Use when no template or reference presentation is available.
Design Ideas
Don't create boring slides. Plain bullets on a white background won't impress anyone. Consider ideas from this list for each slide.
Before Starting
Pick a bold, content-informed color palette: The palette should feel designed for THIS topic. If swapping your colors into a completely different presentation would still "work," you haven't made specific enough choices.
Dominance over equality: One color should dominate (60-70% visual weight), with 1-2 supporting tones and one sharp accent. Never give all colors equal weight.
Dark/light contrast: Dark backgrounds for title + conclusion slides, light for content ("sandwich" structure). Or commit to dark throughout for a premium feel.
Commit to a visual motif: Pick ONE distinctive element and repeat it — rounded image frames, icons in colored circles, thick single-side borders. Carry it across every slide.
Color Palettes
Choose colors that match your topic — don't default to generic blue. Use these palettes as inspiration:
Theme
Primary
Secondary
Accent
Midnight Executive
1E2761 (navy)
CADCFC (ice blue)
FFFFFF (white)
Forest & Moss
2C5F2D (forest)
97BC62 (moss)
F5F5F5 (cream)
Coral Energy
F96167 (coral)
F9E795 (gold)
2F3C7E (navy)
Warm Terracotta
B85042 (terracotta)
E7E8D1 (sand)
A7BEAE (sage)
Ocean Gradient
065A82 (deep blue)
1C7293 (teal)
21295C (midnight)
Charcoal Minimal
36454F (charcoal)
F2F2F2 (off-white)
212121 (black)
Teal Trust
028090 (teal)
00A896 (seafoam)
02C39A (mint)
Berry & Cream
6D2E46 (berry)
A26769 (dusty rose)
ECE2D0 (cream)
Sage Calm
84B59F (sage)
69A297 (eucalyptus)
50808E (slate)
Cherry Bold
990011 (cherry)
FCF6F5 (off-white)
2F3C7E (navy)
For Each Slide
Every slide needs a visual element — image, chart, icon, or shape. Text-only slides are forgettable.
Layout options:
Two-column (text left, illustration on right)
Icon + text rows (icon in colored circle, bold header, description below)
2x2 or 2x3 grid (image on one side, grid of content blocks on other)
Half-bleed image (full left or right side) with content overlay
Data display:
Large stat callouts (big numbers 60-72pt with small labels below)
Icons in small colored circles next to section headers
Italic accent text for key stats or taglines
Typography
Choose an interesting font pairing — don't default to Arial. Pick a header font with personality and pair it with a clean body font.
Header Font
Body Font
Georgia
Calibri
Arial Black
Arial
Calibri
Calibri Light
Cambria
Calibri
Trebuchet MS
Calibri
Impact
Arial
Palatino
Garamond
Consolas
Calibri
Element
Size
Slide title
36-44pt bold
Section header
20-24pt bold
Body text
14-16pt
Captions
10-12pt muted
Spacing
0.5" minimum margins
0.3-0.5" between content blocks
Leave breathing room—don't fill every inch
Avoid (Common Mistakes)
Don't repeat the same layout — vary columns, cards, and callouts across slides
Don't center body text — left-align paragraphs and lists; center only titles
Don't skimp on size contrast — titles need 36pt+ to stand out from 14-16pt body
Don't default to blue — pick colors that reflect the specific topic
Don't mix spacing randomly — choose 0.3" or 0.5" gaps and use consistently
Don't style one slide and leave the rest plain — commit fully or keep it simple throughout
Don't create text-only slides — add images, icons, charts, or visual elements; avoid plain title + bullets
Don't forget text box padding — when aligning lines or shapes with text edges, set margin: 0 on the text box or offset the shape to account for padding
Don't use low-contrast elements — icons AND text need strong contrast against the background; avoid light text on light backgrounds or dark text on dark backgrounds
NEVER use accent lines under titles — these are a hallmark of AI-generated slides; use whitespace or background color instead
QA (Required)
Assume there are problems. Your job is to find them.
Your first render is almost never correct. Approach QA as a bug hunt, not a confirmation step. If you found zero issues on first inspection, you weren't looking hard enough.
Content QA
python -m markitdown output.pptx
Check for missing content, typos, wrong order.
When using templates, check for leftover placeholder text:
Visually inspect these slides. Assume there are issues — find them.
Look for:
- Overlapping elements (text through shapes, lines through words, stacked elements)
- Text overflow or cut off at edges/box boundaries
- Decorative lines positioned for single-line text but title wrapped to two lines
- Source citations or footers colliding with content above
- Elements too close (< 0.3" gaps) or cards/sections nearly touching
- Uneven gaps (large empty area in one place, cramped in another)
- Insufficient margin from slide edges (< 0.5")
- Columns or similar elements not aligned consistently
- Low-contrast text (e.g., light gray text on cream-colored background)
- Low-contrast icons (e.g., dark icons on dark backgrounds without a contrasting circle)
- Text boxes too narrow causing excessive wrapping
- Leftover placeholder content
For each slide, list issues or areas of concern, even if minor.
Read and analyze these images:
1. /path/to/slide-01.jpg (Expected: [brief description])
2. /path/to/slide-02.jpg (Expected: [brief description])
Report ALL issues found, including minor ones.
Verification Loop
Generate slides → Convert to images → Inspect
List issues found (if none found, look again more critically)
Fix issues
Re-verify affected slides — one fix often creates another problem
Repeat until a full pass reveals no new issues
Do not declare success until you've completed at least one fix-and-verify cycle.
Converting to Images
Convert presentations to individual slide images for visual inspection:
