vertical permutations.

The editable elements are the title, the possible subtitle, the body of the text and the images.

Impact Message Slide Layout

It’s a very popular Layout for an Impactant Message. It is used to highlight a key message or a strong quote. In this case, the mask design favors a central text box that is highlighted by side boxes containing images.

The reader’s eye is guided towards the main information. Editable elements are title, subtitle, images and text.

The custom Slide Layout is designed to respond to a specific needs of the customer. This type of slide can accommodate many objects such as text, pictures, graphics, tables of data … or anything essential for your PowerPoint presentation.

The editable elements are the title, the subtitle, the images the text, the graphics …

For a company, it is important to have a good graphic and aesthetic coherence in all its presentations. The Powerpoint layouts allow employees to make quick and efficient presentations in accordance with the brand’s codes. Powerpoint Pokeslide can help you create customized masks that will meet all your needs.

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Slide layout

In Microsoft PowerPoint , slide layout refers to the design and placement of different elements on a slide. The default slide layout is a Title Slide with a title text placeholder and subtitle text placeholder. However, this default can include alternate text, images, and video. The slide layout can be considered an overview of the information being presented by the user.

If you don't want to start with any text or content placeholder, choose the Blank slide layout.

Slide layouts

In the Office Ribbon under the Home are the following nine slide layouts. We've also listed each of these layouts with additional information.

Title slide

The Title Slide layout is the default PowerPoint layout when you open a new blank presentation. It contains two text placeholders, one for the title of the presentation and the other for the subtitle.

Title and Content

The Title and Content layout is PowerPoint's most commonly used slide. This slide contains a title placeholder at the top for text and a placeholder for content like a chart , bullet list , images , or other content .

Section Header

The Section Header layout introduces new sections in your PowerPoint presentation. This slide contains two lower text placeholders.

Two Content

The Two Content layout has a title text placeholder at the top with two content placeholders next to each other under the title.

The Comparison layout is the same as the Two Content slide layout, with two additional text placeholders above the two content placeholders.

The Title Only layout has a title text placeholder in the top center of the slide with nothing else.

The Blank layout has no placeholders and allow you to create the layout.

Content with Caption

The Content with Caption layout has a title and caption text placeholder on the left and a content placeholder on the right.

Picture with Caption

The Picture with Caption layout has a centered picture placeholder above a caption text placeholder.

Am I limited to only these layouts?

No. A slide layout is only a starting point for each slide to help make inserting text, images, and other content easier and faster. After picking any of these layouts, you can move or delete any placeholders or add new content outside the placeholder.

Related information

• How to create or add a slide in Microsoft PowerPoint.
• Microsoft PowerPoint help and support.

Microsoft PowerPoint , Slide , Slide deck , Slide Master , Software terms

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PowerPoint Layout: Tips & Tricks Plus 6 Modern Ideas for Your Slide Layout!

A well-designed PowerPoint layout is essential for any presentation. Why? Simple: a visually interesting and coherent slide grabs your audience’s attention and makes you and your content look professional.

A good PowerPoint layout creates a common thread running through your presentation by coordinating design elements. This allows your audience to easily follow the content of your presentations without getting distracted, meaning your ideas come across clearly and you can deliver your message effectively.

Creating a PowerPoint layout is easy, and allows you to customize your presentations to best effect. In this article, we show you which aspects you need to pay attention to in order to guarantee a good slide layout.

PowerPoint Layouts: What exactly do they involve?

A PowerPoint layout basically contains important formatting, placeholders and positioning for your slide content. Using these guidelines, you can easily build a great presentation, inserting the images, text, and charts you need to persuade the audience of your ideas.

PowerPoint slide layouts pull together the design elements which are so important to a coordinated presentation: colors, fonts, backgrounds and effects are preset for you. They can of course be modified individually once you’ve decided on your layout, but setting them leaves you time to concentrate on the content you want to present, rather than fiddling with design. Here is an example of the design elements which might make up a slide:

Why use a PowerPoint Layout? The advantages

PowerPoint layouts help you build a presentation quickly and easily with preset placeholders, designs and positioning. Because the elements of your slides are already coordinated, you don’t have spend time trying to make your slides look uniformly professional, attempting to line up content perfectly, or messing about trying to balance different elements.

A PowerPoint layout means one thing above else: saving you time. And that‘s a huge advantage: the time you save can now be used to concentrate on the actual content of your presentation.

