How-To Instructions:
PowerPoint

Launch PowerPoint and select a Template or Blank Presentation.

Placeholders work great when designing a presentation but are not helpful when creating an infographic. To remove a slide’s placeholder, navigate to the Home tab select Layout and then select Blank.

Many of the templates and placeholders in PowerPoint are not designed to support infographics. Try starting from scratch by selecting Blank Presentation and removing any pre-populated placeholders.

In the Design tab, select the down arrow in the Variants section, and select Colours. Here you will be able to select your infographic colour palette. If you do not like any of the default options, select Customize Colors to create your own.

Consider some design tips when you choose your colours and fonts.

To change the default font for your infographic, select Fonts from the Variants section.

You can also create your own font theme by selecting Customize Font.

More recent versions of PowerPoint now come included with a large collection of images, icons, Cutout People, Stickers, and Illustrations.

From the Insert tab, tap Icons. Here you are able to search and choose your desired choice of graphic. Once you have selected your graphic, tap Insert to place it into your infographic.

Older versions of PowerPoint may not have a robust collection of graphics to choose from. As an alternative, you can insert graphics you have found online or created yourself.

From the Insert tab, tap Pictures and then select This Device. Locate the graphic you wish to insert and tap Insert.

If you want to add an image to the background of the slide, consider adding it from Design > Format Background instead.

To crop your graphic, select the graphic you want to crop, select the Format tab located under Picture Tools and select Crop.

Use the black corner guides to resize your graphic. Once you are finished, select Crop again.

You are able to recolour some graphics. To recolour your graphic, select the graphic. Tap the Picture Format tab that appears when you select the graphic. Then tap the Color button and select a colour.

If you do not see your desired colour, you will need to change the colour theme you are using for your infographic.

Shapes are often used throughout an infographic. You can use them to organize your content, direct the reader’s gaze, or make your information appear more visually interesting.

Select the Insert tab and then tap Shapes. Select a desired shape, then click and hold the left mouse button while moving the mouse until you have drawn your desired shape.

SmartArt is another great tool for displaying information in a visual format.

Under the Insert tab, select SmartArt. Now select the type of SmartArt that will best present the information you are trying to visualize. Once selected, write your information into the SmartArt’s placeholders.

You are able to recolour your SmartArt by selecting the Design tab under SmartArt Tools and selecting Change Colour.

To insert a graph, select the Insert tab and then select Chart. Choose the type of chart that you wish to insert and then click.

Use the small spreadsheet that pops up to enter your information.

You are able to recolour your chart by selecting Change Colours located under the Chart Design tab that appears when you click on the inserted chart.

To add text, go to Insert > Text box and type or paste in your content.

You can change the colour of your text or text box by selecting it and clicking Format > Shape Fill or Format > Text Fill.

Just like in any academic paper, citing your resources is very important. Leave a bit of space at the bottom of your infographic for your citations. Unless instructed differently by your instructor, you can provide an abbreviated citation that credits the person who made the resource and where you found it.

For information on how to credit images, revisit our Finding and Citing Images page.

If you're adding references for your content in MLA or APA format please refer to our Citation Guides.

It is a good idea to frequently save your work as you build your infographic. Use the save button to quickly save your work.

To make your infographic easily shareable, it is recommended that you convert your infographic to a PDF file.

Navigate to File > Save As Adobe PDF and choose a location on your computer.