PowerPoint: Presenting in Colour

When it comes to designing a PowerPoint presentation, we all recognise the importance of creating slides that are not overloaded with information. However, perhaps the significance of colour selection is often underestimated. It is so easy to just click on a PowerPoint template and then focus all energy on other aspects of presentation design. However, colour choices can have a powerful impact on the audience; both setting the mood and influencing attitudes before the speaker has even said a word.

The correct colour choice should reflect the subject matter. It can be as simple as using company colours to reinforce the corporate image of an organisation in the minds of the audience. Dark blues and greys, for example, may be appropriate for a financial presentation but would not work so well for a children's entertainment company. It is also important to take into account the target audience. A young audience may prefer a bright, contrasting colour scheme whereas a more conservative audience might prefer more subdued colours. When designing a presentation, it is useful to remember how certain colours are perceived by the human mind. Cultural issues are an important consideration as colours can have different associations in different parts of the world. Red, for example, can be considered a happy, lucky colour or it can symbolise danger and risk.

Microsoft PowerPoint templates have built-in colour schemes and much effort went into their design. It is therefore worth using these colour templates to format a presentation. A PowerPoint colour scheme has eight colours and each colour is assigned to a particular function: slide background colour, shadows colour, title text colour, fills colour, colour for any text or drawn lines that appear on the slide and accent colours (three colours). Each slide can have its' own colour scheme although it is often more effective to use one scheme throughout a presentation to ensure consistency.

Colour should be used sparingly for maximum effect. Contrasting colours should be used to ensure that the text can be clearly read and does not blend into the background. This will help to make presentations easy to read even if the room lighting is not ideal. Darker backgrounds are preferred by the human eye when projecting a presentation onto a screen. However, when it comes to printing handouts a light background with dark coloured text achieves better results.

PowerPoint courses will cover the principles of colour selection and how to use the software to best effect to achieve attractive, professional and successful presentations.