Create professional slide layouts with Designer (2024)

Designer improves slides for Microsoft 365 subscribers by automatically generating design ideas to choose from.

While you're putting content on a slide, Designer works in the background to match that content to professionally designed layouts.

Create professional slide layouts with Designer (1)

Windows macOS Web iOS Android Windows Mobile

This is a subscriber-only, Microsoft 365 feature. If you don't see the Designer Create professional slide layouts with Designer (3) button, or you don't see certain features described on this page, read Requirements below for more details.

Get design ideas

  1. Ask for design ideas any time by choosing Design > Designer Create professional slide layouts with Designer (4) on the ribbon.

  2. Scroll through the suggestions in the Designer pane on the right side of the window.

  3. Click to select the design you want, or else close the window. If you select an idea, your slide is changed accordingly.

    You can also select another idea from the pane or go back to your original slide design: Press Ctrl+Z to undo a design change you've just selected.

What Designer gives you:

A title-slide photo and a design scheme

When you start a blank presentation and enter words on the slide, Designer recommends high-quality photos that reflect the slide text, plus a design scheme with colors that complement the photograph you choose. All the slides in the presentation will fit together visually.

Create professional slide layouts with Designer (5)

Professional layouts

Designer detects pictures, charts, or tables on a slide and gives you several suggestions for arranging them in a cohesive, attractive layout.

Create professional slide layouts with Designer (6)

More visuals, less text

Too much text on your slide? Designer can turn text such as lists, processes, or timelines into an easily readable graphic.

Create professional slide layouts with Designer (7)

Bulleted lists get suggestions for an icon to accompany each bullet item. If you don't like a suggested icon, just select it and use our on-the-spot replacement button:

Create professional slide layouts with Designer (8)

Illustrations

Designer watches for key terms and concepts that it has illustrations for, and it shows you those illustrations in various layouts. The Illustrations are from the Microsoft 365 icons library.

Create professional slide layouts with Designer (9)

Designer and "ink"

(Only for Microsoft 365 subscribers) Designer recognizes when you draw or write with ink, and it incorporates that content into the design ideas it shows you.

Turn off Designer

If you don't want Designer to automatically offer suggestions:

  1. On the File menu, click Options.

  2. In the PowerPoint Options dialog box, click the General tab on the left, then scroll toward the bottom and clear the Automatically show me design ideas check box.

Requirements

Requirements for Designer on Windows

Create professional slide layouts with Designer (10)

This is a subscriber-only, Microsoft 365 feature.
Find your version

Design ideas for one photo
Applies to:

PowerPoint for Microsoft 365
Current Channel: Version 1511 or later
Semi-Annual Enterprise Channel: Version 1602 or later

Multiple photos, color extraction, and facial recognition
Applies to:

PowerPoint for Microsoft 365
Current Channel: Version 1603 or later
Semi-Annual Enterprise Channel: Version 1605 or later

Convert lists to SmartArt graphics
Applies to:

PowerPoint for Microsoft 365
Current Channel: Version 1609 or later
Semi-Annual Enterprise Channel: Version 1701 or later

Design ideas for action-oriented lists
Applies to:

PowerPoint for Microsoft 365
Current Channel: Version 1702 or later
Semi-Annual Enterprise Channel: Version 1708 or later

Design ideas where icons substitute for text
Applies to:

PowerPoint for Microsoft 365
Current Channel: Version 1612 or later
Semi-Annual Enterprise Channel: Not available yet

Design ideas for charts
Applies to:

PowerPoint for Microsoft 365
Current Channel: Version 1705 or later
Semi-Annual Enterprise Channel: Version 1803 or later

Design ideas for time lines
Applies to:

PowerPoint for Microsoft 365
Current Channel: Version 1707 or later
Semi-Annual Enterprise Channel: Version 1803 or later

Design ideas for converting text to Icons + SmartArt graphics
Applies to:

PowerPoint for Microsoft 365

Design ideas for content drawn in ink
Applies to:

PowerPoint for Microsoft 365
Current Channel: Version 1812 or later
Semi-Annual Enterprise Channel: Not available yet

This is a subscriber-only, Microsoft 365 feature. If you don't see the Designer Create professional slide layouts with Designer (12) button, or you don't see certain features described on this page, read Requirements below for more details.

