PowerPoint is a familiar Microsoft Office application, with plenty of tools to get you started making a slideshow. PowerPoint's Designer lets you create professional-looking slideshows that you can manipulate and adjust. Let's look at how it works and how you can start using it.

Using PowerPoint Design Ideas

When you're creating a slideshow, you don't always have time to think about how it should look. It could be that you're doing a presentation for an interview in a few days, or you need to present some feedback at your team meeting in a week's time. That's where PowerPoint's Designer comes in.

On your slideshow, go to the Design tab and click Design Ideas. This will bring up a Task pane with a selection of generic makeover suggestions that you can choose. Simply click the one you like, and it will be applied. This is similar to the Themes tab but uses icons, images, and shapes in a much more dynamic way.

Related: PowerPoint Tips for Preparing a Professional Presentation

You can even use the Format Background option and choose from Solid fill, Gradient fill, Picture or texture fill, and Pattern fill to change it up.

Manipulate Design Ideas With Images

Screenshot of PowerPoint Design Ideas With Image

One of the best things about Designer, or Design Ideas, is that you have some control over what the final product looks like, and you can do this with images.

Go to Insert > Pictures and select the image that you'd like PowerPoint to pull its design concept from. On the Design Ideas taskbar, you will see a list of design ideas that contain your image and a color scheme that complements it. You can also Insert > Icons to produce new templates if you don't have particular images or colors you'd like to use.

Related: How to Add Polls and Q&A to Your PowerPoint Slides With Slido

You can add as many images as you like until you find a layout you like the best. It doesn't matter how many you use, because once you have your design, you can click the pictures you don't want to keep and hit Delete on your keyboard to remove them. Your background design will remain without it.

Then, when you create a new content slide from the Insert tab, it should automatically bring over the design from your title slide.

Use Text to Produce New Design Suggestions

Screenshot of PowerPoint Design Ideas Bulletpoints

PowerPoint's Design Ideas is smart and can understand the meaning of the text you're writing. You can type keywords into any text box, and Design Ideas will construct new suggestions complete with images.

This also works with bullet points. In the text box, start adding some talking points and on the Design Ideas taskbar, you will see a selection of bullet point designs with icons that pair up with keywords.

Related: Reduce the File Size of Your PowerPoint Presentation

For example, if a talking point is about health, Design Ideas will find a health-related icon to add value to your slideshow. It will be careful enough to keep the same color themes you've been using to maintain a professional feel.

Screenshot of PowerPoint Design Ideas Timeline

PowerPoint will also pick up when you are listing things without bullet points or numbered lists, and produce graphics to organize your work. If you include a list of information with dates next to them, it will automatically give you design ideas with timelines and tables.

Slideshows Made Easy

Design Ideas in PowerPoint is an excellent time-saving option when creating professional slideshows. Not only does it give you the edge you need when designing your presentation, but it's clever enough to understand what you need from it.

The suggestions it gives you are clean and look great, and if you're ever not satisfied with the suggestions it gives you, there are plenty of ways that you can get more. Once you start using this fantastic tool, you'll never look back.