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Principles Of Power Point Design- The Ways Of Color

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This is one presentation in a series for PowerPoint instruction in the classroom. Topic: Color

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by Adam Noar

Have you ever seen a presentation where you could barely make out what was on the screen because the presenter used colors that made it hard to tell what was text and what was background? What about a presentation that clearly had no color theme whatsoever?

That's because color choice matters!

In fact, the choice of colors for your PowerPoint slides is one of the important decisions that must be made when you begin designing your slides. Some businesses today mandate a corporate template with set colors that must be used for all presentations as part of a branding initiative. In that case, you may not have no choice in the colors.

However, with many presentations you have the freedom to choose your slide colors. So how do you choose? Here are some ideas to keep in mind when picking colors for your next presentation.

Pay Attention To The Wheel

Remember learning the color wheel from art class in grade school?

The color wheel presents the primary colors: blue, red and yellow; the secondary colors: green, orange and violet; and the tertiary colors that exist between them in an arrangement that highlights their relationships with one another. Choose colors opposite one another, such as yellow and violet to create dramatic contrast. Colors immediately adjacent to one another, on the other hand, result in a softer, more understated feel.

Here are three solid methods to approach the color wheel when selecting your palette.

The first is the Triadic Color Scheme, which is made up of three colors on separate ends of the color wheel (forming a triangle ... hence the name). This method ensures that the colors are equally vibrant.

The second is the Compound Color Scheme, in which two colors are chosen from opposite ends of the spectrum.

And finally, the third method is known as the Analogous Scheme, which selects three colors next to each other on the color spectrum.

Adobe Kuler is a great place to play around with the three color schemes mentioned above and also explore some nice themes created by other users.

Use High Contrast

One of the most common mistakes in selecting colors for presentation slides is not using enough contrast between the colors chosen for the background and the text or graphics. So, strive for maximum contrast for maximum effect. If viewers have to strain to read anything, you've made a poor choice in colors. If you have a dark background, use the lightest font possible in your scheme. If you have a light background, don't ever use a yellow font or anything lighter. Your color scheme may hurt you in this regard, especially if you are hoping to keep with complimentary colors that are too close. In that case, choose a different font color to ensure that everyone can read without pain.

Create A Color Scheme From Your Title Slide (Or Any Picture In Your Presentation)

If you're not sure what colors to use in your slides, you might want to create a color theme from the image you included in your title slide (if you included one).

If you're not sure what the exact colors are in your image, you can use a color extraction tool like Color Cop. Check out Slides Made Simple for more details on how this tool works.

Use No More Than 3-4 Colors In Your Theme

Unless you are giving a presentation about rainbows, all of the colors in the wheel don't need to be represented. Keep it simple and stick with 2-4 colors throughout.

Learn The 60-30-10 Rule

If you've selected three colors, a good way to balance them on a slide or throughout the presentation is the 60-30-10 rule. This means that the primary color takes up 60% of the space, the secondary takes up 30%, and the accent color accounts for the final 10%. This rule is all about creating balance, and is a great place to start if you're staring down a blank slide.

Even though there can be times when you can break the rules when choosing colors, sticking to some initial guidelines can keep you from being overwhelmed by options. Sometimes it's cool to follow the rules.

Pay Attention To A Color's Meaning

Studies have shown that different colors evoke different general feelings in many people. This can be important when selecting colors for your presentation slides since you will want to avoid colors that will negatively impact the message you are delivering. For example, black can evoke feelings of being highly technical, formal, and death while red can promote feelings of passion, excitement, and aggression.

Conclusion

I hope that you found these PowerPoint tips useful. Once you get the hang of using color your PowerPoint or Keynote presentations will improve greatly.

Let me ask you this ...

Do you have a friend that could use some help picking colors for his/her PowerPoint presentation. If so, make sure to send them a link to these presentation tips. I'm sure they will return the favor one day!

Also...

Do you think you will try these color picking tips yourself? Leave me a detailed comment below! I make sure to read each and every one!

Image Credits

Cover Photo (Remixed by Adam Noar) by Teresa Williams

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How To Pick Colors for your PowerPoint Presentations

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by Adam Noar Have you ever seen a presentation where you could barely make out what was on the screen because the presenter used colors that made it hard to tell what was text and what was background? What about a presentation that clearly had no color theme whatsoever?

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Sharon Xu

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It's no secret that humans are visual creatures, but few know how much of an impact the colors that make up those visuals have on how we feel and respond to information. Our color associations are not merely preferences, they're also influenced by culture and evolution. For instance, it's thought that humans have an aversion to brown because of its associations with rotting produce, and red catches our attention because it's a universal sign of heightened emotion. Presentations that are not only visual but also thoughtful when it comes to color, have a better chance of effectively communicating their message. In this article, we'll share some of our top tips for putting together a powerful palette.

Setting the Mood

In order to choose your presentation colors, start by determining what mood you're trying to set. Is the message supposed to be exciting? Perhaps it's intended to keep people calm during a time of high tension, or maybe it's full of important information that will require your audience to stay alert and attentive throughout. In any case, try using the guide below to help you select the right starting point for your color scheme.

A Dash of Color Theory

Once you've used mood to determine your base color, you can move on to choosing the rest them. At 99designs, we use a color wheel and a bit of color theory to help us out. Consider one of the following themes:

Monochromatic: one color in multiple shades or hues.

A monochromatic theme will give your presentation a feeling of harmony and be visually pleasing to almost everyone. If this were a food, it would be spaghetti with meatballs: it's a classic and when done right it can be amazing, but even not done right it's pretty hard to offend anyone or make it terrible.

Analogous: two colors right next to each other on the color wheel, you'll want to pick different shades or hues of these colors, as well, for contrast.

This approach adds a nice level of variety, but is still fairly safe. This is good for helping people pay attention and take in complicated topics without overwhelming them. If this were a food it would be enchiladas: it has a little spice, but it's still a pretty safe thing to serve at a dinner party.

Complementary: two colors across from each other on the color wheel, again, with a couple shades/hues of each.

This will get attention! When we see complementary colors next to each other, it overloads our brains. This sort of scheme is best used when you definitely want to make a splash. If this type of theme were a food it would be screaming hot chili: some people are going to love it, but it may be too spicy for others.

Triadic: three colors equally spaced around the color wheel, with small variations in shade of two colors.

This is a color scheme for advanced color users. When done right, it can guide where people look, creating balanced and visually compelling presentations, but it's also really easy to mess up. Triadic themes are chocolate souffles: gourmet, delicious, will win you praise from almost anyone, but are super hard to make right. One tip to keep in mind is giving each color a purpose. For example, one color should be more muted to ground viewers and the other two should be intentionally used as accents.

Careful Application is Key

When you've got your palette together, remember to use it to direct attention rather than steal the show. For example, see how the monochromatic theme below was applied to the dinosaur illustration. From left to right, the first color was used for headlines, the second for body text, the third for background, and the fourth and fifth are accent colors.

Also, remember that accent colors should be used sparingly. Try using them to draw attention to the most important parts of your presentations, such as the 1-3 key takeaways you want people to remember.

Next, we'll be back to talk about how to use typography in presentations. Stay tuned!

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How To Choose The Best Colors For Your Presentations | Prezi Blog

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It's no secret that humans are visual creatures, but few know how much of an impact the colors that make up those visuals have on how we feel and respond to information. Our color associations are not merely preferences, they're also influenced by culture and evolution.