Get design ideas

  1. Ask for design ideas any time by choosing Design > Designer on the ribbon.

    Create professional slide layouts with Designer (13)

  2. Scroll through the suggestions in the Designer pane on the right side of the window.

  3. Click to select the design you want, or else close the window. If you select one of the ideas, your slide is changed accordingly.

    You can also select another idea from the pane or go back to your original slide design: Press ⌘+Z to undo a design change you've just selected.

Create professional slide layouts with Designer (14)

You can ask for design ideas any time by choosing Design > Designer on the ribbon.
What Designer gives you:

A title-slide photo and a design scheme

When you start a blank presentation and enter words on the slide, Designer recommends high-quality photos that reflect the slide text, plus a design scheme with colors that complement the photograph you choose. All the slides in the presentation will fit together visually.

Create professional slide layouts with Designer (15)

Professional layouts

Designer detects pictures, charts, or tables on a slide and gives you several suggestions for arranging them in a cohesive, attractive layout.

Create professional slide layouts with Designer (16)

SmartArt graphics

Designer can turn text such as lists, processes, or timelines into an easily readable SmartArt graphic.

Create professional slide layouts with Designer (17)

Bulleted lists get suggestions for an icon to accompany each bullet item. If you don't like a suggested icon, just select it and use our on-the-spot replacement button:

Create professional slide layouts with Designer (18)

Illustrations

Designer watches for key terms and concepts that it has illustrations for, and it shows you those illustrations in various layouts. The Illustrations are from the Microsoft 365 icons library.

Create professional slide layouts with Designer (19)

Turn off Designer

If you don't want Designer to offer suggestions:

  1. On the PowerPoint menu, select Preferences.

  2. Under Authoring and Proofing Tools, select General.

  3. In the General dialog box, under PowerPoint Designer, clear the Automatically show me design ideas check box.

The Designer button is grayed out

If you can see the Designer button in PowerPoint but it's grayed out, it means:

  • You aren't connected to the internet, or

  • A slide isn't selected. (This can be the case when multiple slides are selected in the slide thumbnail pane in Normal view, or when the focus in the thumbnail pane is between two slides. It also is the case when the focus is in the Notes pane or you are in Slide Show view rather than Normal view.)

The Designer button isn't there

Designer is a feature for Microsoft 365 subscribers. If you don't see the Designer button, you're using an older version of PowerPoint for Mac, rather than PowerPoint for Microsoft 365 for Mac.

Requirements

Requirements for Designer on the Mac

Create professional slide layouts with Designer (20)

This is a subscriber-only, Microsoft 365 feature.
Find yourversion

Applies to:

PowerPoint for Microsoft 365 for Mac
Monthly Channel: Version 15.26.0.160910 or later

This feature is available for files stored on OneDrive and SharePoint in Microsoft 365. If you don't see the Designer Create professional slide layouts with Designer (22) button, or you don't see certain features described on this page, read Requirements below for more details.

Get design ideas

  1. Ask for design ideas any time by choosing Design > Designer on the ribbon. Create professional slide layouts with Designer (23)

    PowerPoint shows design ideas for your slide.

  2. Scroll through the suggestions in the Designer pane on the right side of the window.

  3. Click to select the design you want, or else close the window. If you select one of the ideas, your slide is changed accordingly.

    You can also select another idea from the pane or go back to your original slide design: Press Ctrl+Z to undo a design change you've just selected.

What Designer gives you:

Professional layouts

Designer detects pictures, charts, or tables on a slide and gives you several suggestions for arranging them in a cohesive, attractive layout.