What’s more, using a preset slide layout makes you look professional. Your slides are coordinated throughout, letting your audience follow the thread of your arguments without getting distracted.

PowerPoint layouts can be really eye-catching, too. Preset designs up the visual impact of your presentations, but allow you to make individual modifications when needed, guaranteeing brand recognition value. Read more about how to do this below!

Creating PowerPoint Layout: Here’s how!

• Open Microsoft PowerPoint.
• Click Start , then in the Slides group, select Layout .

3. A window will open with a selection of slide layouts.

4. Choose the template which best suits your needs; you can use it as it is or change individual elements (see below).

Modifying a Preset PowerPoint Layout

So you like the layout you’ve chosen, but want to customize it by changing some of the elements? No problem. This is where the Slide Master function in PowerPoint comes in:

1. Select Slide Master in the View tab.

2. When the thumbnail area pops up, select the slide that comes closest to the layout you want.

(Tip: If you don’t like any of the layouts on offer, select Blank and make up your own layout with placeholders, etc. We’ve set out how to do this in the chapter “Nothing in the preset options appeals? Just create your own personal PowerPoint layout!” below.)

3. To change the layout, just read on:

Adding a Placeholder

Simply click Insert Placeholder in the Slide Master tab. Select the type of placeholder you want. Then decide where you want to put it on the layout, and drag the cursor to insert the placeholder.

Resizing a Placeholder

Select the slide on which you want to change the placeholder in the View tab in Slide Master , then click the placeholder. Click on a corner and drag (the cursor will change to a crossed arrow) until the placeholder is the size you want.

Changing a Placeholder’s Position

To move a placeholder, hover the cursor over it. Once the cursor changes to the double arrow, just click and drag to the right place.

Deleting a Placeholder

To remove a placeholder, select Slide Master in the View tab, and click on the slide containing the placeholder you want to remove. Select the placeholder in the layout and then press delete.

Rotating a Placeholder

Click on the placeholder; an arrow curving round in a circle will appear at the top.  Just click on that and drag it round to rotate the element any way you want.

Bring particular elements into the foreground, or send them to the background

Right-click on the element you want to highlight or mute, and a drop-down menu will open. Select either Bring to Front or Send to Back , and save.

When you’ve made the changes you want, click Close Master View in the Slide Master tab.

• In Normal view, in the Thumbnails pane, select all the slides you’ve just revised. (To select multiple slides, hold down Ctrl and click to select the slides you want.)
• Next, select Layout from the Home tab and select the layout containing the placeholders you just changed. This step finalizes the placeholder change by re-inserting the changed slide layout onto a final edited slide.

Duplicating a PowerPoint Layout

Once you’ve got a slide layout exactly to your liking, it’s easy to duplicate it so that you can use the same layout on multiple slides. This also applies to preset slide layouts, of course. Here’s how: In the View tab, click on the Normal option:

• An overview of all your slides will now appear on the left. Right-click the slide whose layout you want to duplicate.
• Then select Duplicate Slide in the menu that opens. A slide with an identical layout will appear.

Nothing in the Preset Options Appeals? Just create Your Own Personal PowerPoint Layout!

So you already know that using the preset slide layouts saves time and allows you to modify where needed, you really don’t like any of the preset slide layouts. No worries – you can create a custom layout that’s exactly what you need in just a few steps:

• Select Slide Master in the View tab.
• Slides with suggested layouts will now appear on the left.

• Right-click on any of the options (don’t worry about it not being what you want; you can change what you need later) and select Insert Layout, or click on Insert Layout from the menu at the top.

• Renaming the layout helps you to keep track and to find it later. To do this, right-click it again and select Rename Layout , then type in the new name.

• Now you can start editing. Delete all the preset placeholders if you don’t want them, or leave some in and edit them (see above) – it’s up to you.
• Insert the placeholders you want for your layout using the Insert Placeholders option. You can choose text, content, chart, or other layouts in the drop-down menu. After selecting a layout, drag the placeholder to the position you need. You can rotate it, resize it and edit it as shown in the paragraph “Modifying a preset PowerPoint layout” above.
• Done with your editing? Then close the master view – select Close Master View in the Slide Master tab under Close .
• Now save and close your presentation.
• When you open the presentation again, you can now search for your personalized layout –  select the New Slide option from the Start menu under Slides . Just search for your renamed PowerPoint layout in the selection that opens..

