Cut Out PowerPoint Text
An example, and tutorial, of using PowerPoint for text styling. Here is the simple, all caps, text:
I am updating the text to a white fill, on a white background, with a light grey outline
To create the cut out effect, an inner shadow is applied.
Done. A text styling effect, created in PowerPoint and text remains editable.
– Troy @ TLC
Overlapping PowerPoint Text
Typography: The art and technique of arranging type to make written language legible, readable, and appealing when displayed.
PowerPoint is a flexible design app. Sometimes it is not easy to accomplish design ideas as in other apps. As example, text kerning. PowerPoint does not use the design industry term “kerning” and the feature is not easily accessed.
For example, here is some simple, all caps, text on a slide.
To add some visual design, letter colors are updated to the TLC color scheme (RGB).
In preparation for the next effect, the opacity is lowered to 
Now the actual kerning, what PowerPoint labels CHARACTER SPACING. Select the text, open the FONT dialog, view the CHARACTER SPACING tab. Change the spacing option to CONDENSED, which essentially is negative spacing (so the 20 pt used is really -20 pt).
The result is the text slightly overlaps and the transparency overlap creates a dynamic visual.
Done. Custom typography styling created all within PowerPoint and remains editable text.
Download the editable slide HERE.
– Troy @ TLC
Stacked and Mixed Text
Typography: The art and technique of arranging type to make written language legible, readable, and appealing when displayed.
PowerPoint is flexible. Like many design applications, text can be more than bullet lists of black text on a white background. One aspect of graphic design is creating visually engaging layouts with just text. As example, here is a slide one of the TLC Creative design team created – all in PowerPoint.
- Add text to a slide. Boring start, but now we know what we are working with.
2. To start the layout, the first section of the quote was set with a new font, ALL CAPS, and new color
3. The final word of the quote has some more extension PowerPoint styling. Starting with using a custom font and applying a text gradient fill.
4. The custom font was a purposeful selection because the font family includes an outline version. The “everything” text box was duplicated, changed to the outline version of the font, set to a purple outline and white fill. Stacked, the two text boxes look great!
5. Last is adding the name as simple, small text in same blue as the top line.
6. As a final design flare, a background image was added and sent to back.
Done. A complete graphic design text layout, completed in PowerPoint.
– Troy @ TLC
Use PowerPoint Text as Part of Background Design
PowerPoint is flexible. This is both a design idea and PowerPoint how-to. The end goal is to add a light/ghosted pattern of text across the background of the template or set of slides.
This could be created in Photoshop, Illustrator, or PowerPoint!
1. Start with creating the text to fit the slide. Insert a text box, add the word or phrase. Pick font and guess at best size. Set the text box settings to DO NOT AUTOFIT, zero margins, and check WRAP TEXT IN SHAPE.
2. Copy the text and paste – paste – paste to fill the entire slide. Adjust font size and line breaks to have a slide full of the background message.
3. Add the background image – your choice of adding as inserted image and send to back or set as slide background.
4. For the sample background in this demo, I want to coordinate with the gold confetti. Update text color to a gold.
5. Select the text box and adjust the text transparency to 88%.
6. Final result is a custom slide background design effect created in PowerPoint.
New Episode of The PowerPoint Podcast – Episode 95, 2020 Presentation Trends
A new episode of The Presentation Podcast is available today! Troy, Nolan and Sandy discuss what they see as Presentation Trends in 2020.
Listen on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Google Play, Spotify and Soundcloud – just search for “2020 Presentation Trends We See” – or go direct to the episode page here: https://thepresentationpodcast.com/podcast/95
USB-C vs. Thunderbolt 3
Type-C is a connector. USB-C and Thunderbolt 3 both use the Type-C connector. So they are the same thing, right? Wrong. They are similar (both connect hard drives and monitors and charging cables), but the capabilities of each differ. I wrote an article, posted on LinkedIn, to bring lots of the details on these two device types into a single place. The full article is here.
Troy @ TLC
New Episode on The PowerPoint Podcast!
A new episode of The Presentation Podcast is available today! Troy, Nolan and Sandy are joined by a presentation industry luminary, Cliff Atkinson. Cliff is author of Beyond Bullets, which is now in its 4th edition, and as we talk Cliff continuously drops in one amazing insight and presentation strategy thought after another.
Listen on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Google Play, Spotify and Soundcloud – just search for “Beyond Bullet Points, a Conversation with Cliff Atkinson” – or go direct to the episode page here: https://thepresentationpodcast.com/podcast/94