Create professional slide layouts with Designer (24)

SmartArt graphics

Create professional slide layouts with Designer (25)

Designer can turn text such as lists, processes, or timelines into an easily readable SmartArt graphic.

Bulleted lists get suggestions for an icon to accompany each bullet item. If you don't like a suggested icon, just select it and use our on-the-spot replacement button:

Create professional slide layouts with Designer (26)

Illustrations

Designer watches for key terms and concepts that it has illustrations for, and it shows you those illustrations in various layouts. The Illustrations are from the Microsoft 365 icons library.

Create professional slide layouts with Designer (27)

The Designer button is grayed out

If you can see the Designer button in PowerPoint but it's grayed out, it means that someone else is currently also editing the slide:

  • If you're co-authoring a presentation with someone else and more than one person is actively editing a single slide at one time, Designer won't give design suggestions on that slide.

  • However, as soon as there's only person editing the slide, Designer will begin offering design suggestions again once that person does an action (such as adding a photo) that Designer can respond to.

Requirements

Requirements for Designer on PowerPoint for the web

Create professional slide layouts with Designer (28)

Applies to:

PowerPoint files stored in OneDrive, OneDrive for work or school or SharePoint in Microsoft 365.

Designer is available when you're using an iPad, but not an iPhone. Read Requirements below for more details.

Get design ideas

  1. Ask for design ideas any time by choosing Design > Design Ideas on the ribbon.

    Create professional slide layouts with Designer (30)

  2. The first time you try out Designer, it asks your permission to get design ideas for you. If you want to use Designer, select Turn on or Let's go.

    To learn more, see the Microsoft Privacy Statement.

    Once you've turned on intelligent services, PowerPoint automatically shows you design ideas when you add photos to your slides.

    Create professional slide layouts with Designer (31)

  3. Scroll through the suggestions in the Design Ideas pane on the right side of the window.

  4. Click to select the design you want, or else close the window. If you select one of the ideas, your slide is changed accordingly.

    You can also select another idea from the pane or go back to your original slide design: Tap Undo Create professional slide layouts with Designer (32) to back out of a design change you've just selected.

What Designer gives you:

Professional layouts

Designer detects pictures, charts, or tables on a slide and gives you several suggestions for arranging them in a cohesive, attractive layout.

Create professional slide layouts with Designer (33)

SmartArt graphics

Create professional slide layouts with Designer (34)

Designer can turn text such as lists, processes, or timelines into an easily readable SmartArt graphic.

The Design Ideas button is grayed out

If you can see the Design Ideas button in PowerPoint but it's grayed out, it means you aren't connected to the internet.

Requirements

Requirements for Designer on iOS

Create professional slide layouts with Designer (35)

Designer is available when you're using an iPad, but not an iPhone.

Applies to:

PowerPoint for iOS
Version 2.0.17042601 or later

Designer is available when you're using an Android tablet, but not a phone. Read Requirements below for more details.

Get design ideas

  1. Ask for design ideas any time by choosing Design > Design Ideas on the ribbon. Create professional slide layouts with Designer (37)

  2. The first time you try out Designer, it asks your permission to get design ideas for you. If you want to use Designer, select Turn on or Let's go.

    To learn more, see the Microsoft Privacy Statement.

    Once you've turned on intelligent services, PowerPoint automatically shows you design ideas when you add photos to your slides.

    Create professional slide layouts with Designer (38)

  3. Scroll through the suggestions in the Design Ideas pane on the right side of the window.

  4. Click to select the design you want, or else close the window. If you select one of the ideas, your slide is changed accordingly.

    You can also select another idea from the pane or go back to your original slide design: Tap Undo Create professional slide layouts with Designer (39) to back out of a design change you've just selected.

What Designer gives you:

Professional layouts

Designer detects pictures, charts, or tables on a slide and gives you several suggestions for arranging them in a cohesive, attractive layout.

