Envato Tuts+ Tutorials

How to Set up a Shopify Store
40 Creative Photoshop Text Effects—With Vibrant Styles
24 Best Free Music Google Slides Themes for 2021 Presentations
How to Make Good PowerPoint Slide Designs Even Better in 2021
Content Cloning: How to Copy Any Page or Post in WordPress
A Beginner's Guide to Adobe Illustrator Patterns

Posted: 14 Jun 2021 07:23 AM PDT

Setting up a Shopify store is very straightforward. Begin by signing up at Shopify, then add your products, select a theme, configure the back office for shipping, tax, and payments, configure a custom domain, and launch your store!

"A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step." – Lao-Tzu

An online store is the first step in your eCommerce entrepreneurial journey. Actually, the very first step is an idea, an inspiration, and I assume that you already know your unique value proposition? If not, Shopify can help along every stage of the process.

Tip: perhaps start by browsing the list of business ideas on Shopify's blog?

How to Set up a Shopify Store

Back to the job at hand. This tutorial will help you to test your idea by setting up a Shopify store. In short, it involves the following steps:

Sign up at Shopify
Add your product(s)
Select a theme to showcase your product
Configure back office (shipping, tax, payments)
Configure a custom domain
Launch

Let's dive straight in and create our Shopify store!

1. Sign up at Shopify

Shopify will create a store for you in less than a minute. Go to shopify.com, fill in your data, done.

The setup form includes only one potentially confusing field: the store name. This is a permanent and unique store name across all Shopify stores, so make sure you enter this correctly. You might want use your brand name with some numbers to make it unique. For example "my-brand-99".

You'll need this permanent store name to access the store admin panel with the URL https://my-brand-99.myshopify.com/admin

Later, you can (should) add a custom domain for the storefront, for example, https://mybrand.com.

Congratulations, you get an online store! With that done, the store dashboard shows you tips for the next step.

You now have 14 days to launch your store, and when the trial period ends you should pick a paid Shopify plan. Browse my previous tutorial for pricing details.

2. Add Your Product

Price policy, online store design, shipment, everything depends on the products you sell. For this reason adding products is the next step. In your store backoffice go to Products > Add product, fill in the title, description, SKU, and price fields. Add product media, images, video, or even 3D models.

From an SEO perspective content is King. And you are the best person to describe your product. Be sure your product description is unique and answers all customer questions. List the product materials. Is it eco-friendly? Detail the return and refund policies. Explain the history of how you made your product. If you resell, explain why the visitor should purchase from you? Reassure customers by explaining your pre and post-sale support.

Media

Showcase your product with high-quality images. Use lifestyle images that help customers see themselves using your product. Nowadays, you can create high-quality media with your smartphone, or (once you earn some money) you can always hire a professional photographer.

Lastly, you can organize products in collections. Check the following help pages for details about Products and Collections.

3. Select a Shopify Theme

Your store's theme plays a key role in beautifully showcasing your brand and products. There are thousands of Shopify themes; small with basic features, or huge with hundreds of options and pre-made configurations.

How should you select the perfect theme for your store? Here are some tips:

create a list of key features for your store, what blocks and information you need to place on the home, collection, and product pages
review the available themes and pre-built demo stores, video tutorials, and user manuals
pay attention to the number of sales and customer's reviews
don't hesitate to ask pre-sale questions

Where Can I Find Shopify Themes?

You may want to start with the Shopity theme store. Here you'll find about 75 themes, including some free themes if you are limited in budget. You'll also find premium themes with 2-3 pre-made styles, and a low amount of the theme features. These themes have a standard price of $180 USD. Be ready to install additional apps to add more features to your store.

Next, is the Shopify category at Themeforest. Themeforest has over 1,200 premium themes. Some themes are as simple as those from Shopify theme store, some themes include hundreds of pre-made demos. The price on Themeforest varies from $19 USD to $99 USD. It is easy to get lost in such a wide variety of themes, so I recommend you sort themes by the best sellers and pay attention to the top 10 themes. Remember to check comments and reviews to see what existing buyers think.

Bestsellers Shopify themes @ themeforest.net — Best selling Shopify themes at themeforest.net

Check out these collections of Shopify themes to see if any suit your project:

If you have an unlimited budget, you may consider hiring a Shopify Expert agency to build a unique theme for your business.

More Than Design

The "design" is the most obvious theme feature, but you should also pay attention to available features. The more features a theme has, the less money you will need to spend on additional Shopify apps.

The more apps you install, the slower the web page. The slower the web page, the fewer sales you're likely to make. I recommend only using apps that you really need. Don't forget to test the theme's speed. As of May 2021 Google will include speed data to ranking signals. Test your store's speed with the PageSpeed Insights tool.

Test theme page speed with PageSpeed Insights tool

4. Configure Back Office

As a store owner you'll likely spend more time in the admin than on the front end of the website. So let's get things configured.

Shipping

The array of shipping options may scare you–product weight and size, shipping destination, product packaging, carrier rates–your future profit depends on you managing all of these things successfully. Begin with these basics:

Free shipping: this may serve as a key trigger to purchase from you. Shopify allows you to offer free shipping depending on the product type, minimum order amount, or location. Don't forget to include shipping costs in the final product price.
Flat rate is a good choice for stores with similar products and fixed customers' locations (countries like the Netherlands, which is geographically small and has reliable infrastructure).
Carrier rates: more complex, but suitable when you ship worldwide and have physically large stock. Shopify software is integrated with many carriers like DHL, USPS, allowing shipping costs to be calculated in real-time so your customer can select the best carrier and shipping price.
Consider getting an additional discount with Shopify Shipping.
Lucky U.S. merchants may use the Shopify Fulfillment Network.

To begin configuration the first step is to add your store location within your admin by going to Settings > Locations. Next, specify your shipping zones and rates by going to Settings > Shipping and Delivery.

In the example above I have two zones: US and Rest of World. In the US I have two rates: Economy (free for orders over 50 $USD) and Express (10 $USD flat rate). The price for International Shipping is a 20 $USD flat rate for anything up to 20kg.

If you want to dive deeper into Shopify's Shipping options, read The Beginner's Guide to Ecommerce Shipping and Fulfillment by Thea Earl, and check out the Shopify help page for a full list of shipping and delivery options.

Taxes

Like every business, you'll be expected to pay taxes to your government as a proportion of your revenue. You'll also be expected to collect some form of VAT on most products too. You'll find exceptions for some product types and locations, but I strongly recommend you consult with a tax professional where you run your business.

In your admin go to Settings > Taxes to configure your tax options, and determine whether your prices already take taxes into account, whether tax should be determined on your customer's country of residence, whether shipping rates should include tax, and whether VAT should be charged on digital goods.

Later, you can review the amount of collected taxes by going to Analytics > Reports.

Warning: This information on this screenshot is not tax advice. You should consult a tax professional if you have any questions about your taxes. Shopify doesn't file or remit your sales taxes for you.

Payments

Very importantly, you also have to decide how to accept payments.

Select from over 100 third-party payment providers and give your customers additional payment options like PayPal, Klarna, or AfterPay. If you are from one of the supported countries and don't have time to compare payment providers, go with Shopify Payments to make things really easy. Only Shopify Payments allows you to configure checkout in multiple currencies.

Set up the payment method at your Shopify store

With that done, go to Analytics > Reports to complete your back-office configuration.

5. Configure a Custom Domain

At this point your store is ready to go; disable the password protection, and you can show, sell, and ship your products! But one important part of your brand is missing: a custom domain.

Instead of using whichever shopify.com subdomain is generated by default, purchase a unique domain from Shopify or another registrar company. Perhaps you'll pick a .com domain, like yourBrand.com, but you may also like the .shop domain extension or something else. The choice is yours.

Once you have your domain, go to Online Store > Domains and update your DNS record.

Note: If this task is too difficult for you consider asking for help in the community forums or hire a Shopify Expert.

6. Launch Your Shopify Store

Remove the password page at Online store > Preferences and tell the world that you are open for business.

3, 2, 1 🚀

Congratulations! That's how to set up a Shopify store! GLWS (good luck with sales)!

Obviously at this point your store has zero visitors, and you have only one order from your mom. But don't worry. Having built your Shopify store now put your efforts into driving more traffic, adding blog posts to describe your products or services, analyze your traffic, learn from your customers and competitors, and optimize your store.

Great Text Effects for Photoshop From Envato Elements

Each of these Photoshop text effect styles is found on Envato Elements. The best part? If you're a subscriber, all of them are included with your monthly fee. You'll be able to download cool text effects for Photoshop and a lot more, without any extra costs.

Great Text Effects Photoshop — There are hundreds of aesthetic PSD text effects available on Envato Elements.

Let's take a look at some of the best Adobe Photoshop text effects to download on Envato Elements:

Smoke Logo Text Effect (PSD)

Your marketing plans won't go up in smoke with this aesthetic PSD text effect. It offers a realistic smoke look and is surprisingly easy to use. Just add your text to the correct layer and edit the Smart Object. If you want a fiery Photoshop text effect PSD download, this one is perfect for you.

Ghost Text Effect (PSD)

Slightly spooky and completely awesome, Ghost offers one of the more unique Photoshop text styles. It makes your text look both in focus and just out of reach. The smoky aesthetic PSD is well organized, so working on your project is a breeze.

Futuristic Text Effect (PSD)

Do you prefer the gritty, cinematic look? The Futuristic Photoshop text effect PSD download is right up your alley. Editing is easy thanks to the Smart Object layers. The high resolution guarantees you get excellent results every time.

Holochrome Text Effects (PSD, JPG, PDF)

Holochrome is a stunning alternative for fans of the neon text effect in Photoshop. It lets you add vibrant color to your words, but the effect is understated. This pack includes ten Photoshop text PSD files with different styles. You'll be able to apply all types of holographic looks to your work.

Holochrome Adobe Photoshop Text Effects Download

Rainbow 3D Text Effect (PSD, JPG)

Rainbow 3D adds an extra dimension to your words. Not only will they jump off the page, but each letter will also have a nice texture applied to it. The results of this text effect Photoshop PSD download are realistic and are sure to catch people's attention.

Rainbow 3D Photoshop Text Effect PSD Files

3D Cartoon Text Effects (PSD)

If you're not a fan of elegant text effects for Photoshop, these cartoon styles are for you. There are ten 3D effects to choose from in this download. Each of them is unique enough to fit a wide variety of projects. Use these aesthetic PSD text effects on shirts, posters, and more.

3D Cartoon Aesthetic PSD Text Effect Photoshop

EPIC Cinematic Text Effects (PSD)

Epic is not a bad name for this Photoshop text effect PSD download. With this one, you'll be able to turn your words into bold and textured titles that demand attention. Thanks to its organized layers, you won't need to be a Photoshop guru to get Epic working.

Epic Cinematic Aesthetic PSD Text Effect Photoshop

Retro Text Effects V.01 (PSD)

Go old school with these elegant text effects for Photoshop. There are 12 unique retro styles to choose from in this bundle. If you're promoting a throwback event or a themed sale, you'll want to try out this Adobe Photoshop text effects download.

Cyberpunk Text Effects (PSD, JPG, PDF)

We're going from the past to the sci-fi future with Cyberpunk. These cool text effects for Photoshop have a progressive vibe that you can customize. You'll have nine distinct looks to choose from if you choose this pack. If you need multiple Photoshop text PSD files for your projects, try out this download.

Outline Text Effects (PSD, JPG, PDF)

We wrap up our list with Outline. It's a pack of eight cool text effects for Photoshop with an isometric style. Each effect is easy to edit, thanks to Smart Object layers. The author of these Photoshop text styles also included a nice help file if you're ever stuck.