Tip: If you want to use your layout in an existing presentation, you have to make a small detour. Open the relevant presentation and select the Browse for Designs option in the Design tab. You will find this under Designs when you open the drop-down menu to the right of the selection (see screenshot).

Save Your Personalized PowerPoint Layout as a Template!

Saving your layout as a template makes it really easy to use in future presentations.  Here’s how:

• While in the layout, go to the File tab. This will take you to the PowerPoint start menu. 
• Select Save As .

• Find your template in C:\Users\<your username>\Documents\Custom Office templates.
• Select the file type PowerPoint Template and save.

Next time you open PowerPoint, you can use your template by clicking New when you open PowerPoint, selecting Custom Office Templates , and clicking on Create once you’ve selected your individualized PowerPoint template.

Professional Design for Your Slide Layout: 6 PowerPoint Layout Ideas that will make Your Presentation a Real Eye-Catcher!

Persuading your audience of your ideas, so achieving your goals, and really standing out with your presentation, is so much easier with an excellent layout.  We’ve put together six professionally designed and effective PowerPoint layout ideas for you, illustrated with reference pictures of slides we’ve designed for clients:

1.      PowerPoint Layouts for Title Slides

Every presentation needs a title slide. Since this slide is always the first slide you present, and so the first slide that your audience sees – often as soon as they enter the presentation room – you need to design this slide for maximum impact.

In 2022, the trend for title slides is toward large-format images. When selecting your background image, be sure to choose one that will appeal to your audience right from the get-go. For example, go for a theme related to your topic or business. In this example, the steering wheel motif is appropriate for the automotive group GG:

Using large-format images doesn‘t mean missing out on a powerful headline.  This needs to stand out.

So either use an area of your image that is neutral, or opt for modern overlays or transparent designs. With the latter you bring some color into play, so you need to adjust the contrast to the background image to make your headline stand out effectively. Here are some examples:

Using overlays or transparent design allows you to create just the slide you need. You can use color gradients (see the GG Group title slide above), whole areas (see the Uni Per slide) or shapes (below). How you compose the slide that’s right for your presentation is completely up to you.

2.    PowerPoint Layouts for Agenda Slides

Your agenda slide reflects the content of your presentation and so it’s important to get it right. Info and tips about these in PowerPoint can be found in this article .

Looking for professional templates? We’ve a whole range in our store .

Agenda slide layouts can either be structured traditionally as a tabulated list, or presented as a process. Large-format images can make an impact here, too. You can use them either in portrait format or as a complete background. It‘s important to leave enough space to get your agenda points over. You can also use a grid as a guide for agenda layouts. To do this, take a look at the slide below. Here you see a three-part grid: 1/3 space for the agenda items, 2/3 space for the picture. (Or, for agendas with more points, in reverse (i.e. 1/3 image and 2/3 agenda).

There’s also the option of a quad grid, as below:

This shows eight equally sized image boxes, going from left to right, in two rows. Obviously, you can customize the background image and layout to your exact needs.

3.      PowerPoint Layouts for Slides combining Images and Text

Layouts for image-text combinations are especially important in the body of your presentation. These can include bulleted lists, product presentations or even portfolios. What’s important here is how image and text interact within the slide.

One classic layout which works well is an image with your text underneath. An interesting modern variant on this is to put several images alongside each other, as below:

Using large-format images can be really fresh and impactful. For example:

You can also use a grid as a guide for image-text combinations. In general, this works best with a three, four or five images. Using more than that means your slide will look cluttered and your content will be difficult to read.

4. PowerPoint Layouts for a Combination of Icons and Text

Icons are a great way to illustrate complex content in a simple way. They also add impact to your presentation and are visually interesting. We offer a wide selection of icon templates in our store. Here are a couple of examples:

In general, layouts combining icons and text work well with layouts similar to those used in image-text combinations. PowerPoint lets you place icons in gridded or non-gridded combinations, with their text by them. Here are some examples:

5.      PowerPoint Layouts for Lists

When you want to present lists of items, bullet points are of course the classic choice, but increasingly people are choosing to visualize them as a process form, right up-to-date and attention-grabbing. The layout below, visualizing the process from left to right, makes your list easily comprehensible.