Create professional slide layouts with Designer (40)

SmartArt graphics

Create professional slide layouts with Designer (41)

Designer can turn text such as lists, processes, or timelines into an easily readable SmartArt graphic.

The Design Ideas button is grayed out

If you can see the Design Ideas button in PowerPoint but it's grayed out, it means you aren't connected to the internet.

Requirements

Requirements for Designer on Android

Create professional slide layouts with Designer (42)

Designer is available when you're using an Android tablet, but not a phone.

Applies to:

PowerPoint for Android
Version 16.0.7531.1011 or later

Designer is available when you're using a Windows tablet, but not a Windows phone. Read Requirements below for more details.

Get design ideas

  1. Ask for design ideas any time by choosing Design > Design Ideas on the ribbon.

    Create professional slide layouts with Designer (44)

  2. The first time you try out Designer, it asks your permission to get design ideas for you. If you want to use Designer, select Turn on or Let's go.

    To learn more, see the Microsoft Privacy Statement.

    Once you've turned on intelligent services, PowerPoint automatically shows you design ideas when you add photos to your slides.

    Create professional slide layouts with Designer (45)

  3. Scroll through the suggestions in the Design Ideas pane on the right side of the window.

  4. Click to select the design you want, or else close the window. If you select one of the ideas, your slide is changed accordingly.

    You can also select another idea from the pane or go back to your original slide design: Tap Undo Create professional slide layouts with Designer (46) to back out of a design change you've just selected.

What Designer gives you:

Professional layouts

Designer detects pictures, charts, or tables on a slide and gives you several suggestions for arranging them in a cohesive, attractive layout.

Create professional slide layouts with Designer (47)

SmartArt graphics

Create professional slide layouts with Designer (48)

Designer can turn text such as lists, processes, or timelines into an easily readable SmartArt graphic.

The Design Ideas button is grayed out

If you can see the Design Ideas button in PowerPoint but it's grayed out, it means you aren't connected to the internet.

Requirements

Requirements for Designer on Windows Mobile

Create professional slide layouts with Designer (49)

Designer is available when you're using a tablet, but not a phone.

Applies to:

PowerPoint Mobile
Version 16.0.8201.1017 or later

Troubleshooting

Create professional slide layouts with Designer (50)

Which problem are you having? 
  • Which problem are you having?
  • I don't see the Designer button
  • I clicked the Designer button, but no suggestions are offered
  • The Designer button is grayed out

Design ideas are only available to Microsoft 365 subscribers

On desktop versions of PowerPoint, only subscribers get design ideas. You can try or buy a subscription here.

On PowerPoint for the web, design ideas are available to everyone.

One Microsoft 365 subscription package doesn't include design ideas: Office 365 Germany Germany.

Turn on the Office connected experiences

To use Designer, make sure that Office "connected experiences" are turned on:

Go to File > Account, and under Account Privacy select Manage Settings.

Create professional slide layouts with Designer (51)

See Enabling and disabling intelligent services for more information.

An administrator may have turned off Designer

Designer is a feature for Microsoft 365 subscribers, but some organizations turn off the feature. If you have an Microsoft 365 subscription but don't see the Designer button, ask your IT department.

Reinstall Office to get subscriber features

If you've upgraded from Microsoft 365 to an Microsoft 365 subscription, you need to uninstall Microsoft 365 and then reinstall in order to get the subscriber features. See the instructions in these articles:

  1. Uninstall Office from a PC or Uninstall Office 2016 for Mac

  2. Reinstall Microsoft 365

Restart the app to get Designer

Sometimes users find that the first time they start PowerPoint after installing Microsoft 365, the Designer button isn't available. Restarting the app fixes this problem.

If there are no design ideas available for you, a few things might be the cause. First of all:

  • Make sure you're connected to the Internet. Designer goes online to get its design ideas.

  • Use a theme that comes with PowerPoint (not a custom theme or one that you've downloaded from elsewhere).