Creative Photoshop Text Effects From GraphicRiver

Here are 30 striking text effect files that you can purchase for an affordable cost, which ranges from $4 to $10. There are a ton of styles here, such as bold vintage text, cinematic lettering, realistic metal styles, and more.

Photoshop Text Effect Actions on Envato Market — Best Selling Photoshop Text Effect Actions available for sale on Envato Market (GraphicRiver)

Make the lettering in your next design a stand-out focal point—that carries a visual punch—with one of these Photoshop text effects:

Spray Paint Photoshop Action (ATN, ABR)

Give your projects a bit of edge with this Adobe Photoshop text effects download. This action creates a convincing spray-paint look. Enjoy unlimited possibilities with this easy-to-use set of actions.

Update your marketing and promotion materials with street-art-inspired text!

Spray Paint Adobe Photoshop Text Effects Download

Balloon Effect: Vibrant PSD Action (PSD, ATN, ABR)

This Photoshop text effect results in a colorful Mylar balloon style. You can quickly turn your text or any shape into a bouncy design just by pressing play on this PSD action. The colors can be completely adjusted as well, creating unique results.

The download includes a Photoshop ATN file action, a Photoshop brush ABR file, and a Photoshop PSD file template, as well as help files and full instructions.

Balloon Text Effect Aesthetic PSD Action

80s Text Effects Vol.2 (PSD, ASL)

Whether you have an event flyer or retro poster project in mind, these 3D text styles pop with glowing effects and vibrant details. Get ten different Photoshop text effect styles you can mix and match for even more wild looks. What do you have in mind for this set?

Try these Photoshop text PSD files out for movie titles or awesome typography illustrations!

VHS: RGB Glitch PSD Text Effect (PSD)

With a nod to a nineties design aesthetic, this text effect has a stylish video-glitch-inspired design. This Photoshop file is set up with Smart Objects that are simple to work with. You can apply it to your text, logo, or another shape and customize as needed. The default template size is large format at 2000px by 1500px and 300 DPI, but it can readily be adjusted.

There are 12 Photoshop PSD text effect styles bundled in this pack—with varying amounts of text distortions and numerous error backgrounds included. Whether you have a club flyer or marketing campaign to design, this is a great asset to add to your graphic arsenal!

VHS - RGB Glitch Photoshop Text Effect Styles

3D Photoshop Text Effects Vol.2 (PSD)

This is a vibrant set of ten Photoshop text PSD files to work with, in styles like Wood, Old Rust, and Storm. It's quick to customize—you can just replace the text in any file with yours via a smart object layer. Spend more time on your overall composition and less effort working out how to transform your lettering into 3D popping, stylized text.

Snow Text Effect Photoshop Actions (ATN, ABR, PAT)

Winter is a special time of the year where the land is covered in frosty snow. Now you can jump in and scribble your favorite words with this creative snow effect action set.

It's designed to give you that perfect "snow writing" look. This Adobe Photoshop text effects download includes six actions that are all fully customizable. Use them with text and shapes for unique, wintry effects!

Snow Great Text Effects Photoshop Actions

14 Bold Vintage PSD Text Effects V.2 (PSD, ASL)

This is an amazing deal, with 14 vintage-style text effects all designed with a mix of retro and modern flair. If you need to make your text pop with a blend of 3D in PSD and classic design goodness, then this set has the styles you need. You can make quick work of applying your custom brand (and messaging) to any text in this set. It will even work with your custom shapes and logotypes!

14 Bold Vintage Aesthetic PSD Text Effects

Broken Glass: Creative Photoshop Actions (ATN, PAT)

Great for game covers, marketing flyers, or advertising material for apps, this broken glass text effect adds an interesting design to any title or stand-out set of text.

You can customize the look of the shattered glass effect by using big or small shatters, moving glass parts, and adjusting how your cracks look with freeform customization. You can move, scale, or deform the shapes to get just the look you're after. Apply the effect to any font, text, or shape.

The set includes six actions, set at hi-res 300 DPI, and includes one ATN Photoshop action file and one PAT Photoshop file, which are used by the six action files.

Broken Glass - Creative Cool Text Effects Photoshop

Photoshop Glow Text Styles Pro (ASL)

This text effect has a professional glow style, which you can apply to web, game, or app designs. Whether you need to add a style to a logo, apply a glow to menu items, or create custom text boxes, this pack has a stylish, on-trend design. It's designed for web use and is set at 72 DPI. It comes with 50 PSD layer styles, with multiple colors and light sources to work with.

Photoshop Glow Neon Text Effect Photoshop

Full Metal Package 3D Photoshop Actions (PSD, ATN, ASL, PAT)

This pack comes with multiple Photoshop actions and layer styles. In total, there are 47 actions (18 that are for 3D effects and 29 Style actions). There are also 62 Layer Styles for generating 29 materials in Photoshop, from chrome to silver, gold, copper, and more—with a complete full-metal package.

It's developed at high resolution and can be used to design text effects for print or web. It's super-versatile and works with a variety of shapes and text styles. This is a go-to set of Photoshop text PSD styles to create any 3D metal elements—with quick, quality results!

Full Metal Package 3D Aesthetic PSD Actions

Gold Photoshop Text Effects (PSD)

Take your plain lettering and quickly transform it into a beautiful gold text effect. This text effect Photoshop PSD download action comes with 15 effects. They can serve a variety of designs, from gold foil stationery styles to emulating gold print, hot foil, and more. Add a touch of the elegant print design aesthetic to your designs!

Ultimate PSD Text Effect Collection (PSD, ASL)

With a ton of awesome text effect styles built into one easy-to-work-with Photoshop file, this ultimate collection has a variety of designs to add to your arsenal.

It comes with metallic, vintage, wood, leather, paper, fabric, and more styles. It works with organized layers and smart objects, so you can change the colors and effects of your target text in seconds. They're an easy-to-use pack of great text effects for Photoshop.

Ultimate Photoshop Text Effect PSD Files Collection

AtoZ: Epic PSD Text & Logo Effect (PSD)

This high-energy text effect Photoshop CC file is based on a popular video-game style. With this one, there's no need to run actions or to install patterns, styles, or brushes.

It's all based simply on smart object shapes, and it's super easy to work with. It comes with four vibrant effects made up of various glowing jewels and graphic rock textures. These are really great text effects for Photoshop, with nice attention to the details!

Neon Text Effect Style for Photoshop (PSD)

Love neon effects? Then give this electric neon text effect pack for Photoshop a try! This download includes a fully editable PSD file with all the tools you need to customize these looks.

Update the smart objects with your favorite fonts or try this look on different shapes. The possibilities are limitless, and these great text effects for Photoshop are only $4!

10 Elegant Photoshop Text Styles Vol.5 (PSD, ASL)

This volume comes with a variety of Photoshop text effects, such as elegant bubbling lettering, galactic star effects, and glowing metal shine. There are ten elegant text effects for Photoshop included in a PSD file and accompanying ASL file, and they work with any font.

Retro Photoshop Text Effects (PSD)

Add a touch of retro style to your text, logos, icons, or any shapes with this set of Photoshop files. It works with smart object layers and comes with six PSD files packed with multiple styles of backgrounds. You can whip up a compelling advertisement, stylish poster design, or marketing banner in no time with this set of vintage text effects.

3D Text Effect Photoshop Action (ATN)

Enjoy extraordinary 3D text effects in only seconds! This next Photoshop action works with vector shapes, text layers, and so much more. This well-organized action allows you to quickly change extrusion levels and even add shadows!

Enjoy a realistic text effect that looks wonderful on posters, illustrations, and brand material!

Vintage Retro Text Effect (PSD)

You can make artistic vintage text effects quickly with this set. Tap into your creative potential with this collection of 16 weathered text effects great for websites, apps, or print work.

Easily modify the text, patterns and colors to get the best results for your brand. Add these text effect Photoshop PSD downloads to your design arsenal!

Vintage Retro Text Effect Photoshop PSD Download

Real Fire Photoshop Text Creator 2 (ATN, ABR)

Make a realistic fire text effect in three simple steps. Just type in your text, run the action, and then customize it by placing flames with the included special brush. The results are high-resolution on a transparent background and can be achieved in just a minute or two. Placing the flames with your own personal touch leads to really creative results, with flames of varying intensities.

Real Fire Adobe Photoshop Text Effects Download

Sweet Colorful Text Effects: 10 PSD (PSD)

This set of delicious Photoshop text effects includes ten retro styles of colorful candy lettering—with pink soda, sweet stripes, milky shake, and more. Customizing your text is as simple as opening and editing a smart object. Grab some yummy retro vintage design goodness now!

Sweet Colorful Text Effect Photoshop PSD Download

Cartoon: Stylish PSD Text Effects (PSD)

Pow, zap, and wow your clients with this powerful set of fun cartoon text effects. They're all colorful, unique, and easy to customize with professional design styles. There are ten high-res PSD files included in the download.

Vintage Retro Text Effects (PSD)

We're always inspired by nostalgia. But have you ever wanted to remake your favorite styles from the past? With this vintage retro text effects kit, you'll get 14 extraordinary text effects you can edit easily with smart objects. Use these text effect Photoshop PSD downloads for posters, branding, and all your creative projects!

Vintage Retro Cool Text Effects Photoshop

4 Glitch Video Photoshop Text Effects (PSD)

This set of glitch text effects has a vintage screen style reminiscent of early video games. Give your designs a classic tech feel with glitch and noise retro effects.

This one is great for eighties-style flyers, custom posters, or classic tech-themed designs. There are four PSD files included that work simply with Photoshop smart objects. Just place your text in the object, and you'll quickly output an exciting lettering design!

Glitch Video PSD Neon Text Effects Photoshop

Animated Glitch Logo Photoshop Template (PSD)

Want a cool way to boost your numbers on social media? Try an animated glitch effect. This HD logo effect is great for entrepreneurs and creative business owners. It quickly sets up one GIF and animated video that lasts about four seconds.

Change the background to fit your preferences. We hope you enjoy this fun animated effect!

3D Gold PSD Text Mockups (PSD)

Made with smart objects in Photoshop, this gold text effect comes with three styles in a layered PSD file. It works with a variety of text shape combinations and stands out on any background. You can get a shiny 3D text result with a high-resolution image exported from Photoshop quickly.

3D Gold Photoshop Text Effect PSD Download

Realistic Photoshop Styles Bundle (ASL)

This text effect set bundles 27 text effects and a total of 50 styles in a Photoshop ASL file. This large bundle makes it easy to create realistic grunge-style text effects set against dark backgrounds, from chaotic spiked text to digital chaos and blood-stained steel. This collection offers a ton of text effects that would work great on a stylish site, app branding, poster, event flyer, or game cover design.

Realistic Photoshop Text Effect Styles Bundle

Retro Vintage Text Effects Bundle: PSD Vol. 1-3 (PSD)

This big bundle comes with 30 unique vintage text effect styles. Every style comes with a corresponding Photoshop file. Each PSD graphic resource is quick to work with using smart object replacement.

These text effects have a layered, professional quality, with raised 3D letters and effects emulating old-style print approaches. The result is legible, unique text effects, with classic designs.

There are a variety of effects in this bundle, some featuring multiple layers of diagonal lines, drop shadows, interior shadows, interesting line work, and bold strokes.

Retro Vintage Photoshop Text Effect Styles Bundle

Party Tools Kit (PSD, ATN, ABR)

Whenever you're feeling stumped, try investing in a brilliant text action kit like this one. Invigorate your passion with this full set of high-resolution Photoshop text actions made for party themes.

Try out six different 3D directions along with added tools for confetti effects and party balloons! This one's a keeper!

