Use Multiple Design Themes in the Same Powerpoint Presentation

Add more design themes to a presentation using the Slide Master

Design themes make it easy to apply a set of coordinating features to each and every one of your slides. The slide backgrounds and font styles, colors, and sizes are retained in the design theme. By default, only one design theme can be applied to a presentation, but you can add one or more design themes to a presentation by adding it to the Slide Master, which contains all the information about the slide layouts and styles in this presentation.

Instructions in this article apply to PowerPoint 2019, 2016, 2013, 2010; and PowerPoint for Microsoft 365.

Accessing the PowerPoint Slide Master for First Design Theme

  1. Go to View.

  2. In the Master Views group, select Slide Master. The Slide Master tab appears in the ribbon.

    Screenshot of Slide Master on View tab
  3. Select the Master slide. It's the top slide in the Slide pane.

  4. In the Edit Theme group, select the Themes dropdown arrow. This reveals the available design themes that can be applied to the presentation.

    Screenshot of Themes on Slide Master tab
  5. Choose the theme of your choice to apply to all of the slide layouts.

Add an Additional Design Theme to the PowerPoint Slide Master

  1. In the Slides pane, scroll to the bottom.

  2. Select the blank space below the last thumbnail.

  3. Select the Themes dropdown arrow.

  4. Choose a different theme from what you chose earlier.

A new complete set of slide masters appears in the Slides pane below the original set.

Screenshot of second theme added to second slide master

After you've added the design themes to the presentation file, select Close Master View.

Choose Which Design Theme to Apply to New PowerPoint Slides

Once you have chosen the additional design themes to apply to slides in your presentation, it's time to add a new slide.

  1. Go to Home.

  2. Select the New Slide dropdown arrow. A list of all the different slide layouts with the different design themes appears.

    Screenshot of multiple themes available in New Slide menu
  3. Scroll through the list and choose the slide layout of your choice in the correct design theme. The new slide appears with this design theme applied, ready for your input.

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