Following are other problems and how to solve them:

No design ideas for slides with pictures

  • Make sure your slide has either the Title or Title + Content slide layout applied.

  • Don't use any additional objects or shapes on the same slide as your photo.

  • Use a maximum of four photos (.jpg, .png, .gif, or .bmp) per slide, and make sure they're larger than 200 x 200 pixels in size.

No design ideas for process-based slides

  • Make sure your slide has the Title + Content slide layout applied.

  • Don't use any additional photos, objects, or shapes on the same slide as your process text.

Because Designer is a relatively new service, it is still learning new tricks. If Designer can’t generate high-quality options for you, it won’t show any options at all. We're working hard to be able to generate great design ideas for more varieties of your content.

And of course, if you don’t find Designer useful, you can turn it off by going to File > Options > General, and then clearing the box that says Automatically show me design ideas.

Someone else is editing

If you're co-authoring a presentation with someone else and more than one person is actively editing a single slide at one time, Designer won't give design suggestions on that slide.

However, as soon as there's only person editing the slide, Designer will begin offering design suggestions again once that person does an action (such as adding a photo) that Designer can respond to.

No design ideas for slides that have shapes or text boxes

Designer isn't able to suggest design ideas when a slide has a shape or text box drawn on it. You can have photos and you can have text in a placeholder.

If you can see the Designer button in PowerPoint but it's grayed out, it means:

  • You aren't connected to the internet, or

  • A single slide isn't selected. This can be the case when multiple slides are selected in the slide thumbnail pane in Normal view, or when the focus in the thumbnail pane is between two slides. It also is the case when the focus is in the Notes pane or you are in Slide Show view rather than Normal view.

See Also

Combining colors in PowerPoint: Mistakes to avoid

Format the background color of slides

Start with a presentation template

Create professional slide layouts with Designer (2024)

FAQs

What is the best way to design layouts for your slides? ›

What is the best way to design the layout for your slides?
  1. A. Create layouts for slides, handouts and notes using the Master Layout dialog box in slide master view.
  2. B. For each new slide, select a layout from the Slide Layout task pane.
  3. C. Apply templates from the Slide Design task pane.
  4. D. None of above.

See More ›
How do you make a professional slide in PowerPoint? ›

10 PowerPoint hacks to make your presentations look more...
  1. Write before you design. ...
  2. Start with a title slide that piques interest. ...
  3. Stick to simple designs. ...
  4. Emphasize one point per slide. ...
  5. Use text sparingly. ...
  6. Select images for impact. ...
  7. Practice your verbal presentation. ...
  8. Run it by a colleague.

Get More Info ›
Why doesn't my PowerPoint have designer? ›

Designer is only available to Microsoft 365 subscribers

On desktop versions of PowerPoint, only subscribers get design ideas. You can try or buy a subscription here. On PowerPoint for the web, Designer is available to everyone. One Microsoft 365 subscription package doesn't include Designer: Office 365 Germany Germany.

Read On ›
How do you get designer ideas on PowerPoint? ›

Ask for design ideas any time by choosing Design > Designer on the ribbon. PowerPoint shows design ideas for your slide. Scroll through the suggestions in the Designer pane on the right side of the window. Click to select the design you want, or else close the window.

See Details ›
How do I create a custom slide layout? ›

Customize a slide layout
  1. On the View tab, click Slide Master.
  2. The slide layouts appear as thumbnails in the left pane below the slide master.
  3. Do one or both of the following: Click the layout you want and customize it. ...
  4. Click Close Master to stop editing layouts.

View Details ›
What makes a good slide template? ›

You need samples of commonly used elements like charts, tables, and timelines – even frequently used slides like agenda pages, are important to have in the template. A good looking background is nice – but the functional aspects are more critical!

Continue Reading ›
What makes a good professional PowerPoint? ›

Use key phrases and include only essential information. Limit punctuation and avoid putting words in all-capital letters. Empty space on the slide will enhance readability. Use contrasting colors for text and background.