Party Tools Kit Great Text Effects Photoshop

Letterpress Photoshop Style: Wood Edition (PSD)

Letterpress styles are beautiful and fun to put together. This realistic text effect can communicate your message with depth and style, whether you have a poster you're designing, an online ad to create, or another project coming up.

This Photoshop set includes 15 ASL files for applying to text or shapes. They come at a high resolution and include 12 for wooden block backdrops. There's also a bonus file included of an already mocked-up scene. You can really feel the ink on the wooden letters in this detailed 3D design.

Letterpress Aesthetic PSD Text Style Wood Edition

Chocolate Text Effect (PSD)

Make one-of-a-kind chocolate Photoshop text effect styles with this incredible download. This kit includes everything you need to get started.

Very easy to use, this pack is compatible with Adobe Photoshop CC. Enjoy cool chocolate text effects in Photoshop with just a few clicks!

Grab a Creative Photoshop Text Effect!

There are a number of vibrant Photoshop text effect actions and styles on Envato Market. Browse through the hundreds of high-energy PSD design files, and grab one that fits your project needs today. We also have popular Photoshop add-ons and best-selling photo effects—with graphics professionals adding new premium designs on a regular basis.

Find more Photoshop text effects from these resources:

24 Best Free Music Google Slides Themes for 2021 Presentations

Posted: 14 Jun 2021 06:55 AM PDT

Are you a music teacher who wants to give a presentation to make a lesson more fun? Maybe you're a music executive and need to pitch an idea to investors? Why not use a music Google Slides theme?

MusicMax — This premium music Google Slides theme from Envato Elements is perfect for a music industry executive.

If you're in the music field and you need to make a presentation using a template is the best idea. This article features some of the best premium music Google Slides themed templates.

Creating your own music Google Slides template can be time-consuming and difficult. Using a prebuilt and expertly designed template ensures that you've got a professional-looking template without using up a lot of time.

This article features premium music Google Slides themes from Envato Elements and GraphicRiver. It also features some of the best free music themed Google slide templates found online.

Discover the Best Premium Music Google Slides Templates on Envato Elements (2021)

If you create many presentations and will need a lot of templates with different music Google Slides themes, then Envato Elements is the option for you. It's got many templates with a music presentation theme. All templates have been professionally designed and are of high quality.

As an Elements member, you'll pay a low monthly fee. It'll unlock access to thousands of premium, professional resources that include:

professional music presentation themes
stock photos and royalty free music
graphic templates, fonts, and more.

Envato Elements has many excellent premium music-themed Google Slides templates.

If you only need a single music Google Slides theme for a single project, take a look at GraphicRiver. You'll get access to design assets you can buy individually without the commitment of a subscription.

Using a free Google Slides music presentation template won't impress your audience as much as a premium template from Envato Elements or GraphicRiver.

5 Great Premium Musical Google Slides Theme Templates from Envato Elements

Here's a hand-picked list of the best Google Slides music slide templates from Envato Elements:

1. Musicality - a Music Presentation Theme

Musicality has over 150 music slides with a high-quality theme. This template comes with five color schemes that you choose from. Besides the color schemes, this template comes with infographics and illustrations.

2. Muzik - Music Google Slides Presentation

Muzik has a musical Google Slides theme where the slides are completely editable. Here are some key features of this template:

over 40 unique slides
device mockup
comes with icons
picture placeholder

Muzik is a professionally designed, high-quality template. Use it for many different purposes.

3. Birama - Music Google Slides Template

Birama is a music Google Slides themed template that's high quality and fully customizable. This template comes with 30 total slides that come in 16:9 format. You also get a picture place holder where you can easily drag and drop an image of your choice into the placeholder to add it to the slide.

4. Music Google Slides Presentation Template

This template has a music Google Slides theme. It's got a design that's skillfully made. Here are some of the key features:

30 unique slides
use with Microsoft PowerPoint
multipurpose design
high quality

This template is great for any music themed Google template presentation.

5. Stipendium - Music Google Slide Template

Stipendium - Music Google Slides Template

This music Google Slides theme has a stylish design that can be used for many different purposes. It comes with three different color schemes to customize your template. Stipendium also comes with picture placeholder that makes it easy to add images to your templates.

5 More Great Premium Musical Google Slides Theme Templates

If you just want to download a single premium music Google Slides theme, consider GraphicRiver. It's pay-as-you-go model lets you download themes one at a time.

Music Slideshow Google Slides Themes — Buy high-quality premium music presentation themes one-at-a-time from GraphicRiver.

Here are some of the best musical Google Slides themed templates from GraphicRiver:

1. Soundcore

Soundcore comes with 34 total slides. Easily add images to your slide by dragging and dropping the image of your choice into the placeholder. This template comes with charts, graphs, and device mockups.

2. Musical - Music and Band Google Slides Template

This professionally designed musical Google Slides theme a beautiful modern design. Here are some key features of this template:

comes with icons
comes with over 100 slides
everything is completely editable
comes with icons, charts, graphs, and device mockups

This template is a great multipurpose template that can be used for many different purposes.

3. Music Google Slides Presentation Template

This template is professionally designed and of high quality. It comes with 30 exclusive slides you can add your information to. The minimal design won't confuse your audience.

4. Rythem – Music Creative Google Slides Presentation Template

Rythem has fun and abstract design that was professionally designed. Here are some key features of this template:

36 total slides
comes with a picture placeholder
the slides are in 16:9 Ratio
comes with illustrations, device mockups, and charts

Use this high-quality music presentation theme for many different purposes.

5. Minor - Google Slides Template

Minor comes with 30 unique slides that you can add information onto. This template comes with five color schemes enabling you to customize the template to suit your personal or business style. Easily edit everything in this template.

24 Top Free Music Google Slides Themes to Download for 2021

Before looking for a free music Google Slides theme on the web, check Envato's free offerings first.

Envato Free Files — Each month Envato Elements offers a different selection of free files for you to try. You can also get free files each month from GraphicRiver.

Try out various premium template files (not always music slides themes) at no cost to you. Here's the deal:

Every month Envato Elements offers 12 different hand-selected files, (fonts, presentations, videos, and more). Create a free account to download this month's free premium files now.
Or try Envato Market for free. They offer seven handpicked monthly freebies. Log in with your Envato Market account to get this month's handpicked premium freebies.

But sometimes your budget is zero. You just can't afford a premium music presentation theme. For those times, here are some of the best music presentation themed Google Slides templates:

1. Music School

Music School is a music presentation theme. This template is editable and comes with 24 slides.

2. Music Composition Workshop

Music composition workshop makes it easy to create a musical slideshow that'll let you make a music-themed presentation. This template comes in 16:9 format.

3. Music App Pitch Deck

This template has a music presentation theme with neon colors. The bright colors are sure to catch people's attention.

4. Music Festival

Use Music Festival for a marketing plan presentation or as a musically themed slideshow. This template comes with an easily readable font.

5. Futuristic Music Agency

Futuristic Music Agency has a modern musical Google Slides theme. This template is entirely editable.

6. Dance Day

Dance Day has a dancer in the music Google Slides theme. The theme is mostly black and white, with little pops of purple.

7. Music Google Slides Theme

This template has a fun and colorful design that'll catch the attention of the audience. This template comes with an about me slide.

8. Drum Band Music Google Slides Themes

Look at the drum theme. It's great for anyone wanting to get the music theme across. This template comes with infographic slides.

9. Metallic Chrome Equipment Google Slides Themes

This template has an old-fashioned silver microphone theme. This template is great if you're talking about singers or retro bands,

10. Music Slides Theme

This template has a girl listening to music on her phone with headphones on the title page. Use this template for a presentation with any genre of music as the topic.

11. Sound Editing Google Slides Theme

This musical Google Slides theme is great if you're going to be talking about how music is made. This template features music editing equipment.

12. Vinyl Shop

The music slides theme of this template a vinyl. This template has a fun retro theme with retro colors featured.

13. Piano Music Google Slides Themes

This template is great if you'll be discussing piano music as part of your topic. The slides of this template come in 16:9 format.

14. Be Dance

Be Dance is a musical slideshow that features people dancing. This template is suitable for people who are discussing music and dance.

15. Music Presentation Theme

The design of this template is colorful with some colorful illustrations. This template comes with 35 total slides.

16. Guitar Lesson

This musical Google Slides theme has a red color scheme; every slide is red. This template comes with Google Slides and Microsoft PowerPoint versions.

17. Jazz Festival

Jazz festival has fun illustrations as part of the design. This template is designed for a marketing campaign but could be used for many different music theme purposes.

18. Vintage Music Google Slides Themes

This template has a lovely retro feel. The title slide has a person playing music on a busy street. Vintage Music Google Slides Theme is a multipurpose template that can be used for many different uses.

19. Music Lesson

The design of this template has people learning different instruments on some slides. On the other slides, there are abstract shapes with soft colors.

20. Retro Key

This templates design is bright colorful and features some illustrations. This template would make an impact with the bold theme.

21. Teacher Blessings

The warm theme of this musical slideshow if great for music teachers or music school proposals. This template is entirely editable.

22. Composer Notes

Composer notes feature someone writing sheet music. This template is useful if you're a composer who needs to make a presentation.

23. Audio Tape Musical Google Slides Themes

The design of this template features an audiotape as part of the design. This template download is available for Google Slides and Microsoft PowerPoint.

24. Cassette Playback Google Slides Themes

The design of this template has one cassette tape different from the other cassette tapes in the background. Use this template for many different purposes.

How to Customize a Music Presentation Template in Google Slides Quickly

So, you've found your favorite music presentation template. Now it's time to customize it with your own content. Let's learn how, in just five steps. You'll even see how to add Google Slides background music!

For our tutorial, we'll use the premium Maxx - Music Presentation Template from Envato Elements:

Let's get started:

1. Choose Your Slides

A premium music presentation template like this has dozens of slides inside. The trick is to choose only those that work best for you. In Google Slides, click on the View dropdown and choose Grid View.

Google Slides background music — View the slides inside the premium music presentation Maxx template by using **Grid View**.

Here, you can rearrange slides by clicking and dragging on their thumbnails. This is an easy way to change the sequence. Plus, with a slide or slides selected, pressing Delete on your keyboard will remove them.

2. Customize Text

Text placeholders are a hallmark of any premium music presentation template. To use them, click into any text box and select the text inside. Then, begin typing over it.

Text music presentation template — Add text quickly, with the placeholders inside this premium music presentation template.

Watch the existing text vanish, replaced by your inputs. Repeat this process throughout your presentation to easily add your own words.

3. Add Photos

Photos really help bring any music presentation template to life. (And when paired with Google Slides background music, they deliver a powerful effect). To add photos, drag an image over your slide.

Photo music presentation template — A premium music presentation template like Maxx works best with plenty of cool images.

You can move the image around or pull on the corners to resize it. This is a quick and easy way to illustrate and energize any slide.

Searching for great photos? As an Envato Elements member, you get unlimited downloads of millions of stock photos.

4. Change Shape Colors

Changing shape colors is a fast way to add your own unique style to any music presentation template. With a shape selected, click on the Fill Color dropdown on the menu.

Colorful music presentation template — Shape colors are easy to change, thanks to flexible premium templates like Maxx.

You'll see options for both Solid and Gradient colors. Click on any of the thumbnails to apply the color to your shape. It will instantly update with your selection.

5. Add Background Music

Google Slides background music helps set the stage and keep your audience engaged. To add it, you'll need a link to a song or audio file that you want to use.

Add Google Slides background music — Google Slides background music pairs perfectly with the premium Maxx template, and your own content.

Once you have the link, click on a slide object such as a text box, then go in the Insert > Link menu. Paste in your URL, give it some display text, and choose Apply.

When you present, click on the link and your Google Slides background music will start.

