Tutorial

For a recent project (can we all say “pharma deck”) I needed a medication/pill icon.

• Option 1, which i will admit is my primary option, is to open the Noun Project in PowerPoint, find the icon, copy to slide, modify as needed (because the icons are editable .svg graphics!).
• Option 2, go to Adobe Illustrator and quickly create the needed pill icon (and shortcut the process by selecting – copying – pasting into PowerPoint – which is an editable .svg graphic!).
• Option 3, add a PowerPoint shape, give it a color fill and add text (into the shape – not as a text box on top of the shape!) that labels that shape as a “Pill”. This is a common solution when formatting a 200+ slide deck and have a time constraint budget.

But on this recent project I created option 4, which is really spending some additional time on Option 3 and making it great! Here are a few of my full editable, resizable, recolorable, ready to use “pill” PowerPoint shapes.

The pill shape is simply a rounded rectangle PowerPoint shape with the rounded corner adjuster moved inward to create fully rounded ends to the rectangle.

It is also a 2 color gradient, with 4 color stops.

The tricky part is manually entering the middle color stop positions vs. click-and-drag. Set both to 50%, which eliminates any gradient soft edge and completes the 2 color pill icon.

For my presentation, I also moved away from a flat icon styling to a slight 3D bevel look by using PowerPoints 3D shape option.

Download the PowerPoint Pill Shape on a slide HERE

Troy @ TLC

I just worked with another designer that noted that their Office had not yet updated to the new “Windows Refresh” – the updated app styling. Sure enough, PowerPoint on their computer had the “rectangle” interface still.

The solution, at this time because the “refresh” has rolled out to all Office 365 accounts now, is to click the “Upcoming Features” megaphone icon.

Scroll down the Coming Soon content, find the “Try the Experience” toggle, turn it on, and restart PowerPoint.

The app interface for all Microsoft Office should now be on the most recent, “rounded corner” interface 😊

Troy @ TLC

Thank you to Kelli Willcoxson for the inspiration slide.

Design Process:

• Find an image to support the quote
• Size, position and crop the image to create a clear area for the quote text
• Stylize and position the quote text

PowerPoint Formatting Tip:

• This layout has a lot of custom PowerPoint formatting applied to the text. Easy to do in Adobe Illustrator, a bit harder in PowerPoint.
• The text is filled with a gradient giving it a subtle blending effect with the background
  
• The text also has a subtle glow effect applied, making it seem to glow like the stars in the background
  
• But most impressive, and difficult, is the text has a curved layout – using PowerPoint options, and remains 100% editable!
  – Applying the curve effect is a hidden feature in PowerPoint
  – Select the text > go the SHAPE FORMAT tab > go to the WORDART STYLES section of the ribbon > click TEXT EFFECTS > click TRANSFORM (I believe this is the only way to access the text transform feature in PowerPoint) > select a WARP effect, the curve down effect was selected for this slide layout
  
• Note: the text warp effect has no interface adjustments, but it is adjustable.
  – By stretching and adjusting the text box the warp changes. As example, make the text box very tall and thin and the curve becomes more pronounced
  
  – All warp effects have an adjust node, the yellow dot. Sometimes the adjustment is helpful, other times… well, it is obvious we are not using Adobe Illustrator with its greater control options 🙂

Download the editable version of this slide HERE.

Troy @ TLC

Thanks to … for this post’s inspiration slide.

Design Process

• Locate an image that coordinates with the quote
• Create a color scheme for the slide (tip: download the editable version of this slide with the link below and look for the awesome image transparency trick!)
• Create a semi-transparent PowerPoint shape for the quote text
• Format the quote and attribution text in the PowerPoint shape (no layered text boxes to keep aligned!)
• Add the quote marks as separate text boxes (okay, not everything can always be formatted in a single text box)

Formatting Tip

• The text overlay block has transparency so the image can be seen through it, creating a smooth flowing layout
• Here is the same overlay block on another background to better see its transparency
  
• 1 – The image was cropped from the larger original and created the open area for the quote
  2 – The text box has a fill and set to 10% transparency, AND all text is in the single text box
  3-4 – The quote marks are editable text, but are layered on top as separate text boxes to make the unique line spacing and positioning possible
  

Download the editable version of this slide HERE.

Troy @ TLC

Thanks Kelli (who has moved to another great design job – great for Kelli, sad for TLC Creative) for today’s quote inspiration.

Design Process:

• This slide started with finding a great image, then researching a quote to use with the image
• The original image showed more, and it was cropped in PowerPoint to create the layout
• Typeset the text, select the font, set the size, adjust the line spacing, set the color (pulled from the pink pen in the image)

Formatting Tip:

• Use PowerPoint’s ability to rotate shapes and text boxes
  
• Adjust the angle of any text box by click-and-dragging the rotate icon at the top of the text box, or manually in the FORMAT SHAPE dialog
  

Troy @ TLC

Thanks to Jake on our design team for today’s slide design.

Design Process:

• Review the quote
• Search for an image that aligns with the quote
• Develop a slide layout that highlights the quote as the focal point, integrates the coordinating image, and use PowerPoint shapes to create accent graphics

PowerPoint Formatting Tip:

• Text in circles is not always easy!
• For the slide quote, all text is inside the circle shape (not a second text box placed on top of the circle). All text is in a single text block. So the bold text, colored text and the smaller attribution text is all formatted in the same text block.
  
• Formatting text in a circle requires making some adjustments to the shape formatting properties.
  – Right-click the circle and select FORMAT SHAPE
  – Go to the TEXT OPTIONS and TEXT BOX options
  – [Personal preference] Select “DO NOT AUTOFIT”
  – Adjust all margins to zero’s (although for this example the top margin was manually set to compensate for the smaller font size text at the bottom and keep the layout vertically centered in the circle shape)
  – WRAP TEXT IN SHAPE: this is generally turned on, so the text automatically stays inside the circle. But if the text needs to be just a bit closer the edge, maybe even slightly overlapping the edge, turn this off and use SHIFT+RETURNs to manually create the line breaks
  

Troy @ TLC