Know More ›
What are two things that every professional PowerPoint presentation should include? ›

What should be included in the PowerPoint slides?
  • Text – allows you to reinforce your main points and keep key terms and concepts in the readers' minds. ...
  • Images – illustrate or highlight your main point. ...
  • Graphs or Tables – present complicated information or numerical figures in a clear and easily digestible manner.

View Details ›
How do you apply design ideas to all slides? ›

Resolution
  1. In the Slide Design task pane, browse to the slide design that you want. ...
  2. When you rest the mouse pointer over your selected design in the Slide Design task pane, a gray options button with an arrow appears. ...
  3. Click Apply to Selected Slides in the options button list.

Learn More ›
How do I enable design ideas in PowerPoint Office 365? ›

Enable Design Ideas on Windows

After opening PowerPoint, go to the File menu and select Options. Switch to the General tab, where you can see a section dedicated to PowerPoint Designer. Make sure you have both of these options turned on: Automatically show me design ideas.

Find Out More ›

How do I make all slides the same design idea in PowerPoint? ›

Generally, you want to use the same design for all of the slides in your presentation. By clicking on the Design Ribbon, and moving your mouse over the different images in the Themes Group, you will see what that design would look like on your slides. Click on the design image to actually apply it.

Get More Info Here ›
How do I create a master slide template? ›

To create a master slide: On the View tab, click Slide Master. In Slide Master View, the slide master appears at the top of the thumbnail pane with related layouts beneath it. Click to select the master slide, then click Master Layout on the Slide Master tab.

Learn More Now ›
How do I add a master slide template in PowerPoint? ›

Add an additional slide master to a presentation

Click VIEW > Slide Master. On the SLIDE MASTER tab, do one of the following: In the Edit Theme group, click Themes, and then under Built-in, select a theme that you want the additional slide master to adhere to. In the Edit Master group, click Insert Slide Master.

View Details ›
What is PowerPoint slide master? ›

A slide master is the top slide in a hierarchy of slides that stores information about the theme and slide layouts of a presentation, including the background, color, fonts, effects, placeholder sizes, and positioning.

See Details ›
What are three Ps of effective slide design? ›

And keep these three Ps – preparation, planning, and practice – top of mind to ensure your success!

Tell Me More ›
What is a master slide template? ›

A Master Template in PowerPoint is a presentation that you can save to be used as a model for future presentations. When you open up a Master Template, all of the formatting—including font, text size, color schemes, and logo placement—will already be set up.

View More ›
How do you make an impressive slide? ›

To make a presentation effective and impressive, you should use these tips:
  1. The message is about your work, not about the content within the slides.
  2. The slides should support your talk.
  3. Graphics should artfully express your viewpoint.
  4. Keep it simple—do not overcrowd.
  5. Do not read your slides. ...
  6. Remain aligned with the theme.
Jan 6, 2023

Get More Info Here ›
What are the layouts we can use for a presentation slide? ›

Slide layouts contain formatting, positioning, and placeholder boxes for all of the content that appears on a slide. Placeholders are the dotted-line containers on slide layouts that hold such content as titles, body text, tables, charts, SmartArt graphics, pictures, clip art, videos, and sounds.

See Details ›
What is the best view option for arranging slides? ›

Slide Sorter view Slide Sorter view gives you a view of your slides in thumbnail form. This view makes it easy for you to sort and organize the sequence of your slides as you create your presentation, and then also as you prepare your presentation for printing.

Discover More ›
What are the most commonly used slide layouts? ›

5 Most Popular PowerPoint Layouts
  • Layout 1: Title Slide Layout.
  • Layout 2: Summary Slide Layout.
  • Layout 3: Standard Text Content Slide Layout.
  • Layout 4: Content Slide Layout.
Apr 24, 2022

Tell Me More ›

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