5 Quick Tips for Better Music Themed Google Slides Slideshow Presentations in 2021

Here are some tips to help you get started on your Google Slide Presentation:

1. Add Background Music

Adding background music can make your presentation more exciting. Think of it as adding a soundtrack to your presentation. Make sure the music isn't too distracting.

If you don't know how to add music to your presentation don't worry. There are plenty of articles on Tuts plus that'll help you make your presentation the best.

Makrok — Envato Elements has many premium music-themed Google Slides.

2. Use Illustrations

Sometimes a picture says what you can't say easily. Illustrations are a great thing to add to a slide to help explain a complicated topic. Photos can also be used to make your slide more interesting.

Envato Elements and Graphic River have hundreds of photos and other illustrations that you can use. Learn more tips for Google Slides here:

Google Slides

20+ (Quick) Tips & Tricks to Use Google Slides Like a Professional in 2020

Laura Spencer

3. Use the Master Slides Tool

The Master Slides tool comes with Google Slides. This tool lets you change the master slide. Changing the master slide changes every slide in the presentation.

You can also change individual slide layouts with this tool. This tool will help you quickly customize the template.

Musca — Premium templates make creating a music-themed presentation easy.

4. Use Large Fonts

Large fonts make it easier for your audience to read what's on your slide. You want the font to be large enough that even the person in the back of the room can read the text on your slide. An excellent general rule to follow is heading and subheadings 32 pts to 48 pts and for body text 28 pts to 32 pts.

For more presentation guidelines, study the following guide:

Presentations

The Complete Guide to Making Great Business Presentations in 2021

Laura Spencer

5. Use Transitions

Transitions can liven up your presentation and make your presentation more fun. Just be careful not to use too many. Too many animations can confuse your audience. When it comes to things like this, less is more.

Voxo has a fun design and is a premium music-themed Google Slides template

5 Top Music Presentation Template Trends (For 2021)

We've checked out the very best music presentation template designs. These help you jumpstart the creative process by doing the hard work for you.

But to really impress your audience, you need to embrace the latest trends. These five are hot in 2021, and they'll help you succeed:

1. Colorful Gradients

Let's face it: solid colors sometimes get a little boring. Why not elevate your style game with stunning gradient color backgrounds? These elevate your music presentation template by offering unforgettable style.

Music band music presentation template — The premium Music & Band template for Google Slides features gradient backgrounds.

A gradient background spans a range of hues, not only one solid tone. You'll find plenty of Envato Elements music presentation templates with color gradients. Try one out today and watch how it improves the look and feel of your content.

2. GIFs for Animation

A music presentation in 2021 needs to be fun and interesting. So why not add some animation with a GIF? GIFs are popular, both for amusement and to illustrate ideas.

It's easy to add a music GIF to your music presentation template. These capture audience attention and help keep them focused. Check out our full Google Slides GIF tutorial to get started:

In 60 Seconds

How to Add a GIF to Google Slides in 60 Seconds

Andrew Childress

3. Plenty of Images

It's said that pictures are worth a thousand words, and that's never more true than with trendy 2021 slide decks. Adding photos makes slides seem more interesting. It lets you showcase your projects, introduce your band, and more.

Cymbal music presentation template — Cymbal is a premium music presentation template with plenty of space for beautiful imagery.

To save time, it pays to choose a music presentation template that has image placeholders. These let you swiftly insert photos onto your slides - no tedious editing needed! Audiences will appreciate photo presentations in 2021.

4. Slides With Video

What's the perfect companion to music? Video! And if it's on YouTube, you can add Google Slides background music videos to your next presentation.

Embedding a YouTube video has several advantages. It lets you take a break from speaking, and it makes things more interesting. Plus, it allows you to add other voices to the conversation. It's easy to see why this is a trending style for 2021.

Learn how to add YouTube videos to Google Slides here:

Google Slides

How to Add YouTube Video to Google Slides Presentations

Laura Spencer

5. Custom Fonts

Words matter, and so does their style. Choose a musically-inspired stylish font for your next slide deck. Everyone has seen the common, default fonts often used in presentations. Embrace the trend of font design to spice things up.

9twenty music presentation template — Premium from Envato Elements, 9Twenty is a premium Google Slides background music design that includes sleek custom fonts.

Many music presentation template designs from Envato Elements have custom fonts built in. Plus, Elements has a library of thousands of custom fonts. All come with your membership, and you can use them in the templates of your choice.

Discover More Top Google Slides Presentation Theme Designs for 2021

If you didn't like any of the premium templates shown in this article here are some articles featuring other premium templates:

Learn More About How to Use Google Slides

You've been working with Google Slides background music designs in this tutorial, and you've already learned so much. But let's challenge ourselves with a question: why stop here?

On Envato Tuts+, we're passionate about helping you learn tools like Google Slides. Make sure to check out our comprehensive series of tutorials called How to Use Google Slides (Ultimate Tutorial Guide.)

Not sure where to start? We've got you covered with tutorials that teach you more about how to use Google Slides, including music presentation templates:

Download a Premium Music Google Slides template today!

Premium templates let you start your presentation with an advantage. That advantage can be saving time or having an impressive base to begin with. When using a free template, you don't get that advantage. Envato Elements and GraphicRiver both have plenty of music-themed Google Slides to choose from. Whether you choose Envato Elements or GraphicRiver, you'll have an impressive base to start with. When using a premium template, you'll surely impress your audience.

Start your template off with a good base by downloading a premium template today!

Editorial Note: This post has been updated with contributions from Andrew Childress. Andrew is a freelance instructor for Envato Tuts+.

How to Make Good PowerPoint Slide Designs Even Better in 2021

Posted: 14 Jun 2021 05:55 AM PDT

Final product image — What You'll Be Creating

Want to learn how to design PowerPoint slides? Great presentations are supported by a good PowerPoint layout. Most PowerPoint graphic design you see is rather invisible. When something is wrong with a slide design, you'll notice.

In this PowerPoint design tutorial, we cover the basics of presentation design. It's a strong way to approach how to make a good PowerPoint presentation design. As you'll notice, subtle details go a long way. You'll learn:

Visual Hierarchy. We'll look at visual hierarchy and how you can use it effectively.
Slide Layout. Turning the design principles of visual hierarchy into effective PowerPoint slide designs.
Typography. Choosing the right typefaces.
Color. The basics of color theory.
Details. The extras that make your presentation great.

We'll look at how you can apply all these techniques.

Are you looking to use ready-made presentation designs to shorten the process? I recommend checking out the trending PowerPoint templates on Envato Elements. It can save valuable time when you need to get a beautiful presentation, done quickly. It also takes some of the guess work out of how to design PowerPoint slides.

Ciri PowerPoint Template on Envato Elements

There are thousands of modern and attractive PowerPoint templates on Envato Elements. There are many more to check out on GraphicRiver too.

Now, let's dive into the principles of design. They are behind a great PowerPoint presentation:

1. Visual Hierarchy

Any type of design starts with visual hierarchy. What exactly is visual hierarchy? This refers to the arrangement of elements in a way that it implies importance. You can influence how we perceive what we see with contrast.

The theory of visual hierarchy helps you define the structure of your PPT design slides. Good visual hierarchy assures that the right elements are catching your attention.

You can achieve visual hierarchy through several design techniques:

Use contrasting colors to make certain elements stand out more.
Play with the size of text or photos to make something stand out more than something else.

An example of visual hierarchy in design.

The above concepts are known as adding visual weight to an element. How does this work in practice? How does this help us learn how to design PPT slides?

Below, you see two slides with exactly the same copy. One's got no visual hierarchy applied. The other one uses simple color and typography. You'll learn more about later. It is used to apply visual weight.

The original slide without any visual hierarchy applied — The original PPT slide, without any visual hierarchy applied.

The improved PowerPoint slide design, putting emphasis on photography.

Remember, some content will appear more important than other content. That's correct use of visual hierarchy. This is a principle you should use to your advantage. Ask yourself what needs to stand out in your presentation.

For Example

You're giving a financial presentation. You want your audience to recall that the third quarter performed poorly and why.

It's unrealistic is to believe your audience will recall exact data. A presentation gives a lot of information in a short time span. Unfortunately, the attention of people is quite brief. Focus on key messages and use visual hierarchy to make those ideas stick out.

2. Slide Layout Design

You can apply visual hierarchy to create effective PowerPoint slide designs. It's one of the corner stones of how to make a good PowerPoint design.

The trick is to understand what the most important message is. Through PowerPoint design principles, that this will be the content that people remember.

This goes further than just designing one slide. For example, you might have a few slides in a row about the same topic. But the final slide with the conclusion could be the slide to add that extra visual weight. For example, by adding an image for the first time or making the text bigger as usual. This is applying visual hierarchy to your slide layouts as well.

Effective PowerPoint Conclusion Slide Design with Clear Hierarchy Applied — An example of an effectively designed conclusion slide. Note the large typography and a clear call to action.

One of the most effective presentation design tricks to apply is that less is more, in most cases. When you've got key statistics, the following method helps:

First, display the graph (or all the statistics) that display the context of the key number.
Display the key percentage on a single slide. Try this without any further elements. Use this as a follow-up to make people pay attention to this number.

This is known as letting your design (and content) breathe. The idea you should keep in mind is that you should try and give your content (and thus your design) a hidden order.

Repetition is another trick to help you emphasize a key message. For example, try displaying a graph. Then try an individual statistic on two separate slides. This is a good example of effective repetition.

If you're looking for some inspiration for slide layouts, look at this collection of PowerPoint templates. Or dive into this curated selection of trending PPT presentation designs:

Microsoft PowerPoint

40+ Awesome PowerPoint Templates (With Cool PPT Presentation Designs 2021)

Sean Hodge

3. Typography

We can't discuss how to design PPT slides without talking about type. The right choice of typography goes a long way. It can really improve the design of your PowerPoint presentation.

A general lesson is this: good fonts are invisible. Bad typography choices are noticed straight away. For example, if your whole presentation has Comic Sans as a font choice, people will notice. When you notice a font, it's often because the legibility of the font is quite poor. If something is difficult to read, it requires much more attention from your audience.

Poor Font Choice in PowerPoint Presentation Design Slide — Here's the same slide, now with terrible typography. The reason you notice, is because it's difficult to read.

Traditional font choices are often the best to use for PowerPoint presentation design. Stick to Helvetica, Arial or Gill Sans, for example. Use the regular version for your body text and use the bold version for your title. Make your font size big enough to ensure readability (eg. 18pt) and make titles bigger (eg. 34pt).

Best Fonts for Good PowerPoint Presentation Design — Stick to basic fonts to keep your typography solid.

It's also possible to mix fonts. When you're just starting out, I'd recommend keeping things simple. If you're curious, you could always try to search for good font combinations.

If you're intrigued by typography, there are plenty online resources to help you. I personally enjoy Typewolf, for example.

The simple rule for typography is that solid typography goes unnoticed. Unnoticed typography means it's legible. Of course, typography is a way to customize a design and make presentations much more unique. But, when starting out, I recommend sticking to the basics.

Something else to think about is how much text you use on your slides. It's rarely useful to write down full sentences in presentations. It's much better to use bullet lists of key facts. Make sure that people are paying attention to you while you're giving your presentation. Remember our 'Improving our marketing' slide? Let's clean that one up so you'll notice the difference.

Shortening Text in Our PowerPoint Slide Design — The amount of text was shortened significantly, making this slide much easier to digest.

4. Color

Color is an essential part of how to design a PPT slide. But color is a complex topic. A good understanding of the basics goes a long way. Understand that colors express a certain feeling, much like photography. Brighter, more vibrant colors often come across more playful. Darker colors often feel a little cooler (and more professional).

Notice how in the colors in this PowerPoint template are playful and creative. If you dig further into the PPT download, there are some simple minimal slides and a darker set to work with as well.