For this type of layout, use the entire width of the slide for maximum impact.

You can also make great use of a circular form; more and more people are moving away from the old rectangular box.

6.      Further Options for Image/Text Layouts

We’ve already covered image-text layouts above, but here are a few more ideas to make your presentations get noticed.

Option 1: Text on the left, image on the right

This option is a classic layout, as it works with the fact that English is read from left to right.  So your audience grasps the content first, then it’s reinforced by the image. This also makes your text easier to read, as the lines are shorter.

Option 2: Image on the left, text on the right

Option 3: Text above, large-scale image below

Option 4: Full-format image, with overlays

You’ve seen above how much of an impact this can make with title slides, and of course there’s nothing stopping you using a layout like this within your presentation. It’s always important to make sure that the colour and contrast of the text is chosen with the image in mind, so that can be read easily. Here are some examples:

Conclusion: A Great PowerPoint Layout can Really Support Your Content!

If you want to create a really professional and effective presentation, it pays to try modern layouts that will grab your audience’s attention.   You have free rein to be as creative as you like, but do remember – especially with image-text combinations – to contrast your text properly with any images or icons, for maximum legibility.

Why not try a change of layout for your next presentation? We at PresentationLoad offer a whole range of slide templates to help you create a really impactful presentation in just a few clicks.

If you’re looking for professionally designed slides with a really polished layout for your presentation, feel free to get in touch, and we’ll create a slide layout perfect for your particular needs.

Got more questions about PowerPoint layout or PowerPoint in general? Just email us on [email protected] and we’ll be happy to help!

You might also be interested in the following template sets:

• Preparing a PowerPoint Presentation: 11 Tips
• Create a PowerPoint Presentation: That’s how it works!
• The best Structure for Your Presentations!

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5 Foolproof Presentation Layout Ideas You Should Use

By Eugene Cheng , May 19, 2023

You’ve got that big meeting coming up tomorrow, but all you have are some really terrible looking reference slides and an empty page on PowerPoint with “Click to Add Title” staring you in the face.

Creating a presentation from scratch may sound like hefty work but with the right presentation layout, you’re basically off to a good start. 

Then again,  you don’t actually have to design your presentation from scratch. Not when you can find countless ready-to-use presentation templates that are designed to blow your audience away just a search away. 

But sometimes, having too many options can be a problem too. So here’s a collection of Powerpoint presentation templates along with tips for creating different types of presentations that you should totally check out.

Now, no more chit-chat – it’s time to dive right in and create the ultimate slide layout for an awe-inspiring presentation!

What is the layout of a presentation?

A presentation layout refers to the arrangement and organization of various elements within a presentation. It involves the placement of text, images, graphics, and other visual components on slides to effectively communicate information to the audience.

When it comes to delivering an effective presentation, the layout plays a crucial role in capturing and retaining your audience’s attention. A well-designed presentation layout not only enhances the visual appeal but also helps convey your message clearly and coherently.

A good presentation gets things moving – check out the top qualities of awesome presentations and learn all about how to make a good presentation to help you nail that captivating delivery.

The next question is — what makes up a presentation layout that can elevate your presentations to the next level? 

Top 5 tried and tested presentation layout ideas you should try

There have been numerous articles published online about how you can start upping your presentation design game. Most of them offer you some presentation ideas , but when you’re rushing to put something together quickly, can you really afford to spend time fiddling with presentation software?

At my company HighSpark , we develop presentations on a daily basis and we’ve found a way to significantly reduce the guesswork required to put together solid presentations .

One of the ways is by reusing proven presentation layouts that work.

Here are five presentation layout ideas that we’ve used time and time again to build awesome presentation slides in record time. Check out these presentation templates to use our layouts easily.

1. Presentation layout following the rule of three

The “rule of three” has been widely used in many mediums of communication to increase memorability and engage audiences. Similarly, if you want to take advantage of the rule of three, splitting the slide into three equally sized sections is an easy way to build layouts for a variety of purposes.

Team slides

Since team slides generally showcase the professional experiences of founders or teams. Splitting your slide into thirds will leave just enough space for a headshot, as well as bio information for each of the team members.

This three-part layout is also commonly used for pitch deck designs , where startups showcase their core founding team and advisors.

Remember you don’t want a boring pitch deck design to cost you opportunities!

