The Psychology of Color in PowerPoint Presentations

Discover how the colors you choose for your PowerPoint presentations can guide the emotional response of your audience.

When used correctly, color can help audience members sort our the various elements of a slide. But its power goes beyond mere clarification.  To some extent the colors you choose for your visuals guide the emotional response of your audience.  

Watch this as a SlideRocket Presentation

Blue

The most popular background color for presentation slides

Blue is one of the most common background colors. It's calming and conservative, which is why it's very popular with business presenters, as well as for for trainers. Studies have shown that blue has the power to slow our breathing and pulse rates. Dark blue backgrounds with light text are great for conservative corporate no-nonsense presentations. Lighter blue- more common in recent times- work well in relaxed environments with the lights on, and help promote interaction.

Examples of BLUE in Presentations

1) Quest Diagnostics: A serious company with a seriously navy blue background. The subtle angled lines promote a feeling a movement and technology. Blue complements the Green of Quest's logo, and the white title bar provides a clean but stark contrast to the body.

2) This blue template for waste management firm Republic Services provides a conservative backdrop for the financials and white bullet points. The yellow titles stand out, as does the orange, red and blue themed imagery at the bottom, not to mention the company's logo.

3) This slide for Dr. Soram Khalsa' Complementrix Vitamin system features a template with a dark blue with angled lines. And the inner portion of the template featured a light blue-hue burst of a sun-ray to convey bright life and energy.

4) This slide for Lender Direct featured an image of a file folder, edited in Photoshop, with a 80% transparency set against a light blue background. The light blue graphic helped to covey a sense of openeness, and professionalism, while maintaining the company's blue brand.

Green

Green Stimulates Interaction

Examples of Green in Presentations

1) This slide for Hills Pet Nutrition features a modern green background with textured lines promoting a warm, but contemporary feeling. Great for their topic on pet affection.

2) Money is green and so is this presentation for Presidio Finance. The white text contrasts nicely with the forest green finance images, helping to project a no-nonsense image of success and accomplishment.

3) In this slide for TD Waterhouse, we created top title bar in dark green, integrating smoothly with their lime green logo. The green-hued process chart on the slide image stands out comfortably against the textured grey background.

4) The flowing green arcs at the bottom and green title text helps substantiate this slides message of health and vitality. Executive Success Team's green logo and brand also promotes a relaxed and comfortable feeling, just like Mona Vie

Red

Handle RED with Care

Examples of RED in Presentations

1) The rich red of Oracle is maintained in this template, featuring red title text in an inset red rectangle and a red bottom bar of binary numbers for a look of blazing edge technology

2) Trace Security uses a similar red title bar element, tying in to their black and red logo and brand.

3) Red and black are also colors for Sales Training Consultants, and in this slide, we used a flat beige background, with a title bar in bright red together with red bullets and a red target graphic.

4) The body pages of the Grenada presentation feature Red, but in an inset border. Text is inversed in white, as is the main body area. The key states in this map are highlighted in red.

Purple

Mystical and Emotional

Examples of Purple in Presentations

1) Crosley & Company's branding is maintained with a dominant dark purple background, and orange titles.

2) A soft lavender background option gives these two medical doctors a chance to add some warmth for their mostly women audiences.

Yellow, Orange, & Gold

An attention getter...affluence and prestige

Examples of Yellow / Gold in Presentations

1) This flat yellow slide is for Web-Reach, an internet consulting firm in Miami. Even though their message was to compete with the Yellow Pages phone book, their yellow background was flat and uninspired.

2) With a simple fix in Photoshop, yellow became Gold, and the same slide became more robust. We added a red bar to the top, and a grey arc to the left. Same information, just a textured golden hue helped deliver elegance and style.

3) A golden textured earth background helped this slide convey the message of international elegance. The green money background blends with the gold, and the black text brings a nonsense message to the page.

4) A golden textured background for Fountainhead Consulting with elements of yellow, blue, red, and grey.

Black

Strong and definite. But often overlooked!

Examples of Black in Presentations

1) It's a matter of black and white for this construction company. It's intro slides were pure white text on a black background, emphasizing the company's core beliefs. After the 3 b&w slides, the room lit-up with a series of dynamic colorful slides as the speakers enlightened the audience.

2) Over 10 years old, this slide from Ryder transportation remains one of the strongest visuals. Set against a flat black background, the company's grey logomark conveys a true sense of stability and no-nonsense action. The monotone building blocks tell a strong story.

White

Pure, Fresh and Clean. But boring.

Examples of White in Presentations

1) To help to maintain a clean and open look this consumer collaborative called on us to integrate their brand colors set against a plain white background. The blue and orange bars provided a conservative frame, while the arcs provided a contemporary look of flow and motion.

2) This slide for a large architecture and construction firm featured a flat white background offset by a colorful series of modern buildings and logos.

Grey and Silver

A conservative color; Good when Black or White won't work.

Examples of Grey in Presentations

1) Farmers Insurance's silver background integrates subtle ray of light elements to help add depth and texture to this slide. The red, blue, and black stock images blend comfortably with the rest of the page. And the white border around the letters add a level of modernism and clarity.

2) The stainless steel background of this slide helps promote a modern contemporary look, helping to link the 4 brands together

3) A clean flowing blue arc with a non-obtrusive silver background help make this slide for Margie Seyfer appear fun but conservative

4) Interim Healthcare's brand is maintained, but a muted image in silver help add depth and dimension to the slide's message, while supporting its key points.

clash

fuzzy

Remember that most eyes aren't perfect. Because color perception deficiencies are common, certain color combinations -- including red/green, brown/green, blue/black and blue/purple -- should be avoided.

We perceive dark colors as being "heavier" than light ones, so graphic elements that are arranged from darkest to lightest are the easiest for the eyes to scan. On charts, it's best to arrange colors from dark to light.