Hornette PowerPoint presentation design template with creative colors

The colors of your presentation design depend on the context. If you're making a professional presentation, you'll likely work with the colors of your brand. That makes presentation design much easier. I recommend sticking to brand colors instead of experimenting.

In other cases, you might have to choose colors from scratch. In that case, don't panic yet.

Looking for a quick trick? Try working with a single primary color (take blue for example). Then, work with greys as supporting colors (whites, greys, blacks). Use one or two colors. Keep the rest simple. Again, take a look at our marketing slide above for a good example!

If you're a little more daring, you can learn more about color theory. You could try complementary and contrasting colors, for example.

An easy way to get started with color is to use a resource such as Adobe Color. By browsing the 'Explore' section, you can discover wonderful color palettes. Another way to see some nice palettes is to use design sites as Dribbble or Behance. See what colors are being used as inspiration.

Adobe Color is an excellent resource to find good combinations of colors.

5. Details

You'd be surprised how some subtle elements can pack a lot of punch. They can really improve your presentation visually. Think about these important details:

Photography

A presentation wouldn't be complete without the use of photography. Photography is the easiest way to improve your PowerPoint presentation. A simple trick to improve the design of your presentation is to use high-quality stock photography. You can find thousands of gorgeous professional stock photos on Envato Elements.

Envato Elements Photos — Access stunning stock photos on Envato Elements

Using premium stock photos such as those found on Envato Elements means your presentation will be unique. You won't be using the same old stock photography everyone else is using. You can find photos that match your brand. You can also find photos of landscapes, city or coffee vibes, office settings, and much more.

Or, if the budget is tight, consider using images from Unsplash. It's got free-to-use gorgeous photography. It feels much different from imagery used on other free stock websites.

Icons

Another simple way to visually enhance your presentation is to use icons. Icons are great to use when you've got little text in your presentation and don't want to use photography.

Ideally, you use icons from a single icon kit. This assures that all icons do have the same style. What's excellent is that a lot of PowerPoint themes you can buy include an icon kit. If not, you can find icon kits online on marketplaces like Envato Elements or GraphicRiver.

Charts

When working with data, adding some type of chart can help in your presentation.

Charts as a design element are something to pay attention to, as it's easy to overwhelm your audience with a bunch of data. Here are some thoughts about using charts to your advantage:

Don't use too many charts. Rather use them sparingly and only when they add value to what you've got to say.
Make sure that the data is easily legible. This, by avoiding fancy animations or unnecessary 3D design for example.
Have a follow-up slide explaining the key takeaway of your chart.

The Marketofy PowerPoint template has a data-driven presentation design. It's one of the most popular PPT templates on GraphicRiver. It includes many infographics, charts, diagrams, to work with quickly.

Marketofy PowerPoint template design with helpful infographic slides.

Learn more about how to create charts in this PowerPoint design tutorial:

Microsoft PowerPoint

How to Make Great PPT Charts & Graphs in Microsoft PowerPoint

Andrew Childress

Discover more helpful infographic and data-driven PowerPoint presentation design templates:

Microsoft PowerPoint

35 Best Infographic PowerPoint Presentation Templates: With Great PPT Data Slides 2021

Sean Hodge

Multimedia

If possible, adding some multimedia to your presentation can help in many ways. First, it makes your presentation feel interactive. An interactive element can help you explain what words and pictures can't. But don't forget what we've learned about how to make a good PowerPoint design. Fundamentals come before distracting extras.

Let's use a mobile app as an example. Displaying a video demo might be an intriguing option. You could show off features that way.

Transitions and Animations

When thinking on how to design a PPT slide, you might consider animations. Transitions are often added to PowerPoint design elements.

The above is a little tricky. It's very easy to overdo animations and transitions. It can distract your audience. A good rule is that 80% of your presentation doesn't really need a transition or animation.

Only use transitions and animations where it matters. Use them to help your audience remember what you're saying. The principles of visual hierarchy apply here as well.

Want to learn more about how to use animations in your PowerPoint presentation designs? Check out this PowerPoint design tutorial:

Microsoft PowerPoint

10 Simple PowerPoint PPT Animation Tips and Tricks for 2021 (+Video)

Sven Lenaerts

How to Follow a Good PowerPoint Design Principles

So, let's use what we learned about how to design a PowerPoint presentation. We'll dive into how you can apply all the lessons above while working on a PowerPoint presentation design:

Step 1. Plan Your Content Before the Design

Content First Not Presentation Design First — Focus on content first, then figure out how PowerPoint design principles can support your content.

Before you start working on the design of your PPT slides, think about your content. Consider your key messages. Ask yourself what your audience should remember after seeing your presentation. That's a big part of effective PowerPoint design.

Optimize your slides to support those key messages. Make sure that your content and your key message stands out. That's where all the above PowerPoint graphic design advice kicks in.

In summary, start with your key message. The opportunity to design will follow. Learn more about the presentation writing process in this PowerPoint design tutorial:

Presentations

How to Write a Professional PowerPoint Presentation (Discover the Writing Process)

Brad Smith

Step 2. Now Begin With Presentation Design Basics

Once you've got your content is figured out, next you should define what the foundations of your slide design should be. Remember, this is a big part of how to make a good PowerPoint presentation design.

This is defined by your selection of color and typography. Pick a primary color and a font you'd like to work with and you're off for a good start.

Step 3. Collect Your Photography

You'll likely use some sort of photography (or other imagery) in your presentation. Start collecting images you like. Select them for your PowerPoint presentation once you start designing.

After you're all set with the above, start with the actual design.

Step 4. Define Your Slide Layout(s)

Finally, it's time to work on the layout of each individual slide. It's not necessary to create a unique layout for each slide, but some variety helps. Good PowerPoint design finds a balance. For a presentation of about 20 slides, I work on about six to eight layouts. I'll use them throughout my PowerPoint presentation design. For this presentation, for example, I've designed three layouts. You can see them below for some inspiration:

PowerPoint presentation slide design layout 1 — PowerPoint presentation slide design, Layout 1

PowerPoint presentation slide design Layout 2 — PowerPoint presentation slide design: Layout 2.

PowerPoint presentation slide design Layout 3 — PowerPoint presentation slide design: Layout 3.

A layout can be quite simple. For example, a simple title with a subtitle or a slide containing a photo. Or a layout can be complex. For example, combining some bullet points and a graph. A well designed PowerPoint is strategically designed.

The trick is to create enough layouts. Pay attention to the design of the slide layout individually.

Once you've designed all layouts, put your PowerPoint design together and see how your presentation flows. Make sure to practice your presentation at least once! Then, fine-tune your design and finish your presentation!

How to Quickly Design Great Slides in PowerPoint With PPT Templates

Let's work with a basic presentation. We can quickly turn it into a standout PowerPoint graphic design example. We'll use the help of a professional PPT template.

I've designed a very basic presentation in PowerPoint that consists of five slides:

title slide
about slide
product slide
picture and text slide
text slide

I'll be using this PowerPoint template. We'll customize the design of the basic presentation.

Download the template above or follow along with your favorite premium template. These PowerPoint graphic design concepts will apply to any design. Let's get started:

Step 1. Find Slides You Want To Use

The first step in the process is to find the slides you want to use to customize the template. The easiest way to do this is to switch to the Slide Sorter view. Delete any slides you don't want by clicking to select them. Then, right-click on those slides and select Delete.

Selecting slides — Delete any slides you don't want from the **Slide Sorter** view.

Step 2. Customize Your Title Slide

The title slide is one of the most important slides in your presentation. When done right, it can pique the interest of your audience so it's a good idea to make sure it captures their attention. As you can see from the screenshot below, my original slide uses a simple underlined title.

I've customized the title slide so it includes a full-width photo. I've also changed the fonts. The result makes the slide title look more polished and professional.

Step 3. Layer Text and Images

Your presentation will have a variety of different slides. Some slides might be purely text based. Others might have a combination of text and images. Get creative and experiment with layering text over images.

This template makes it easy to experiment. I've made it more visually interesting by playing with the text layout. I've also layered text over images.

Step 4. Break Away From the Grid

Chances are, you might use many photos on one slide. But that doesn't mean you've got to place them side by side.

Break away from the grid and place images in different positions. You can also break them apart with text. Your slides will be more interesting this way. That means your audience will be more engaged throughout the presentation.

As you can see, I had a basic, grid-based slide with two images side by side.

Here, I've made the product slide more interesting and engaging. Simply add some text between the images.

a creative product slide layout — A creative product slide layout

Step 5. Spice Up Text With Icons

Another way to spice up your text-based slides is to use icons. Icons are great visual cues that help us visualize important points. In the example below, I've used a text-based slide with a simple title and a plain bulleted list.

I've made this slide more engaging by adding icons instead of bullet points. I've also tried rearranging the text to fit more points onto one slide.

A text based slide with icons — A text-based slide with icons

5 Best PowerPoint Presentation Design Templates (for 2021)

A premade PowerPoint template is a great time saver. You can find plenty of PowerPoint templates over on Envato Elements.

Each of the PowerPoint templates features an attractive design. They come with premade slides. Many also include extra elements such as charts, icons, and graphs. It'll be an invaluable resource and help you make an effective slide design.

Take a look at the best PowerPoint presentation design templates from Envato Elements.

1. Nextar - Multipurpose PowerPoint Presentation Design Template

The Nextar template has a modern and trendy graphic design for PowerPoint. It comes with 30 unique slides and three premade color schemes. The template is versatile enough to be used in business or corporate presentations as well as webinars, pitch decks, and more. On top of that, the template's got image placeholders so all you've got to do is drag and drop in your images.

2. Brusher - Trendy PowerPoint Presentation

The Brusher template is a trendy PowerPoint template. It's a great choice if you're looking to enhance your PowerPoint presentations with graphics. The template features bold brush strokes. You'll also get 120+ slides and five premade color schemes. It also includes image placeholders and creative illustrations.

3. Native - Minimalist PowerPoint Presentation Design Template

Try this template if you like a minimalist design style. This template is perfect for small businesses that want a clean presentation look. The template includes over 20 premade color schemes and 84 individual slides. The slides are animated, and you'll also get custom icons that you can use to improve your PowerPoint presentation.

4. Mild - PowerPoint Presentation Template

Consider this template if you want to use photos in your presentation design. The template includes image placeholders. You can easily replace them with your own photos. The template comes with a custom icon pack. It also has 35 premade slides as well as over 50 color schemes.

5. Sprint - Bold PowerPoint Template

This template features a bold and modern design. It's perfect for startups as well as established corporations. The template comes with 20 master slides. You'll also get matching charts, diagrams, tables, and other data visualization elements. This template is a perfect choice if you want to quickly design a PowerPoint presentation.

Find more great PowerPoint presentation design templates in this article:

Microsoft PowerPoint

34 Best PowerPoint PPT Template Designs (For 2021 Presentations)

Sean Hodge

Discover More Great PowerPoint Templates

The templates above are just a small sample of what's available on our marketplaces in terms of PowerPoint templates. To see even more great PowerPoint designs, check out the articles below:

5 Top Trends in PowerPoint Graphic Design

As you explore how to design in PowerPoint, you might wonder which aesthetic is best. PowerPoint design principles are in this article. But good PowerPoint design also requires sensitivity to your objectives. PowerPoint design elements should make sense. A good PowerPoint layout that looks great but doesn't relate won't succeed.

A well designed PowerPoint uses design principles to communicate. That's what makes an effective PowerPoint design. It looks good. It works well. It connects to the material. Consider how to design a PowerPoint presentation from this perspective.

Check out these design trends. They each use PowerPoint design principles in their own, strategic way.

