When it comes to colour our standard thought is to use the fill option – making the shape a single solid colour. If you want something more or just a bit different then it’s time to look at some of the colour tools for your office suite apps.
Throughout this blog I’m going to be using Google Slides and PowerPoint as the examples, simply because they are the apps that you are most likely to use. However, you can find these options in the other productivity apps as well.
You’ll see a few ideas of how each of these colour tricks where and how they can be used.
Transparency
Let’s start with an easy option and that’s the transparency option.
So what does it mean and do?
Well it means allowing light to pass through so that objects behind can be distinctly seen. So it’s also the opposite of opaque (not letting light through).
Normally the shapes are either filled with colour or empty – where it’s an outline and you can see everything behind it.
With the transparency you have a fill colour, then by increasing the transparency option the solid colour is reduced so that you can see any items behind.
How much you can see depends on the amount of transparency that you choose.
Ideas
Put a colour wash over an image, adding a hint of your brand colours in a guide or handout.
Use a transparent shape over a busy image to make reading any overlaid text easier.
With your shape selected, use the custom option in Fill command to open the dialog box.
Now use the slider to change transparency or opacity.
Microsoft
Insert the shape into your slide.
Right-click on the shape and choose Format Shape.
In the task pane on the right, expand Fill.
Move the Transparency slider up from 0 to add the amount needed.
Gradient
We all know that the default for any shape is the fill option – a single colour that completely fills up the space.
A simple alternative is to use the gradient option to add some movement between colours or shades.
If you’re not sure, a gradient is the technique of gradually transitioning from one hue to another, or from one shade to another.
Whether you’re going from white to a colour, black to the colour, or between two colours or shades.
Ideas
Use the gradient to create the effect of fading into an image or picture.
Make titles standout by creating WordArt and using the gradient.
Select the shape.
Click on the Fill colour button on the toolbar.
Select the second tab for Gradient.
Use one of the preset options or use the Custom option to select the two colours or shades for the gradient.
Tip: Remove the shape border to blend it into the slide.
Microsoft
Select the shape so that you can see the Shape Format tab on the ribbon.
Click on the Shape Fill option (the text not the colour) to see the options.
Second from the bottom is the Gradient option.
The standard commands are the light or dark options to the current fill colour.
Select the one you want to use.
Picture Colour
Everything that I talked about so far is for shapes, what about images?
Well, there is one option that you can use to change the colours.
Effectiveness will vary depending on the picture chosen and how much Slides or PowerPoint can change it.
This is the color (PowerPoint) or re-colour (Slides) command.
Ideas
You can create your own Andy Warhol inspired pictures (https://images.app.goo.gl/r7YAczMDUKnBRubY9).
Use the sepia option to create the ‘old time’ look for your pictures.
Insert and make sure that your image is selected.
From the Format menu, from the bottom of the menu, click on Format Options.
Look to the right-side of the screen to see the Options task pane.
Expand the Re-colour option.
Use the drop-down list to see the variations, and click on the one to apply.
As normal you can undo the formatting or change the selection.
Microsoft
Insert your chosen picture.
Now select it so that the Picture Format tab is displayed at the end of the ribbon.
The second group on this ribbon is called Adjust. You’ll see the option Color.
Click on the button to see the available options.
How good or bad the options are will depend on the picture that you’ve chosen.
Pick the option that you want to use.
Don’t worry, you can also change to another option or return it back to the original version.
Next Steps
It’s now time to start experimenting with these features in both Google Slides and PowerPoint to see how they can improve your files and presentations.
Try using transparency to add subtle branding elements or to make text more readable over busy backgrounds.
Use gradients to create dynamic transitions and highlight important text with WordArt.
Finally, explore picture colour options to give your images unique effects, such as sepia tones or vibrant colour shifts.
As you become more comfortable with these tools, you’ll discover new ways to make your presentations more engaging and visually compelling.
Happy designing!
Related Course
Does all of this talk about colour make you think about how you can make sure that you’re using the right colour across your office suite. It’s that colour code, the one you enter under the custom colour field called Hex.
if you’re curious what on earth ‘hex’ is (and it’s not related to magic), then I’ve got the perfect course for you:
Other Colour Blogs
Complete List Of Options Where You Can Customise the Colour
Do you know these easy colour tools for your office suite? (current post)
Recent Posts
- 3 Quick Ways to Take Control of Copilot Memory
Copilot memory is the set of details Copilot automatically saves from your conversations, and there are three quick ways to take control of it: ask what it knows about you, tell it what to remember, and delete anything that’s wrong or out of date. It takes a couple of minutes, and it’s worth doing every… Read more: 3 Quick Ways to Take Control of Copilot Memory - Copilot Custom Instructions: Say It Once, Get Better Answers
If you keep typing the same things into Copilot every time (make it shorter, make it friendly, use UK spelling), there’s a setting that does it for you. It’s called Copilot custom instructions. You save details about yourself and how you like responses written, and Copilot applies them to every new chat. It takes about… Read more: Copilot Custom Instructions: Say It Once, Get Better Answers - What’s Actually in Your Microsoft 365 App Launcher?
Open your Microsoft 365 app launcher and you’ll find more than 20 apps staring back at you. You’ll only use a small handful of them regularly. The rest fall into “useful sometimes” or “you’ll probably never touch this” territory. This post has Microsoft 365 apps explained in plain English. Each one is grouped by how… Read more: What’s Actually in Your Microsoft 365 App Launcher? - The OneNote Feature I Rely On More Than Any Other
If you’ve ever typed a search word into OneNote, you’ll know the feeling. Every relevant note appears, no matter which notebook it was buried in. That’s why so many people ask how to search across notebooks in OneNote in the first place. Being able to search across notebooks in OneNote is, for me, the single… Read more: The OneNote Feature I Rely On More Than Any Other - OneNote Templates, Your New Time-Saver
Ever find yourself recreating the same layout every time you start a new page in OneNote? OneNote templates solve exactly that problem — they let you save a page’s look and content once, then reuse it whenever you need it, whether that’s for meeting notes, a to-do list, or your own custom format. Once you… Read more: OneNote Templates, Your New Time-Saver
colour tricks in office suite, colour tricks in office suite app, quick colour tricks for office suite, colour tools for office suite apps