This layout is also used when showing the steps in a process or timeline:

Big pointers

There will be instances where you have big distinctions as headlines that you’ll need to display on your presentation. These points are usually followed by additional evidence or information to support your stance.

For example, a “pointer” in this case could be: “China: The Next Big Economy”, followed by a statistic supporting that point.

When showcasing a few different statistics, it can be challenging to decide on a layout that will make data more interesting. If you’re using charts or icons to represent your data visually, having the visuals up top, accompanied by text below, is an easy way to make data more interesting.

So you get the gist. By using a simple three-part presentation layout, you’ll be able to organize content in a variety of ways, limited only by your imagination.

2. Left image, right text presentation layout

As dictated by the Picture Superiority Effect, pictures are more likely to be remembered than words . Pictures command attention more quickly. If you use more visuals than text in your presentation, your audience will be six times more likely to recall what you were talking about.

Having your pictures on the left side of your slide offers a comfortable eye-flow for your audience. Images have inherent meanings associated to them (if I asked you to think of a chicken, you’d probably think of a bird and not the letters “C-H-I-C-K-E-N”).

Using larger images lets you reduce the amount of words on your slide, especially if you’re telling a story.

There is no hard and fast rule for how big the proportions need to be, but what I’ve found works really well is to:

• Make the words on your slide as concise as possible
• Size the text to a minimum 12-point font and above
• Take a look at how much space you have left for your image, then pick the most ideal image

Some of the best types of images to use for presentation design are…

Images with faces

Using faces in your presentation helps to build trust with your audience. We’re “hardwired” to recognize human faces since birth, and that’s why they’re widely used in marketing content. For instance, having a “hero-character” helps viewers to imagine themselves in the character’s position.

For example, this character: “Neel” is used to demonstrate the need for a financial management platform.

The startup using this presentation is creating financial solutions for a very specific group of people: middle-class Indians. Using this image of “Neel”, the audience can very quickly understand the segment the company is trying to serve.

Using faces also helps you frame text, especially if the person is “looking” in the right direction. Our eyes naturally gravitate towards where the human figure in the image is looking towards.

Images with large whitespace

In the field of design, whitespace is used to reference how empty space is used for functional and aesthetic purposes. Certain images are more pleasing to the eye because of the space around them. It’s the reason why you find certain paragraphs of text on a website hard to read, because of the lack of space between the lines.

Having more white space means that you’ll have more room to play around with text, icons and other information that you might need to include on the slide.

Generally, if you pick an image with a lot of empty space, placing text at any of the intersecting “power points” that follow the Rule of Thirds will ensure an aesthetically pleasing slide overall.

One of the most famous examples of someone using white space with only text is Steve Jobs and his famous WWDC presentations.

You’ll notice that there’s a lot space in the slide–this draws your attention to the headline and avoids inundating the audience with visuals.

Images with a clear focus

Using images that are too busy will hinder your viewers from honing in on the information or visuals that matter. Picking images that have blurred backgrounds or a sharp focus on a specific subject can help to reduce noise.

3. Presentation layout with full bleed and whitespace

When you’re using evocative full bleed images to tell stories, as seen in presentations by orators like Elon Musk and TED speakers, you may want to include a few words to give the image context.

Elon Musk used full bleed images of pollution and satellite images of the Earth during his PowerWall presentation .  This helped to bring attention back to himself and also highlighted the very real problems that they seek to solve with their products.

This shot from a TED presentation also demonstrates how you can tell stories using images and a little bit of text for context.

There are three simple ways to include words on full bleed images…

Split your slide into nine parts

Split your slide into nine equal parts. Place any elements of focus at any of the four points where the lines intersect. This is a photography technique that applies to presentations too.

Frame text with a shape

If there isn’t enough contrast between the background and your text, consider using shapes to frame the text. This way, your audiences can still read the text and be able to see the image of interest as well.

Use empty space

If your full bleed image has empty space, it’s the perfect area to place your text without too much guesswork.

When picking font colors, a trick to pick something that’ll look good is:

• Having adequate contrast with the background
• Picking colors directly from the image itself!

For example, the picture you see below is of a mountain with quite a bit of whitespace above the photograph.

So, assuming we’re putting our text where the clouds are, we just have to pick a color that is darker than the background (in this case, the background is white).

Instead of just randomly selecting a color, we’ll select the turquoise color of the moss that is on the mountain in the picture, as well as the grey of the mountain itself.

