How to Use Color Schemes in PowerPoint Presentations

Overview

Color schemes control the palette used across every element of your presentation — headings, text, chart colors, boxes, and accents. Set a color scheme once and the API applies it consistently to every slide.

How Color Schemes Work

When you set colorScheme in your API request, the API maps the palette to all visual elements:

Accent colors fill chart bars, boxes, and highlights
Text colors adapt to light or dark backgrounds automatically
Background variants (light and dark) are available per scheme

You never need to specify individual colors — the scheme handles it.

Available Color Schemes

Production-Ready

Slug	Name	Vibe
`burnt-orange`	Burnt Orange	Warm, energetic, creative
`slate-gray`	Slate Gray	Professional, understated, corporate
`bold-red`	Bold Red	High-impact, urgent, powerful
`forest-green`	Forest Green	Natural, trustworthy, growth
`golden-yellow`	Golden Yellow	Optimistic, premium, attention-grabbing
`pastel-red`	Pastel Red	Soft, approachable, modern

Coming Soon

Slug	Name	Vibe
`cool-horizon`	Cool Horizon	Clean, airy, tech-forward
`boost`	Boost	High-energy, startup, bold
`vibes`	Vibes	Trendy, creative, playful
`luxury`	Luxury	Premium, sophisticated, elegant

Setting a Color Scheme

Pass the colorScheme slug at the presentation level:

curl -X POST https://api.pptx.dev/v1/presentations \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "title": "Brand Pitch",
    "colorScheme": "burnt-orange",
    "fontScheme": "aptos",
    "slides": [
      {
        "layout": "title-center",
        "content": {
          "heading": "Our Brand Story",
          "subheading": "March 2026"
        }
      }
    ]
  }'

Choosing the Right Color Scheme

Presentation type	Recommended schemes
Corporate / board deck	`slate-gray`, `forest-green`
Sales pitch	`burnt-orange`, `bold-red`
Product launch	`golden-yellow`, `boost`
Creative brief	`pastel-red`, `vibes`
Financial report	`slate-gray`, `cool-horizon`
Marketing campaign	`burnt-orange`, `bold-red`

Color Schemes vs. Themes

A color scheme controls only the palette. A theme bundles a color scheme with a font scheme and background style. If you want full control, set colorScheme and fontScheme separately. If you want a quick preset, use a theme instead.

Next Steps

Pair with font schemes for complete branding
Use a theme for a one-line preset
Browse all color schemes in the gallery