How to Change Theme Colors in Google Slides

Preset themes make Google Slide presentations easy to set up, but sometimes the color of the theme isn’t what you had in mind. If your presentation has a theme with the right layout and graphics, but you want to change the colors, it’s relatively easy to do so.

This article will explain how to change theme colors in Google Slides.

How to Change a Theme Color Palette

You can make an especially unique Google Slides presentation by changing the individual colors for one of Google’s pre-set themes. If you like a theme but want to change the color palette associated with it, follow these steps:

1. Launch Google Slides and open a project that contains a theme.
   
2. Open the “View” menu.
   
3. Select “Theme builder” from the View drop-down menu.
   
4. This opens the master template editor. The changes you make here will affect the entire slide project. Click the master slide, at the top of the left-hand list of slides, to select it.
   
5. Select the “Colors” button next to the palette icon.
   
6. To the upper-right of the slides, a drop-down “Theme colors” menu will list each individual part of the theme and its correlated color.
   
7. Click any aspect such as Texts, Accents, and Links to alter its color.
   
8. You can choose a new color by:
   
   • Picking from a list of pre-set colors
   • Finding a custom color by dragging the white circle around a gradated color palette
   • Entering the color’s hex number
9. Once you’ve chosen a new color, it will be applied to that section of the slides’ theme throughout the presentation.
   

How to Change a Theme’s Primary Color

If you don’t want to change every aspect of the theme’s color palette, but you just want to change the primary theme color, you can do that as well.

1. Open your project in Google Slides.
   
2. Choose the “Slide” menu.
   
3. From the drop-down menu, select “Edit theme.”
   
4. At the top right of the screen, click “Choose a theme color.”
   
5. This drop-down menu gives you the following options:
   
   • Select a custom color from a gradual color menu
   • Choose a pre-set color
   • Enter a hex number for a specific color

The edited theme color will be applied throughout the entire set of slides.

How to Change a Theme’s Background Color

You can edit the theme background color, just like you can edit other aspects of the theme, from the master slide. Launch Google Slides and open an existing presentation or create a brand-new one to begin.

1. Select the “Slide” menu from the top bar.
   
2. From the drop-down menu, click “Change theme.”
   
   • If you don’t have a theme set already, select one from the preset themes by clicking the Themes drop-down menu in the top right corner.
   • If your version of Google Slides has a “Theme” menu at the top, you can select a theme from here as well.
3. From the edit bar, click “Background…”
   
4. Use the drop-down box next to the color to select a new theme background color. As usual, you can:
   
   • Enter a color’s hex number
   • Select from the box a custom color
   • Choose a pre-defined color

How to Customize a Theme

While you’re working hard to customize the colors in your presentation, you can learn how to personalize an entire theme as well. You can import themes from your computer to bring new layouts into your slide projects. Open a new project in Google Slides to begin, and then do the following:

1. Select the “Slide” menu.
   
2. Choose “Change theme” in the Slide drop-down menu.
   
3. Click the big yellow button that says “Import theme.”
   
4. Navigate to your stored themes and choose one.
   
5. Click “Select.”
   
6. Verify the preferred theme is selected and click “Import theme” to add it to your current project.
   

As you change a theme in one of your projects, you can think of it as creating a new customized theme of your own. Any changes you make can be saved to be used again. Save a slide from your presentation and import it later into another slide project as its theme.

You can spend some time editing and saving slides to build a library of themes that are custom-made just for you. Share them online if you think others could benefit from them.

Where to Find Google Slide Themes

If you’re looking for a unique theme to add to your project, you can find many templates to work from online:

• SlidesGo is an online repository of free Google Slides and PowerPoint templates. You can find everything from World War II themes to classroom-inspired Chalkboard themes. For access to premium templates, SlidesGo offers a monthly subscription. It also has a plethora of professionally designed templates sure to fit the bill.
• Slides Carnival offers free themes with no download limits. Choose from the many templates such as season-inspired or office-ready themes. Slides Carnival also has links to slide show design tips and tutorials. You can filter by color, style, or topic as you search for the perfect theme to fit your upcoming presentation.
• Slides Mania was selected in 2022 as one of the best digital tools for teaching by the AASL. It offers lots of free themes, including some with content that might be helpful to keep. There are also links to plenty of tutorials and how-to videos relating to slide presentation creation.
• Google Slides Themes has a vast number of free Google Slides themes available. The user interface isn’t as smooth as some other sites, but they offer lots of ways to filter your search for an appropriate slide theme template. If you’re looking for fancy themes with layered graphics, this is the place to start.

FAQ

Can I change the theme of just one slide with these instructions?

No, you must change the theme of the entire project. You can, however, create a slide in a different presentation with a different theme and then copy-paste it into your current presentation. It will maintain its theme when it’s moved.

How do I save my changes as a new theme?

Save a slide from your current presentation and you can import it into a later presentation as a theme.

Which colors are the best to use for Google Slides themes?

While color preference is unique to each person, a good rule of thumb is that if the color makes it difficult to read or understand your slides, then don’t use it. Your audience will listen much more attentively if they don’t have to work hard to see what you’re presenting.

Changing Theme Colors in Google Slides

The theme of a slide presentation sets the mood and speaks to your audience about what kind of presentation you’re giving. Customize the color palette in your presentation to fit the occasion and the information you’re communicating. Google Slides provides the opportunity to personalize each layer of color in its themes so that every presentation you give is unique and impactful.

Have you ever changed the theme colors in your Google Slides presentations? What are your favorite ways to use different theme colors? Let us know in the comments section below.