The result is that you’ll have a very consistent-looking slide with colors that work well together.

4. Horizontal split presentation layout

By splitting your slide equally using horizontal bars, you can instantly see a usable layout for your information. It doesn’t take much guessing to know where you can place content in these cases. Just fit it to the grid you made.

This is similar to the three-part layout but allows for a different kind of representation of information.

Here are some examples of how a horizontal split can be used:

This presentation layout idea works great when you have:

• An image representing each of your points
• A heading for each point, when there are no more than four points (otherwise there won’t be enough space on the slide)
• Body text that might be a little too dense to put into a vertical grid layout

For example, you could use this layout in a team slide within an investor pitch deck, where you simply have too much information about the founders to force into a tight space.

Learn how to customize this presentation:

A horizontal split layout can also be used as an alternative to bullet points when you are listing the benefits of a product, or spelling out a timeline of execution:

5. Centred callout presentation layout

There will be instances where you need a big callout (a specific and short message). For example, it’s great to have big callouts for “thank you” slides when ending a presentation .

A great way to do this is to either pick a background image with contrasting space or to add the color contrast on your own using gradients.

When picking font colors for your callout, always ask yourself:

• Will people be able to see it?
• Is there adequate contrast?

How to pick fonts for your callouts

There are many different font types . There’s sans-serif fonts (fonts with no line embellishments, i.e. Arial, Helvetica), serif fonts (fonts with line embellishments, i.e. Times New Roman), and scripts (hand-written cursive or fanciful typefaces).

These fonts all communicate different personalities based on your audience. Naturally, you wouldn’t use Comic Sans when presenting to an executive audience, would you?

Fancy fonts that are harder to read have been shown to promote better recollection . If you only have a few words on your slide, using a script can help to bolster this effect.

However, to be on the safe side, if you’re not sure whether you can keep your words brief, it’s better to stick to more legible fonts where people can easily make out the letters.

To leave a lasting impression on your audience, consider transforming your slides into an interactive presentation. Here are 15 interactive presentation ideas to enhance interactivity and engagement.

When faced with a blank slide, keep in mind these distinctions so that you’ll put together functional, aesthetic slides:

• Think about how much content you need on your slide. That will limit or expand your layout options. If you have three big points, use a horizontal or vertical layout split, it’s easy and fuss-free.
• If you have the prerogative to keep your presentation brief, use larger images for callouts, to take advantage of the “picture superiority effect” for better audience attention and recollection.
• When picking images for your slides, try to pick ones with more whitespace and, if humans are concerned, ones with faces. This gives you more layout options as well as helps to build rapport with your audience.
• Always ensure there is adequate contrast between your text and the background. If there isn’t, either add a shape or gradient to make the words legible.
• When laying out elements or text, be deliberate. Use the rule of thirds and try not to choose too many fonts.

There you have it! If you ever find yourself stuck with layouts when preparing a presentation, refer back to this article and start moving from there. Any questions? Do leave a comment!

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How to Change Layouts in PowerPoint

A PowerPoint template is composed of several layouts applied to the slides. The layouts are the set of elements that form up the appearance of any given slide. These elements can be text boxes, placeholders, backgrounds, logos, etc.

These layouts can be changed in any of the slides of your presentation, and you can apply them to any new slide that you create. If you want to learn how to create new slides, please refer to this tutorial , which contains everything that you need to get started in PowerPoint.

To change the layout of the slides, you can do any of the following:

• Select the slide whose layout you want to change, open the Layout drop-down menu, located in the Slides section of the Home tab, and choose the one that suits your needs.

• Right-click the slide whose layout you want to change → Layout. Then choose the desired option from the list.

Now you’re ready to apply any layouts to your slides and thus enhance any presentation. Remember that after changing the layout of an existing slide, you’ll probably need to readjust the elements, as they might get scrambled. We hope this tutorial is of any use to you. For further information, please refer to this article of the Microsoft Office support page .

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Create a new slide master and layouts

By customizing slide masters, you can create precisely the presentation design and layouts you need. If you want a section of your presentation to look different from the rest of the slides, with its own layouts, create an additional slide master for that section.

Add an additional slide master to a presentation

Click VIEW > Slide Master .

On the SLIDE MASTER tab, do one of the following:

In the Edit Theme group, click Themes , and then under Built-in , select a theme that you want the additional slide master to adhere to.