1. Use Color as a Consistent, Anchoring Element

It's a great idea to have variety, from slide to slide. This keeps things interesting. But too much variety can look chaotic. Color can act as a consistent element in our presentation.

Take a look at this premium PowerPoint template, below. Each slide layout varies quite a bit. One of the elements they all have in common is this bright, yellow color. It helps keep them looking like one, related presentation.

powerpoint color — Note the consistent use of color in this premium PowerPoint template. Download it on Envato Elements.

2. Visually Communicate Ideas With Infographics

Infographics are both trendy and a smart choice. It's one thing to hear facts. It's another to actually see them. Conveying data in more than one way can help with retention rates. It can also help further communicate the overall message behind the data.

There's so many creative ways you can use infographics too. Use them for statistics. Try infographics for timelines and progress reports.

powerpoint infographics — Download these stylish infographics on Envato Elements.

3. Experiment With Abstract Shapes

Abstract shapes have been quite trendy in PowerPoint template design. They work well in many different aesthetics too. This premium PowerPoint template uses bouncy, playful shapes. When paired with these muted colors, it makes for a friendly design.

Abstract shapes also lend to make for a versatile aesthetic. The neutrality of abstract backgrounds and designs can work in so many scenarios.

abstract powerpoint — This abstract PowerPoint design is a stylish choice. Download it today on Envato Elements.

4. Let Beautiful Photography Do the Talking

Large, high quality photos can be really communicative. This is particularly effective if you're sharing product photos or a portfolio. If your presentation or business is heavily reliant on visuals, consider pushing the photography.

Keep in mind that your PowerPoint design elements shouldn't fight for attention. If the photo is the emphasis, then the other elements should support that. This means a large photo might warrant smaller text, for example.

powerpoint images — This PowerPoint design has lots of room for photography. Download this template on Envato Elements.

5. Try a Dark, High Contrast Aesthetic

Dark PowerPoint themes can be really trendy too. Doesn't this premium PowerPoint presentation look cool? Themes like this could be particularly well received in technology industries. There's a lot of potential for high energy and high contrast in an aesthetic like this one too.

Make sure to keep an eye out for readability in this aesthetic. Too much contrast can be hard on the eyes. Check to make sure your content is easily legible for your audience.

The Best Well Designed PowerPoint Templates in 2021 (Envato Elements vs GraphicRiver)

There are so many good PowerPoint design templates on both Envato Elements and GraphicRiver. Both of them are an outstanding source for good PowerPoint layout design. But which one is best for your needs?

1. Key Benefits of Envato Elements

Envato Elements is a great choice if you're looking for a lot of content. One subscription gets you access to an entire library of content. You get unlimited downloads.

That means you can download as many PowerPoint design elements as you need. Download fonts, stock photos, graphics, and more. There's also thousands of PowerPoint templates to choose from. With unlimited downloads, you can download everything you need in one place, for one price.

well designed powerpoint — Check out the selection of well designed PowerPoint templates on Envato Elements.

2. Key Benefits of GraphicRiver & Envato Market

GraphicRiver is a great choice if you're looking for a single file or single download. Choose from thousands of professionally designed assets. Only download what you need. Only pay for what you need.

Head to GraphicRiver and check out the huge selection of PowerPoint design templates. There are many good PowerPoint layout designs to choose from.

Which One's Right for You?

If you use a lot of assets, Envato Elements is a great choice. You can get everything you need in one place, for one price. Sign up for Envato Elements today, and take advantage of unlimited downloads.

Or, if you prefer single downloads, head over to GraphicRiver. It's easy to find what you need and download now. Download your perfect PowerPoint design template today.

Common PowerPoint Questions Answered (FAQ)

As you explore how to design PowerPoint slides, questions may arise. Take a look at these answers to commonly asked design questions:

1. What's the Best Look for My PowerPoint Design?

This is a great question with a complicated answer. An effective PowerPoint design has a look that relates to the topic. Make sure your PowerPoint design elements relate. Visuals are very communicative. You can use them to support your narrative.

Want to learn more about visual communication and storytelling? Check out this free tutorial:

Microsoft PowerPoint

How to Tell Effective Visual Stories in Your PowerPoint Presentations

Andrew Childress

2. How Can I Get Better at Typography? How Do I Choose Fonts?

Typography can be a complicated subject. It's a good idea to get yourself comfortable with the basics. But here are some quick tips to get you started. Think of it like a cheat sheet that you can rely on:

Avoid using too many different fonts. This can look distracting.
Make sure your fonts are legible. Display fonts are not for things like body copy.
When pairing fonts together, go for fonts that contrast. This means two fonts that are visually different. Choose one for emphasis and one to complement.

Want to learn more about typography? Check out this free guide:

Typography

The Ultimate Guide to Basic Typography

Laura Keung

3. How Can I Design Good PowerPoint Layouts?

We covered some great tips and tricks on layout design in this article. But there's plenty more to discover. If you feel stuck, remember these essential basics:

Hierarchy matters. Draw attention to key points, like headlines. Supplemental content should have less contrast or scale.
Remember not to "stuff" your layouts. Sometimes, less is more. It is often better to be reserved than to overdo it.
Be selective with your content. Too much variety can look chaotic. Don't overdo it with things like colors, fonts, or imagery.

Learn more about great layout design in this free tutorial:

Microsoft PowerPoint

How to Make Great PPT Slide Layouts in Microsoft PowerPoint 2021

Andrew Childress

4. How Can I Come Up With Creative PowerPoint Design Ideas?

Ideas can be one of the trickiest part of the design process. When in doubt, try some visual research. This can be as simple as looking at other designs. Note what works well in them. Think about what you can learn from them and try in your own designs.

If you're looking for design inspiration, check out these collections from Envato Tuts+. There's plenty to see and download. Besides, there's design tips you can try too.

5. How Can I Learn More about Design Principles?

There's even more to learn about the principles of design. The best part is, these principles can apply to almost all types of design too. So, you can use this in your PowerPoint slide designs, business cards, stationery, and more.

While the official list can vary, the principles of design generally include:

hierarchy
balance
movement
emphasis
contrast
proportion
variety
rhythm
unity

Theory

The Principles of Design

Laura Keung

Make Great Presentations (Free eBook Download)

Take the tips you learned in this article further with our eBook: The Complete Guide to Making Great Presentations (grab it now for FREE).

It'll help walk you through the complete presentation process. Learn how to write your presentation, design it like a pro, and prepare it to present powerfully.

Learn How to Make Great Presentations free PDF download

Apply PowerPoint Design Principles to Your Next Presentation

That's it! We covered the basics of effective PowerPoint presentation design. You've just learned how design PowerPoint (PPT) slides. As a key takeaway, remember that good design is often subtle. The best design is typically invisible.

Instead of trying to design everything, keep it simple and focus on a process that works for you. For example, design a few layouts you could use. Only use animations where it makes sense. Keep your colors simple.

If you lack time, I recommend starting from a professional PPT template and customizing it to your needs.

Microsoft PowerPoint

How to Quickly Customize a PowerPoint Template Design

Andrew Childress

Here are some excellent PowerPoint templates to look at on Envato Elements. Download unlimited presentation designs. Download web templates, and graphic assets for a single monthly fee. Or discover more trending PowerPoint template designs on GraphicRiver.

Designing is much easier if you don't make it unnecessarily difficult for yourself.

Editorial Note: The tutorial was originally published in March of 2017. It's been comprehensively revised to include new information—with special help from Brenda Barron and Daisy Ein.

Content Cloning: How to Copy Any Page or Post in WordPress

Posted: 14 Jun 2021 05:25 AM PDT

There are plenty of reasons why you might want to duplicate a webpage.

Perhaps you're testing out some new website designs; maybe you're creating mockups to send to your manager; or perhaps you run a subscription website and want an easy way to generate similar-but-not-identical content for your different membership levels.

While you could open the webpage for editing and then manually copy/paste all of its content into a new draft, this won't create a perfect replica—for example, categories and tags won't be copied over. Plus, it's making this task way harder than it needs to be.

In this article, I'll show you how to create a carbon-copy of any page or post, with a single click of your mouse.

Complete Guide to Getting Started With WordPress

If you're just getting started with WordPress, check out our complete guide to making a new website with WordPress.

WordPress

How to Make a WordPress Website

Rachel McCollin

Using a WordPress Plugin

The great thing about WordPress is that there's a plugin for everything—and cloning content is no exception!

Despite its name, the Duplicate Post plugin lets you duplicate any WordPress post or page and specify additional content that should be copied, including comments, dates, and slugs.

To install the Duplicate Post plugin:

Log in to your WordPress account.
In WordPress's left-hand menu, select Plugins > Add New.
Search for the Duplicate Post plugin.
When the plugin appears, select Install Now > Activate.

Duplicate Post is ready to use out of the box, but before you start copying content, you should take a look at the plugin's settings, just in case there are any changes you want to make.

To review these settings, select Settings > Duplicate Post from WordPress's left-hand menu. You can then make the following changes:

1. Don't Just Copy the Content

When duplicating a webpage, you'll often want to copy more than just text!

You can use Duplicate Post to copy a webpage's featured image, author, title, and much more. To see the full list of options, select the What to copy tab.

Duplicate Post can create a perfect replica of any page or post including copying assoicated information such as the author title and comments

Review this list, make any necessary adjustments, and then click Save Changes.

2. Creating a Unique Title

By default, Duplicate Post clones your post and creates a copy with exactly the same title as the original page or post.

To create a clear distinction between the original and the copy, you may want to create a prefix or suffix that will be automatically added to your duplicate posts and pages:

Select the What to copy tab.
Create your prefix or suffix using the Title prefix and Title suffix fields.

By default duplicate posts and pages have the exact same title as the original but you can change this by creating a Title prefix or Title suffix

Click Save changes.

3. Do You Share Your WordPress With Other People?

If multiple people have access to your WordPress account, then you may want to specify who has permission to create duplicate posts and pages, by selecting the Permissions tab.

You can control who has access to the Duplicate Posts plugin using the Permissions tab

In this tab, specify who should have access to the duplicate feature, and then save your changes.

One-Click Content Cloning, With Duplicate Post

Once you're happy with how your plugin is configured, you're ready to start cloning your content.

Depending on whether you want to copy a page or a post, navigate to either Posts > All Posts or Pages > All Pages. Then, hover over the item that you want to duplicate.

You can duplicate any page or post by hovering over it in the WordPress Dashboard and then selecting either Clone or New Draft

You should see two new items:

Clone. This duplicates the page or post but doesn't open this duplicate for editing. You should select Clone if you don't need to make any changes to your copy, or you don't plan to make these changes just yet.
New Draft. This creates a duplicate page or post and opens it in the WordPress editor. You should use New Draft when you want to start making changes to your duplicate straight away.

Easier Content Cloning: Duplicate Post's Hidden Shortcuts

On the surface, Duplicate Post is a simple plugin that sets out to do one job, and does it well. However, Duplicate Post has a few hidden shortcuts that can make it even easier to create duplicate content.

Clone Directly From the WordPress Editor

If you're using the classic WordPress editor, then you can clone a page or post into a new draft, directly from the WordPress editor.

This direct cloning is useful if you're editing a webpage and realise that you need a copy of the content in its current state. For example, perhaps you're applying experimental changes and want the ability to restore an earlier version of your webpage, just in case it all goes horribly wrong.

To create a copy of the page or post that you're currently editing, simply click the Copy to a new draft link.

The Classic Editor features a Copy to a new draft link which youll find in the Publish section

You can now continue working on this webpage, secure in the knowledge that you have a record of its content in an earlier state.

If you're using WordPress's new Gutenberg editor, then by default the Copy to a new draft link is only available for custom post types. However, it's possible to add this link to Gutenberg's admin bar, at which point it'll be available for all pages, posts, and custom post types.

