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Dish Up Brand Colors When You Need Them

  • Writer: Devon Andrew
    Devon Andrew
  • Feb 3, 2024
  • 2 min read

Updated: Feb 6, 2024

Learn how to sprinkle a custom color palette throughout your Microsoft (MS) applications.


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To create a palette that will be available for all Word and PowerPoint documents, follow the steps below.  Share the tailored palette with subsequent users by following steps at the end. 


Section 1

Identify Your Palette


Identify the brand RGB (Red, Green, Blue) values your organization uses, and if you don't have them, get them now. This may mean asking the right person or using a PPT or Word eyedropper hovering over your colors to find RGB values.

Brand colors are organized as a few primary swatches and accent colors. I recommend maxing out your set at 5.


Get Started

screen shot of ppt color palette.

Open PowerPoint or Word:

  1. Select the Design Tab

  2. Select Variants (large white box on far right). Click the down arrow, or carrot, to select Colors. There is often a response lag when clicking Colors for the first time.

  3. Scroll to the bottom of the list to Customize Colors.

  4. Create New Theme Colors pop up appears. In this window, add a palette name at the bottom where the prompt reads “Custom 1”.

  5. One by one, click and tailor the accent colors to match the desired palette by inputting the RGB colors you have handy.  The Text/Background colors often are appropriate to leave as is.

  6. Change your mind about your color selection?  Return to step 2, select your now labeled palette and choose Edit.

Once created, the palette is rooted to your computer and appears in your other MS desktop app design palettes.

Section 2

Sharing it


Forward the document with the tailored palette to a friend or share across the company. The palette comes with the document, but it must be captured to lock in the name and to daisy-chain to the new user’s desktop MS software. See steps below.


Open the Sent File

  1. Select Design Tab

  2. Select Variants 

  3. Locate the new palette name in the list. If not showing, select Customize Colors. 

  4. A pop-up window appears showing you the preset colors created by the user in Section. This time there is no need to plug in the color values as the set will already be there.

  5. In the pop-up window, title the palette at the bottom to capture it. Save. Close.

  6. Test that it appears named and available in your design palette in your preset list.




 
 
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