In the Edit Master group, click Insert Slide Master . Note that, if you use this procedure, the slide master appears without theme color and effects.

What is a slide master?

Use multiple slide masters in one presentation

In this presentation, I have customized the slide master and various master layouts and applied those changes to the slides. But after thinking about it, I’d really like this 'Testimonials' section to look different from the rest of the slides, with its own layouts.

My solution? Create an additional slide master for that section.

Let’s switch to Slide Master view and create a new master.

To keep many of the design details of the current master, I’ll right-click the master, and choose Duplicate Slide Master .

The new master gets inserted as number 2.

It has the same name as the original master, Fabrikam Theme, but with a number 1 in front, meaning it is the first copy of the original.

Now, let’s rename it. We’ll call it "Fabrikam Testimonials", and we’ll give it a unique design, starting with the background.

To remove the current background, I click Background Styles and choose a white background.

Instead of a background fill, I’ll click the INSERT tab, Pictures , and insert a picture file.

I’ll move the picture all the way left, right-click it, and choose Send to Back , to put it behind other content.

So, this master has a new look.

To customize the layouts, I’ll first delete those that I won’t need, keeping only the Title slides and the Testimonials layout.

There are various types of testimonials from our customers, so first I am going to copy this layout. I’ll press Ctrl+D twice to duplicate it twice and we’ll make each layout unique. We’ll change this one, so it says "Testimonials: Corporate". The second one will be "Testimonials: Nonprofit", and the third one "Testimonials: Personal".

Let’s vary the text box color, too.

I’ll right-click the box, click Format Shape , and under FILL , choose another Color : dark orange.

For the Nonprofit layout, we’ll follow the same steps and choose a lighter brown.

So, these are the new customized layouts.

Now, we’ll rename them. For each, we click Rename Layout and change the name.

Let’s also change the Section Header layout’s name to "Testimonials Section Header".

We’ll switch to Normal view now, and apply our design and layouts.

The Testimonials Section Header slide still has its original design applied, so I’ll right-click it, point to Layout , and look for my new layouts.

They are grouped under the new master 'Fabrikam Testimonials'.

I apply the Testimonials Section Header.

Next, this Testimonials slide still has the design and layout from the original master, so I’ll open the Layout gallery again and choose the Testimonials: Corporate layout.

For my other Testimonials content, I’ll insert New Slide and choose Testimonials: Nonprofit and Testimonials: Personal from the gallery.

The presentation now has the new Testimonials design as well as the original Fabrikam design.

To preserve my customizations, I have a couple of choices. Let’s open the Themes gallery on the DESIGN tab.

Each of my new designs appears in the Themes gallery. Here’s the Fabrikam theme, and here’s the Testimonials theme.

I can select one of them and choose Save Current Theme at the bottom of the gallery.

This will save both designs under the theme name that I choose, and for later presentations, I’ll find the theme in the gallery.

Another option is to save the customized presentation as a template.

To do this, click FILE , Save As , and choose PowerPoint Template in Save as type: .

This makes it available whenever you click FILE , New , along with other templates.

When you click the CUSTOM category, you find the Fabrikam template, which you can now use as the design for a new presentation.

By customizing slide masters, I have created precisely the presentation design and layouts I need. And now, you can, too.

For more information, read the course summary, and then experiment on your own.

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PowerPoint Slide Layouts

How to Work with Slide Layouts in PowerPoint

While every theme comes complete with its own set of professionally designed layouts, you may want to change them a bit to better suit your needs.

Edit a Layout

• From Slide Master view, select the slide master or one of the slide layouts.
• Click and drag existing placeholders to move or resize them.

• Select the text within a placeholder and then change the text formatting.

Any changes you made to the layout in Slide Master view are applied to all the presentation slides based on that layout.

Create a Custom Slide Layout

You can also create a brand-new slide layout if you need something unique.

• Go to Slide Master view.

Where you place the slide here determines where it appears in the menu when inserting or changing a slide layout in Normal view.

• Click the Insert Layout button on the Slide Master tab.

• Turn on or off the Title or Footers .
• Click the Insert Placeholder list arrow and select an option.
• Click and drag to create the placeholder.
• Repeat as necessary to add all needed placeholders to the slide.

The new layout is now available in the Slide Layout menu on the Home tab.

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