Vector graphics provide a lot of visual flexibility in PowerPoint. In this short blog post, I’d like to highlight how to add them into your PPTX, and some cool tricks that single-color SVGs enable.
There are a number of advantages of using Scalable Vector Graphics (SVGs), which provides imagery that looks as good on laptops as keynote screens, all in a small file size. And when working with slide visuals (logos, icons, and conceptual imagery), single-color SVGs bring a level of flexibility that can kick up your presentation visuals to the next level:
- Images can follow your PowerPoint theme’s color pallet (and properly change color as you copy/paste content into other templates)
- You can change your image’s color to ANY color
- You can add transparency to your image
So, let’s go…
Adding Vector Graphics
The first step to using vector graphics in PowerPoint is how you bring them into the program. You’ll need to keep the following in mind:
- Use SVG files – not PNG, not JPG, not GIF
- Use the file; not the clipboard – You’ll want to add image via the file in order to keep the vectoring, either (a) use drag-and-drop to add the file, or (b) go to “Insert” ribbon and pick “Pictures”
Once you’ve brought it into PowerPoint, you can use it just like any other image. It’s at this moment that you can make the image HUGE and marvel at the non-pixelation that SVG files bring to your presentations.
Recoloring a Single-Color SVG
For me, something even cooler than the smooth lines is the ability to change the fill color of vector graphics. While PowerPoint has brought a lot of image tooling, the Recolor tool only goes so far. When you’re using a single-color SVG, you can change the fill color by:
- Select the vector image you want to change
- Click the ‘Format’ ribbon
- Click the ‘Graphic Fill’ button
- Select the color you want to set
- You can also (optionally) select ‘More Fill Colors…’
- In the Colors window, you can now also set the image’s transparency
This should provide you with everything you need to get started with single-color SVGs. I’ll leave it to you to explore the possibilities you’ve unlocked. Enjoy!