If youre using Gutenberg then youll need to manually add the Copy to a new draft link

To add the Copy to a new draft link:

In WordPress's left-hand menu, select Settings > Duplicate Post.
Select the Display tab.
Select the Admin bar checkbox.
Click Save Changes.

Now, open any page or post, and Copy to a new draft should be visible in Gutenberg's admin bar.

Bulk Actions: Copy Content en Masse

Do you have a list of posts or pages that you want to copy? For example, maybe you're poised to undergo a major website redesign and want to copy all your current content, just in case the redesign goes horribly wrong.

To copy pages or posts en masse:

In WordPress's left-hand menu, select Posts > All Posts or Pages > All Pages.
Select all the posts or pages that you want to duplicate.
Open the Bulk Actions dropdown and select Clone.

WordPress will now copy all the selected pages or posts.

Don't Want to Use a WordPress Plugin?

There may be a WordPress plugin for everything, but it's easy to get carried and end up with dozens, or potentially even hundreds of plugins installed on your account.

Maybe your Plugins area is starting to look cluttered, or perhaps your website keeps crashing, and you suspect that your third-party plugins may be to blame.

If you don't want to install yet another WordPress plugin, then it's possible to copy your content using WordPress's built-in features. You won't get the one-click cloning provided by the Duplicate Post plugin, but this may be a viable option if you only need to duplicate the occasional page or post.

Copy All Content, With Gutenberg

If you're using the Gutenberg block editor, then you can copy a page or post's entire content with a single click, ready to paste into another webpage.

Note that this method will only copy the webpage's main body content and not any associated content or information, such as categories, tags, or featured images.

To create a copy:

Open your page or post for editing, as normal.
Give the little three-dotted icon a click.

In WordPress upper-right corner select the dotted icon followed by Copy All Content

Select Copy All Content. A copied notification should appear onscreen.
In WordPress's left-hand menu, select Pages / Posts > Add New.
Paste your copied content into this new page or post.

You'll now need to manually add any missing content or information, such as the title, a featured image, and any tags that you want to use.

You've now created a duplicate of your original webpage.

Conclusion

In this article, we looked at how you can quickly and easily copy any page or post, using the Duplicate Post plugin. If you don't want to install a dedicated WordPress plugin, then I also shared a workaround that lets you copy a page or post's content, ready to paste into a new location.

The Best WordPress Themes and Plugins on Envato Market

Explore thousands of the best WordPress themes ever created on ThemeForest and leading WordPress plugins on CodeCanyon. Purchase these high-quality WordPress themes and plugins and improve your website experience for you and your visitors.

Here are a few of the best-selling and up-and-coming WordPress themes and plugins available for 2020.

A Beginner's Guide to Adobe Illustrator Patterns

Posted: 14 Jun 2021 12:00 AM PDT

Have you ever wondered how to make a pattern in Illustrator? The process of creating a good Illustrator pattern design can sometimes prove to be a real challenge, especially if it's your first time doing so.

Since I know a lot of people struggle when they want to create a pattern in Illustrator, I decided to put together this in-depth article, which should help you figure out how to make a pattern in Illustrator.

If you don't have the time to learn how to make a pattern in Illustrator you can always try Envato Elements, the place where you can find a massive collection of cool illustrator patterns. This collections of seamless Illustrator patterns is a good example. Give it a try and using patterns in Illustrator will be a piece of cake.

Whether you're building an Illustrator halftone pattern, an Illustrator dot pattern, an Illustrator vintage pattern, or maybe even an Illustrator watercolor pattern, there are a couple of key aspects that you need to be aware of, as we will see in the following moments.

From how to use Adobe Illustrator pattern swatches to how to make a repeating pattern in Illustrator, or even how to draw a pattern in Illustrator or how to use the pattern tool in Illustrator, we will gradually learn how to design patterns in Illustrator and adjust them if we need to.

What you will learn in this Adobe Illustrator brush tutorial:

How to use the default Illustrator background patterns
How to make a pattern in Adobe Illustrator
How to apply Adobe Illustrator patterns
How to use the pattern tool in Illustrator
How to adjust an Illustrator pattern fill

Follow along with us over on our Envato Tuts+ YouTube channel:

1. What Are Patterns?

Before we start diving any deeper into the actual article, let's take a couple of moments and see exactly what a pattern is.

According to Google, the noun is believed to originate from the Middle English patron used within the period of 1325-1375, which described "a person who gives financial or other support to another person, organization, or cause". That "patron" was thought of as being a distinguished figure giving an example to be copied.

The change in the second syllable occurred in the 16th century, when pattern became its own word, carrying the meaning of a "repeated decorative design", thus separating itself from the earlier meaning.

Today, we think of a pattern as being:

"any regularly repeated arrangement, especially a design made from repeated lines, shapes, or colors on a surface"

From a design standpoint, a pattern is composed of multiple repeating artwork tiles, which overlap in order to create a seamless composition.

That being said, patterns have taken over multiple industries, becoming an intricate part of our daily lives, which has raised the amount of interest around the process of creating them.

2. What Makes a Good Illustrator Pattern?

For a pattern to "work", there are a couple of key requirements that one needs to take into consideration when developing the actual design.

Make It Seamless

The key trick to a good pattern design is making it look seamless, which translates into a smooth overall transition within its entire surface, without any visible interruptions between its repeating tiles.

This is usually achieved through the correct positioning of your repeating elements, which need to be evenly distributed onto the different edges of the tile. If you're using a background color, you'll need to make sure that the tiles themselves are "glued" to one another, so that you won't have any white gaps between them.

If you're designing a simple pattern, this usually won't pose a serious problem, but if you're creating something a bit more complex, you might find yourself in need of rethinking the position of some of your composing shapes or elements.

incorrect positioning of a repeating pattern element

Another aspect that you need to keep track of is the overlapping between the artwork's composing shapes or elements, so that there won't be any design anomalies caused by improper shape overlapping, which will become even clearer when the tiles are positioned next to one another.

If you're using the Pattern Options panel to do all the heavy work, this shouldn't pose a problem, but if you're going the manual way, make sure that when you position a certain element on one edge, you add an identical copy onto the opposite one, making sure to maintain the same distance and trajectory from your reference surface's edges and the original shape itself.

example of improper pattern elements positioning

Color is another thing that you need to consider when striving for a seamless composition, since you don't want to end up with a shape that uses a specific color on one end and a completely different value on the opposite half.

example of wrong color applied to the half of a repeating element

This probably won't happen if you're using the Pattern Options panel to do the tile offsetting, but if you take the more manual road, where you have to position each repeating element on the edges of a clipping mask, you might want to double-check your pattern design before moving forward.

example of manually positioning the elements of a pattern

That being said, there will be situations when the Pattern Options tool won't be able to produce that exact pattern design that you've envisioned, so when that happens, make sure you keep a close eye on any anomalies that may occur.

Strive for Balance

Once you've made sure your Illustrator pattern meets the first requirement, you need to take a step back and take a deep look at your composition's balance to figure out whether your design needs adjusting.

To achieve balance, you need to consider three different aspects:

1. Size

Each composing shape or element should be created in relation to its neighbors, so that in the end they will coexist harmoniously, without giving the feeling that they're competing for attention with one another. In other words, don't make one element tiny and then stack it next to a huge one, since the viewer's eyes might jump straight to the latter, ignoring the smaller one.

Also, make sure that if you have different-sized elements, they're spaced out in a way that looks natural, so that when the tile is repeated, you'll develop a clear, readable pattern.

2. Color

When working on your main repeating tile, always make sure that your colors work well with one another. Also, make sure that you space your colors out evenly, since you don't want to end up having two or multiple repeating colors in close proximity to one another.

example of using bad color combinations within a pattern

3. Layout

When positioning your different decorative shapes/elements, go through a couple of different variations to make sure that you've figured out the right spot for each one. This is really important since, as with colors, you don't want to have the same shapes/elements stacked very close to one another, which might develop a weird-looking pattern.

example of poor shape positioning within a pattern

3. How to Access the Default Adobe Illustrator Patterns

Now that we've covered some of the more general aspects when it comes to patterns, let's dive in a little deeper by looking at the available pattern designs found in Illustrator, and see how we can actually go about using them.

The software itself comes with some interesting patterns, which can be found by opening up the Swatches panel and then clicking on its Swatch Libraries menu.

example of using the swatch libraries menu

A new dropdown menu will appear, towards the bottom of which you'll find a category called Patterns, which itself is divided into three subcategories.

As soon as you pick a subcategory, a new swatch library window will appear, giving you a preview of all the available illustrator pattern swatches.

4. How to Use the Default Adobe Illustrator Patterns

To use any of the included adobe illustrator background patterns, first select the desired pattern design by clicking on it, which will immediately add it to your Fill, and then simply grab the Rectangle Tool (M) and create a new shape using either the click-and-drag method or the more precise window prompt one.

As you can see, every time you use a pattern, Illustrator will add it to the current document's Swatches panel, where it will remain so that you can quickly use it later on if you need to.

Quick tip: depending on what you're trying to achieve, you can use any of the available geometric shapes, or you can create a completely new one from scratch using the Pen Tool (P), and then apply the pattern design to those.

5. How to Apply Illustrator Patterns to an Existing Shape

At this point, we've seen how easy it is to use the shape tools in order to create a patterned shape, but how about using it on an existing shape that you've previously created?

Well, the process itself is actually identical, since the pattern acts like any other swatch, which means that you can apply it to any existing shape, by simply selecting it and then setting the desired pattern as its Fill.

example of using a pattern on an existing shape

6. How to Apply Illustrator Patterns to Text

Want to use a pattern on a piece of text? Well, guess what, you actually can, and it's really easy to do so.

First, create the text segment using the Type Tool (T), and then simply set the desired pattern as its Fill.

7. How to Use the Pattern Options Panel

Up to this point, we've talked about the different patterns available in Illustrator and seen how to use them, but what if we wanted to begin creating a repeat Illustrator pattern of our own?

Well, before we start doing that, we need to take a couple of moments and get familiar with Illustrator's pattern tool.

Compared to other pieces of software, Illustrator comes with a dedicated pattern-building tool in the form of the Pattern Options panel, which can be accessed by heading over to Window > Pattern Options.

By default, the panel is inactive, which means that in order to use its different functions, we first have to select the artwork that we want to turn into a pattern. Let's continue and learn how to use this pattern tool in Illustrator.

With the artwork selected, all we have to do is open the panel's advanced menu and click on Make Pattern.

As soon as we click on the option, the software will immediately bring us into Editing Mode, enabling the panel's different options.

Once we've entered this mode, the original artwork tile will retain its full Opacity, while the surrounding copies will be dimmed to the default value of 40%.

Quick tip: if you don't want to keep the Pattern Options panel visible all the time, you can achieve the same result by simply selecting the shape and then heading over to Object > Pattern and hitting Make, which will bring you into the pattern Editing Mode.

7.1. Tile Type

The first option that you'll see when creating a new pattern is Tile Type, which controls the way your pattern's composing tiles are laid out, and this is directly influenced by the tile's shape. You can think of a tile as being the main surface on which you're going to position your artwork.

Depending on your pattern design, you can choose between five different tile layouts:

Grid

The grid layout ensures that the center of each tile is both horizontally and vertically aligned to the center of the adjacent tiles, taking on a rectangular shape for the artwork tile.

Brick by Row

The tiles are treated as being rectangular in shape and are arranged in rows, the center of those that are in rows being horizontally aligned, while those that are in alternate columns are vertically aligned.

Brick by Column

The tiles are treated as being rectangular in shape and are arranged in columns, the center of those that are in columns being vertically aligned, while those that are in alternate columns are horizontally aligned.

