Themes and Design Ideas

A theme is more than a background colour. It sets:

• Heading and body fonts on every placeholder
• Accent colours for shapes, charts, and SmartArt
• Background style (solid, gradient, or subtle texture)

James Okonkwo applies a theme before adding department photos so pictures and text already match. Changing theme later is fine — but re-check contrast on photo slides after you switch.

A theme gives every slide matching colours and fonts before Open Day.

• 1Click Design on the Ribbon.
• 2Scroll the Themes row and hover thumbnails to preview.
• 3Click a theme such as Ion or Facet.
• 4Press Ctrl+S or Cmd+S.
• 5Expected result: Every slide updates — background, title font, and accent colour.

After you pick a theme, Variants on the Design tab offer lighter or darker versions.

James Okonkwo picks a variant with enough contrast for a bright Main Hall projector. If body text looks washed out, try a darker variant before you manually recolour every title.

Pick one theme for the whole Open Day deck. Mixing Ion on some slides and Facet on others looks unfinished even when both are pretty.

Strong contrast matters more than a trendy pastel on parent-facing slides. Light grey text on a white background disappears on a projector. Dark text on a light background — or white text on a dark theme variant — reads from the back of the Main Hall.

Design Ideas suggests professional layouts after you add content to a slide.

• 1Go to the Sports facilities slide (or any slide with a picture and bullets).
• 2Click Design → Design Ideas.
• 3Click a layout you like in the task pane.
• 4Expected result: The slide rearranges. You can click another suggestion or close the pane.

Fix: If Design Ideas is greyed out, add a photo or several bullets first. Design Ideas needs content to suggest layouts.

When you click a new theme on the Design tab, colours and fonts update on every slide in the file. Design Ideas changes one slide only. Speaker notes keep their own text; themes style slide content through the master.

Example — Theme vs Design Ideas: Click a theme → every slide updates. Click Design Ideas → only the current slide rearranges. Use a theme first for consistency across NorthgateOpenDay.pptx, then Design Ideas on photo slides that need a better layout.