Design

Colour Schemes

A colour scheme defines the default colour palette used within a presentation.
Each colour scheme consists of eight colours and these colours are automatically assigned to different parts of a presentation.
Every presentation (or template) will contain at least one colour scheme.
Applying a new template with a different colour scheme will automatically change the look and feel of that presentation.
The colour scheme affects every slide in your presentation.

Different Colour Schemes

Templates often contain several colour schemes all of which normally complement the main colour scheme.
If a presentation is divided into different sections you can use a different background colour for each section insetad of using multiple slide masters.
Having several different colour schemes makes it very quick and easy to change the look and feel of your presentations.
A common use for multiple colour schemes is to create a "light" and a "dark" version of the same presentation.
For onscreen viewing you might have a dark background and light text but for printing you might have a light background with dark text.

Apply - Applies the currently selected colour scheme to the active presentation.
Preview -

Eight Defined Colours

Each colour scheme has 8 colours, with each colour designated for a particular use.

Background - Used for the slide background
Text and Lines - Used for any text except the presentation title and slide titles. This is usually a colour that contrasts with the background colour.
Shadows - Used to produce shadow effects for objects drawn on the slide. Normally a darker version of the background colour (unless the background colour is very dark).
Title Text - Used for the presentation subtitle and bullet text. This should contrast with the background colour. This colour should complement the text and lines colour.
Fills - Used as the default colour for any objects or shapes.
Accent - Used for templates that use accent colours.
Accent and hyperlink - Used as another accent colour. This colour is also used to display hyperlinks that have not been followed. This colour is also the default colours for charts created with Microsoft Graph
Accent and followed hyperlink - Used as another accent colour. This colour is used to display hyperlinks that have been followed.

Slide Backgrounds

There are two ways you can change the background colour of your slides.
If you want to change the background colour of all the slides then you should change the Background colour of your colour scheme.
If you want to change the background colour of individual slides then you should use the (Format > Background) dialog box.
You can have either a single colour, gradient, texture, pattern or even a picture.

Design Templates

Design templates include both colour schemes and backgrounds.
Each design template includes several alternate colour schemes which are designed to complement the main colour scheme.
You have the option to change the colour scheme in just one individual slide
You can easily customise the colours and the backgrounds used in your presentations and templates.

Master Slides

The slide master also has a colour scheme which is used if the individual slides don't specify one.
To ensure that all your slides have the same colour scheme you only need to change the colour scheme associated with the slide master.
You can change the colour scheme which the master slide uses but this will always override any changes made to the existing colour scheme.

Important

Keep things simple and try not to use too many different colours.
Once you have chosen a colour scheme you are not restricted to just those eight colours, you can still use any colour.