If you are using Office 365 to access PowerPoint, then you have a nifty feature called Designer Ideas. This tool leverages AI to give you creative slide variations that can make your PowerPoint pop.
Let me show you how it works.
Using Design Ideas in PowerPoint
Start by opening PowerPoint. You can use an existing presentation or create a new one. For the purpose of this blog, I am going to select Blank Presentation.
The true power of Design Ideas it that its suggestions are specific to the PowerPoint you are making.
For example, let’s say you wanted to add a picture to your presentation. I found a picture of a waterfall online and added it to the presentation. When you place the picture in your slide, a new tab appears on the right called Design Ideas with suggestions on how to organize your slide.
Just click on the suggestion to apply it to your slide. You can always hit undo or ctrl+Z if you want to go back. I found one I like that looks slick and professional.
As you continue building your slide, you will get even more suggestions. Keep an eye on the pane as you add things like pictures, tables, charts, etc. to see the new ideas.
How do I access the Design Ideas view?
In case the tab doesn’t show up or you accidentally close the pane, I wanted to show you how to access this view. In your navigation ribbon click on the “Design” tab.
On the far right you will see a section called “Design Ideas”, click on that and the pane will appear. Conversely, you can click on it again to close the pane.
It’s that easy!
Extra Title Slide Options with Design Ideas
Another cool aspect of Design Ideas is that it gives you additional options for your title slide. Continuing with the waterfall example, I created a blank title slide and added the word Waterfalls.
This time I got suggestions that included a high-quality background image.
Timeline Options
While playing around with this tool, I discovered how to create high-quality timelines easily. This feature is powerful but a little hidden, so let me show you how I did it.
First, I made a quick text slide with my hypothetical trip.
Then I changed it to a timeline using design ideas.
Then I added a waterfall image to get this final suggestion.
Pretty Cool Right!
Conclusion
Microsoft has made it easy to build high-quality presentations without needing a graphic design or marketing degree. Even though I have this background myself, I use it frequently to see how I can take our designs to the next level. I hope this blog has given you some inspiration to take your PowerPoint presentations to the next level.
Don't have PowerPoint? Did you know it's available in Office 365? You can learn more about the benefits of Office 365 by following this link.
You can also find more PowerPoint blogs from Innovia to keep expanding your skillset.
Happy PowerPointing!
