When creating PowerPoint decks you need to know how color themes work in PowerPoint, how many and what colors you need for your custom color theme, as well as how to quickly add more colors.

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2. How to create your own color theme
for your PowerPoint presentation
When creating PowerPoint decks
you need to know how color
themes work in PowerPoint, how
many and what colors you need
for your custom color theme, as
well as how to quickly add more
colors.

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A PowerPoint color theme
consists of 10 colors:
4 text & background colors
+ 6 accent colors.

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The 10 default colors in PowerPoint*
Dark
1
Light
1
Light
2
231
230
230
Dark
2
Accent
1
Accent
2
Accent
3
Accent
4
Accent
5
Accent
6

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The 10 default colors in PowerPoint*
Text & background colors Accent colors
Tints & shades of
accent colors
Dark
1
Light
1
Light
2
231
230
230
Dark
2
Accent
1
Accent
2
Accent
3
Accent
4
Accent
5
Accent
6

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The order of the accent
colors is important

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Default
background color
& default text
color on dark
background
Default text color
on light
background &
default dark
background color
Light
background 2.
Dark
background 2
The order of the text/background
colors is important

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Default
background color
& default text
color on dark
background
Default text color
on light
background &
default dark
background color
Light
background 2.
Dark
background 2
The text/background colors define
the background styles

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Never define the text/background
colors as accent colors!
If another color than
black is defined as
default text color
(Dark 1), make Dark 2
black.
If you need
more than six accent
colors, you can add
custom colors to your
color theme.

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PowerPoint automatically generates
tints and shades for the 10 colors
Dark
1
Light
1
Light
2
231
230
230
Dark
1
Accent
1
Accent
2
Accent
3
Accent
4
Accent
5
Accent
6

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How to add your own
colors to PowerPoint?

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1 Use the standard color palette
PowerPoint gives you
127 colors, plus white,
black, and shades of
gray to choose from in
the built-in standard
color palette.
Click to read our guide to basic color theory!
1

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PowerPoint uses the RGB
model to create colors (as
PowerPoint was designed to
be shown on a screen).
Each RGB color has
three values, each ranging
from 0-255, where BLACK
is 0-0-0 and WHITE is 255-
255-255.
BLACK
2 Use the RGB Color Model
Click to read our guide to color models!
2

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You can also create colors in
PowerPoint using the HSL color
model.
The HSL model is available
under the custom dialog box.
Using the HSL model you
can change the hue ,
saturation and luminosity
of a color.
3 l Use the HSL color model
Click to read our guide to color models!
3

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How to add and save a
custom PowerPoint
color theme?

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D1L1 L2
Light 1 Dark 1 Light 2
D2
Dark 2
1
Accent 1
2
Accent 2
3
Accent 3
4
Accent 4
5
Accent 5
6
Accent 6
Hyperlink Followed
Hyperlink
Define the 10 theme colors*
* Plus colors for hyperlinks
H FH

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Go to the Customize Colors
dialogue box
How to add the custom colors
to PowerPoint
1
Design Tab
Variants menu
Colors Drop-down
Customize Colors…

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Define each color in the
color theme by using the
drop down boxes (using
either of the three
methods for adding
colors described
previously).
Name your new color
theme and save.
2
3
3
How to add a custom color
theme to PowerPoint
2

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Need more accent
colors quickly?

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Use automatic generated tints & shades1

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Use automatic generated tints & shades1

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Use automatic generated tints & shades1

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MORE WHITE MORE BLACKORIGINAL HUE
Drag the arrow up for a tint (the
color blended with white) or
down for a shade (the color
blended with black).
Accent 1
2 Use the custom RGB color settings2

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ORIGINAL HUE
HUE: move cross-hair horizontally.
SATURATION: move cross-hair
vertically.
LUMINOSITY: move vertical bar up
(add white) or down (add black).
HUE SATURATION LUMINOSITY
Accent 1
3 Use the HSL color model3

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ORIGINAL HUE
Start with a base color and then
add a transparent object on top.
Set it to black or white and then
set your transparency values in
increments.
25% 50% 75%
Accent 1
4 Use the transparency bar4

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What if I want an even
faster way to create a
color theme?

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Use the built-in color themes
If you don’t have time to create a color theme,
PowerPoint has a number of built-in color themes.
You apply these color themes via the Design Tab,
Variants menu, and the Colors Drop-down.
This is the Median color theme, available in 2010,
2013, 2011, 2016 for both PC and Mac.
Click to read our overview of all built-in Office color themes!

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What if my favorite
colors or brand colors
are HEX or CMYK?

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ACCENT COLORS,
TEXT & BACKGROUND
COLORS, CREATING
COLOR THEMES…
ARE YOU STILL WITH US?

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Define 6 accent colors in RGB1
Define 2 light + 2 dark colors
for text & background in RGB
2
Define hyperlink colors in RGB3
Add colors to PowerPoint using
Design Tab
4
Name and apply color theme5
Use shades and tints to create
more colors
6

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