Hex by Column

The tiles are treated as being hexagonal in shape and are arranged in columns, the center of those that are in columns being vertically aligned, while those that are in alternate columns are horizontally aligned.

Hex by Row

The tiles are treated as being hexagonal in shape and are arranged in rows, the center of those that are in rows being horizontally aligned, while those that are in alternate rows are vertically aligned.

The Pattern Tile Tool

If you need to adjust the shape of the default Tile Types, you can do so by clicking on the Pattern Tile Tool, found within the upper-left corner of the panel, which will bring up a bounding box surrounding the actual tile's shape.

You can then make modifications to its form and size by simply clicking and dragging its composing bounding points in any given direction.

Quick tip: if you strive to keep your shapes as pixel-perfect as possible, you might want to stay away from this option, since as you can see it will always result in decimal numeric values.

7.2. Brick Offset

If you've quickly played around with the different Tile Type options, you might have noticed that for some of them, more exactly the "Brick by" ones, you get another subsetting called Brick Offset, which as the name suggests, lets you offset your tiles.

According to Adobe, if you're using the Brick by Row tile type, you can control how much tile width the centers of tiles in adjacent rows are out of vertical alignment.

The default value is 1/2, but you can choose between eight different alternative values, which will produce different results.

The Brick by Column option determines by how much tile height the centers of tiles in adjacent columns are out of horizontal alignment.

7.3. Width and Height

Next, we have Width and/or Height, which lets us control the overall dimensions of our tile. If we increase the size of our tile beyond that of our artwork, the software will end up adding an empty space between the two, thus increasing the distance found between the tiles, while if we go the opposite way and decrease the values, the adjacent tiles will end up overlapping.

In the case of seamless repeating patterns, especially those that use a background, this would actually end up breaking the pattern, since neither the background nor the cropped decorative elements will connect correctly afterwards.

If we were to use the options on the current feather example, we could increase the spacing between the artwork by increasing the size of the actual tiles, but there's a better method of doing so, as we will see in the following moments.

7.4. Size Tile to Art

Every time you embark on the process of creating a repeat pattern in Illustrator, you'll quickly notice that if you resize one of your tile's composing artwork, the software will start overlapping the adjacent tiles, which happens due to the fact that the tile itself has retained the same Width and Height values.

example of tile overlapping after resizing

To fix this, all you have to do is enable the Size Tile to Art option, which will immediately remove any unwanted overlapping.

Quick tip: I've noticed that the option doesn't always work for some unknown reason, so you might have to move your artwork around and then try again to get it working properly.

example of using the size tile to art option

With the option enabled, you can resize any of your artwork's composing shapes, or the entire design itself, and the pattern will update itself accordingly each time.

7.5. Move Tile with Art

The Move Tile with Art option does exactly what it says, since if you adjust the position of the artwork during the pattern creation process, the tile will follow along, without you having to use the Size Tile to Art function afterwards to get it back into place.

example of using move tile with art option

7.6. H Spacing and V Spacing

A few moments ago, we talked about adding space between our pattern's artwork, which I said should be done using a different method than that of increasing the Width and/or Height of the tile itself.

This is where H Spacing and V Spacing come into play, since they allow you to increase or decrease the spacing found between adjacent tiles.

You can think of it as adding a padding zone, which lets you space out your artwork in order to achieve a more balanced pattern design.

By default, the options are grayed out, so you'll have to enable the Size Tile to Art function in order for them to become active.

In the case of the feather example used to illustrate the available Tile Type options, adjusting the H and/or V Spacing of the tile could create a more balanced design, as you can see below.

example of adjusting the h spacing value

The reason why this method is better than that of adjusting the Width and/or Height of the tile is due to the non-clipping nature of the process, since you can use any value over 0 without having to worry that you've accidentally made it overlap your artwork.

The Width and/or Height method requires you to add the padding value to the current value(s) of the tile, and if you get it wrong, it might end up overlapping your artwork.

adjusting the tile spacing using the tile width method

7.7. Overlap

The next option has to do with tile overlapping, and it lets us determine which tiles appear in front when adjacent tiles overlap, thus allowing us to change the orientation of any given pattern.

Personally, I've never found myself needing to make any changes to the default values since I don't do a lot of overlapping tile designs, but if you do, the Pattern Options panel provides an easy way of doing so.

You can control horizontal overlapping by first entering a negative H Spacing value to make your tiles overlap, and then simply changing the Overlap from Left in Front to Right in Front.

example of adjusting the horizontal overlapping

You can do the same thing with the vertical overlapping of your tiles by entering a negative value within the V Spacing input field and then changing the Overlap from Top in Front to Bottom in Front.

example of adjusting the vertical overlapping

7.8. Copies

Moving on down, we have Copies, which acts as a sort of pattern preview mode and lets you control the number of horizontal and vertical tiles visible during the pattern creation / pattern refinement process.

Increasing or decreasing the values will have no effect on the actual pattern, so depending on the complexity of your design, you might end up using a higher or lower tile count.

As you can see, the values used are all odd numbers, so that your original tile design will always remain front and center to your copies.

example of adjusting the number of tile copies

7.9. Dim Copies To

You can adjust the Opacity level of the copies using the Dim Copies to input field, where you can either choose from one of the predefined values or enter a custom one of your own, which depending on the intensity, will allow you to have a better view of your original artwork tile during the pattern creation / pattern refinement process.

Of course, if you need to, you can always completely turn it off by unchecking it.

Again, this will only affect the pattern preview, so go ahead and use any value that fits your needs since it won't end up altering the final design.

example of adjusting the opacity settings

7.10. Show Tile Edge

The Show Tile Edge option, used in combination with the unchecked Dim Copies to one, allows you to get a clear non-invasive preview of what your pattern will actually look like, by turning off the box surrounding your artwork tile.

Instead of constantly having to go in and out of the pattern Editing Mode, you could rely on this feature in order to save some precious time.

example of disabling the show tile edge option

7.11. Show Swatch Bounds

Finally, we have the Show Swatch Bounds option which, as the name suggests will display a unit portion of the artwork that is repeated in order to create the actual pattern design.

If you're new to creating patterns, this option might help you get a better understanding of how the repeating process works, allowing you to see exactly where your shapes need to be in order for the tile transition to appear seamless.

example of using the show swatch bounds option

8. How to Make a Pattern in Adobe Illustrator

While the included Illustrator patterns are not all that bad, sooner or later you'll probably find yourself in the situation where you'll need to create a pattern in Illustrator, so if that's you right now, let's learn how to design patterns in Illustrator.

I'm going to assume that you already went ahead and created your repeating tile artwork, which means that we'll be using that to create the actual pattern swatch.

For this example, I'll be using a wave pattern that I created some time ago, which as you can see is perfectly aligned to the outer edges of my Artboard, so that the transition will be seamless in any direction.

how to create a repeating pattern in Illustrator

Step 1

Start by selecting your tile, and then head over to Object > Pattern and hit Make, which should bring up the Pattern Options panel.

example of using the pattern options panel

Step 2

As you can see, Illustrator will give us a preview of the repeating pattern tile copies, but since we haven't specified their Width and Height, it spaces them out, which makes the entire design feel a little bit chaotic. To quickly fix this, first we're going to align our original tile to the center of the Artboard using the Align panel, and then check the Size Tile to Art option, which should immediately make things better.

Step 3

Now that we have a cleaner preview, we can start fine-tuning our pattern, and we will do so by first giving it a custom name.

Step 4

Next, we're going to need to select a Tile Type for our pattern.

In my case, since my wave pattern design is a perfect square and uses a background, I'm going to go with Grid, since I want the software to repeat it both horizontally and vertically in order to get that seamless transition.

Step 5

Since I'm using a square design for my artwork's tile, I'll be leaving the H Spacing and V Spacing options alone, so that my tiles will align themselves perfectly to each other's edges.

That being said, all I have to do now is click on Done, and my seamless Illustrator pattern should now be added to the Swatches panel as its own pattern swatch.

9. How to Edit an Existing Illustrator Pattern

Whether it's a pattern included in Illustrator or one that's been custom created, the process of editing a pattern design is actually fairly simple.

Step 1

Start by opening up the Swatches panel and then double-clicking on the desired pattern swatch, which will bring up the Pattern Options panel.

example of entering pattern editing mode

Step 2

As you can see, this acts as a sort of Isolation / Pattern Editing mode, where you can carry out any change to your design, whether it's setting different colors for some of your composing shapes, adjusting their size, or maybe even adding new shapes and elements, which will immediately show up within the repeating tile copies.

Once you're ready, simply hit Done, and any changes you've made should now be applied to your Illustrator pattern.

example of adjusting an existing pattern

10. How to Scale an Illustrator Pattern Fill

So we've seen what it takes to design a good pattern, and we've quickly learned how to make a repeating pattern in Illustrator, but what if we needed to resize a pattern that we've already applied to a shape?

Well, the process of scaling an applied pattern can prove to be a real challenge, since if you try to resize the shape using the click-and-drag method, you'll quickly notice that the pattern's composing elements will retain the same dimensions.

So, how do we go about scaling an existing Illustrator pattern fill?

First, select the shape that you've applied the pattern to, and then simply right-click and then go to Transform > Scale, which will bring up the Scale panel.

Once the panel is visible, all you have to do is make sure that the Transform Patterns option is checked, and then you can go ahead and scale your shape using either the Uniform or Non-Uniform methods by giving it a custom percentage.

As soon as you hit OK, your pattern should resize itself proportionally with the actual shape to which it was applied.

11. How to Rotate a Pattern in Illustrator

A few moments ago, we saw how to scale adobe Illustrator pattern, but what about those situations where we need to rotate it?

Well, the process is actually pretty simple, since all you have to do is select the shape to which you've applied the pattern, and then right-click and go to Transform > Rotate. Here, you'll want to enter a custom value within the Angle input field, making sure to turn on the Transform Patterns option.

As soon as you hit OK, your pattern will be subjected to the rotation process along with the shape it was applied to.

That's It!

As we've seen, the process of creating a good pattern design isn't all that difficult to master as long as you get familiar with the different aspects required to do so.

I hope this article helped you learn how to draw patterns in Illustrator, and that being said, all that's left for you to do is start the work on your own set of Adobe Illustrator background patterns.

Cool Illustrator Patterns from Envato Elements

Envato Elements is an excellent resource for Illustrator background patterns. Here's a short list with some of the most popular Illustrator background patterns that you can find.

Set of 10 Illustrator Seamless Patterns (Ai)

If you don't have the time to learn how to make a pattern in illustrator you can always try this set of Illustrator seamless patterns. Give it and you'll be able to decorate your design with just a few clicks.

Geometric Pattern Collection (AI, EPS)

Cut the hassle of learning how to draw patterns in Illustrator and use this sleek collection of geometric pattens to make your design stand out.

Geometric Patterns Islamic Ed. (AI, EPS, PSD, JPG, PNG)

If you're in a hurry or you simply can't be bothered to learn how to design patterns in Illustrator, this small pack of patterns might be the solution. Try any of these cool Illustrator patterns to give your design that final touch.

Outdoor Adventure Patterns (AI, PSD)

Save the time that you would spend learning how to make a repeating pattern in illustrator and use this colorful pack of Illustrator patterns.

100 Geometric Patterns (AI, EPS, JPG, PNG, PSD)

Don't have the time to learn how to make a pattern in Adobe Illustrator? Don't worry, using pattens in Illustrator can't be easier with this massive pack of 100 seamless Illustrator patterns.

Further Develop Your Pattern-Building Skills

Just finished going through this in-depth article, and feel like learning more? Well, if that's the case, you're in luck, since I took the time to put together this little list that should keep you going for the following days!