How to Change the Theme, Colours and Fonts in PowerPoint
A theme is the complete look of a presentation — background, colours, fonts and layouts. Changing it restyles every slide at once. And you don't have to take the whole package: you can keep a theme's layout but swap in your own colours and fonts.
Quick reference
| What you want | How |
|---|---|
| Change the whole look | Design tab → click a theme |
| Change just the colours | Design → Variants ▾ → Colors |
| Change the fonts everywhere | Design → Variants ▾ → Fonts |
| Apply to selected slides only | Right-click the theme → Apply to Selected Slides |
| Save your own | Design → Themes ▾ → Save Current Theme |
1. Change the theme
1. Go to the Design tab.
2. Hover over the themes to preview them on your slide.
3. Click one to apply it to every slide.
2. Hover over the themes to preview them on your slide.
3. Click one to apply it to every slide.
Click the arrow at the right of the gallery to see them all.
2. Try the variants
Next to the themes is the Variants group — four colour variations of the current theme. Click one. Same layout, different mood.
3. Change the colours
Click the small arrow under Variants → Colors. Pick a ready-made palette, or choose Customize Colors to set your own — the first two are text and background, and Accent 1 is the colour used for most shapes and charts. Give it a name and save it.
Every shape, chart and heading that uses theme colours updates instantly. That's why it pays to pick colours from the theme row in the colour picker rather than the standard colours beneath it.
4. Change the fonts
Variants ▾ → Fonts. Each option sets a heading font and a body font. Customize Fonts lets you pick your own two. This changes every slide — no selecting text box by text box.
5. Apply a theme to some slides only
Select the slides in the thumbnail pane, then right-click a theme and choose Apply to Selected Slides. Useful for a differently styled section.
6. Save it to reuse
Design → Themes ▾ → Save Current Theme. It appears under Custom in the gallery of every new presentation.
Troubleshooting
Some text didn't change font. It was set to a specific font rather than the theme font. Select it and choose the font marked (Headings) or (Body) at the top of the font list.
My colours changed back when I pasted into another deck. Pasted slides take on the destination's theme. Click the paste options icon and choose Keep Source Formatting.
The theme looks different on a colleague's computer. They don't have your font installed. Embed the fonts: File → Options → Save → Embed fonts in the file.
Wrapping up
Design tab for the whole look, Variants for colours and fonts. Use theme colours when you format anything and the whole presentation will stay in step when you change your mind.
