Overview

A theme bundles a color scheme, font scheme, and background style into one preset. Instead of configuring each visual element separately, set a single theme parameter and get a polished, cohesive presentation.

Available Themes

Using a Theme

Set design.theme, and optionally design.variant, in the document you send:

Use this complete OPF document with the complete authenticated API recipe, which saves the response bytes as a .pptx file.

{
  "$schema": "https://openpresentation.org/schema/opf/v1",
  "name": "Product Launch",
  "slides": [
    {
      "layout": "cover",
      "title": "Introducing pptx.dev",
      "subtitle": "PowerPoint generation for developers",
      "design": {
        "titleAlignment": "center"
      }
    },
    {
      "layout": "list",
      "title": "Why Developers Love It",
      "blocks": [
        {
          "items": [
            {
              "text": "One API Call",
              "description": "Generate a full .pptx in seconds"
            }
          ]
        },
        {
          "items": [
            {
              "text": "Native Output",
              "description": "Real PowerPoint files, fully editable"
            }
          ]
        },
        {
          "items": [
            {
              "text": "No Design Needed",
              "description": "Themes handle the visual design for you"
            }
          ]
        }
      ],
      "design": {
        "titleAlignment": "center",
        "contentAlignment": "center"
      }
    }
  ],
  "design": {
    "theme": "classic",
    "variant": "dark1"
  },
  "catalogs": {
    "default": {
      "source": "https://www.pptx.gallery",
      "themes": {
        "classic": {
          "name": "Classic",
          "background": {
            "type": "theme",
            "slot": "light1"
          },
          "colorScheme": "cool-horizon",
          "description": "A timeless, clean, and versatile theme with balanced color contrasts and classic typography. Ideal for professional, readable presentations.",
          "fontScheme": "tenorite",
          "dimensions": "widescreen",
          "variants": [
            {
              "id": "light",
              "name": "Light",
              "variant": "light1"
            },
            {
              "id": "light-alt",
              "name": "Light alt",
              "variant": {
                "background": "light1",
                "accents": [
                  "accent6",
                  "accent5",
                  "accent4",
                  "accent1",
                  "accent3",
                  "accent2"
                ]
              }
            },
            {
              "id": "dark",
              "name": "Dark",
              "variant": "dark1"
            },
            {
              "id": "dark-alt",
              "name": "Dark alt",
              "variant": {
                "background": "dark1",
                "accents": [
                  "accent6",
                  "accent5",
                  "accent4",
                  "accent1",
                  "accent3",
                  "accent2"
                ]
              }
            }
          ]
        }
      },
      "layouts": {
        "cover": {
          "name": "Cover",
          "summary": "The opening slide: title, subtitle and an optional picture.",
          "tags": [
            "Openers and closers"
          ],
          "design": {
            "titleAlignment": "center",
            "contentAlignment": "center"
          },
          "direction": "row",
          "regions": [
            {
              "name": "title"
            },
            {
              "name": "media",
              "accepts": [
                "image",
                "video"
              ],
              "role": "media",
              "flow": "none",
              "bleed": true
            }
          ],
          "description": "Open a presentation with its subject and a short introduction. Add a picture when it helps establish the context.",
          "preview": {
            "vectorSrc": "https://www.pptx.gallery/layout-previews/cover.svg"
          }
        },
        "list": {
          "name": "List",
          "summary": "Bulleted or numbered points; one long list flows into columns.",
          "tags": [
            "Text"
          ],
          "direction": "column",
          "regions": [
            {
              "name": "title"
            },
            {
              "name": "body",
              "accepts": [
                "list",
                "text",
                "group"
              ],
              "role": "primary",
              "flow": "auto",
              "listColumns": "auto"
            }
          ],
          "description": "Present several related points in a clear sequence. Use bullets for independent points or numbered items for an ordered list.",
          "preview": {
            "vectorSrc": "https://www.pptx.gallery/layout-previews/list.svg"
          }
        }
      },
      "colorSchemes": {
        "cool-horizon": {
          "name": "Cool Horizon",
          "accent1": "#2874A6",
          "accent2": "#1B4F72",
          "accent3": "#5499C7",
          "accent4": "#7BDBB2",
          "accent5": "#3AC67A",
          "accent6": "#24A89E",
          "dark1": "#000000",
          "dark2": "#011842",
          "followedHyperlink": "#551A8B",
          "hyperlink": "#0000EE",
          "light1": "#FFFFFF",
          "light2": "#F0F0F0",
          "summary": "Cool blue-green palette tuned for professional business decks.",
          "description": "A balanced cool-toned scheme with deep navy, business blues, and teal accents. It works well across strategy, finance, and technical narratives.",
          "tags": [
            "professional",
            "trustworthy",
            "calm",
            "technical",
            "versatile"
          ]
        }
      },
      "fontSchemes": {
        "tenorite": {
          "name": "Tenorite",
          "app": "powerpoint",
          "languageFamily": "latin",
          "languages": [],
          "major": "Tenorite Display",
          "minor": "Tenorite",
          "textSample": "Rounded modern tone",
          "type": "sans-serif",
          "description": "Tenorite is a sans serif OPF font scheme for Latin presentations, using Tenorite Display for headings with Tenorite for body text."
        }
      }
    }
  }
}

Theme vs. Manual Color + Font

If you set a theme and also set colorScheme or fontScheme, the explicit values override the theme defaults. This lets you start from a theme and customize selectively.

Choosing the Right Theme

• Minimal — Best for SaaS product decks and technical presentations. The dark background and clean Aptos font keep focus on content.
• Classic — Best for corporate settings, investor updates, and board presentations. Light background conveys professionalism.
• Bold — Best for sales and marketing. Impact font and Burnt Orange colors demand attention.

Light and Dark Variants

Dark is not a theme of its own: every theme can run on a dark background. A theme record lists its variants (Light, Light alt, Dark and Dark alt for Minimal, Classic and Bold), and each one is a value of design.variant, a map over the theme's one color scheme, as PowerPoint's color map is. The example above uses Classic with "variant": "dark1". Set design.variant on a single slide to flip just that slide, and see dark vs. light mode for when to choose which.

Background Styles

Each theme sets a default background:

• Light backgrounds (light1) — white or near-white, professional, easy to print
• Dark backgrounds (dark1, dark2) — dark gray or black, modern, screen-optimized

The background style ensures text colors automatically adjust for readability.

Next Steps

• Customize colors with color schemes
• Fine-tune typography with font schemes
• Browse all themes in the gallery