Making an effective slide doesn’t require a degree in design or a whole lot Microsoft PowerPoint skills. While those factors help, sometimes all you need is a little imagination. For example, you might want to create a collage, but you might not have the time or can’t find enough photos that show your focus. In this case, less may be good enough or even better.
In this tutorial, I’ll show you how to create a faux collage effect by inserting one image, toning it down a bit, and then adding lines to divide the image into segments. It’s easy and the result can be quite elegant or splashy, depending on whether you’re going for subtlety or excitement.
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I use Microsoft 365 on a Windows 10 64-bit system, but you can use earlier versions through PowerPoint 2016 to easily apply transparency settings. The steps may be a little different, but not so different that you can’t follow.
You can download the Microsoft PowerPoint demo file for this lesson.
How to Determine When to Use Transparency in PowerPoint
The main reason to use transparency is to tone down an image that competes with focus. By making the image less visible, you can preserve the image, which should help focus by creating a bit of excitement or emotion. Basically, the image should add depth to the focus without overpowering it.
We are working with an image that provides a subtle background. Think of this technique as calm background music at a party. It is comfortable but it does not take over, at the right volume it creates a nice atmosphere.
The steps are simple:
- Insert an image.
- Apply a level of transparency that pushes the image into the background without losing it completely.
- Add lines to create the “collage”.
Each step is subjective. For that reason, I recommend showing the completed slide to a few colleagues for an informal critique.
When it comes to choosing the right photo, I have only one recommendation: the photo should be well balanced. If the photo has a huge amount of color in one corner, there’s no way to tone down the effect it will have on your audience. Their eyes will go straight to that corner. However, that can work if that’s what you want.
Insert a picture in PowerPoint
You can work with almost any image. If you are using a custom image, insert it from your local system as follows:
- Click the Insert tab.
- Click Images in the Images group: You can also choose Stock Images or Online Images.
- From the drop-down list, choose This device. Doing so opens the Insert Picture dialog box, which you then use to locate the file and click Insert. If you choose Stock Images, use the interface to choose and insert an image.
- Drag to resize and position. Keep in mind that if you hold down CTRL while resizing, PowerPoint will center the image.
I’m working with an image provided by PowerPoint’s Designer feature. When you launch a blank PowerPoint file, the Designer window appears and displays several images. Just click on it to use it in the current slide. When resizing a slide, PowerPoint displays guides in the corners so you know where the slide ends, as shown in Image A. These guides will help with resizing.
Image A
If you’re working with the demonstration file, you’ll notice that I’ve also reverted the color back to black and white using the Color option in the Adjust group on the Contextual Image Format tab. You don’t have to, but a black and white image is a good choice for this technique.
When choosing stock photos or online images, keep copyrights in mind. Almost everything in the Stock Images interface is available under a common license, meaning they are freely distributed, but some require you to credit the source.
Apply transparency to soften the image in PowerPoint
One of the best ways to tone down the image is to make it slightly transparent. This is simple. Most images start with 0% transparency, so when you add this particular property you’ll want to increase the setting as follows:
1. Click on the image to select it.
2. Click the Picture Format contextual tab.
3. In the Customize group, click Transparency.
4. Choose a thumbnail from the drop-down list, which displays a gallery of transparency options (Figure B). As you move the mouse over the thumbnails, PowerPoint’s live preview feature will update the image, making it easy to make the right choice the first time.
Figure B
5. You can also choose Image Transparency Options to open the Format Picture panel and increase the Transparency setting. The amount is subjective and up to you.
After making the image a little transparent, you’re ready to add the lines that create the collage effect.
Insert lines to create a collage effect in PowerPoint
The next step allows you to be a little creative. By adding lines, you can divide the image into segments, creating a collage effect, but that’s it. The background image is the only image, whereas in a traditional collage you would use many images. That’s why I call this a “faux” collage.
Now let’s insert a line shape as follows:
1. Click the Insert tab.
2. Click Shapes in the Illustrations group.
3. In the Basic Shapes section, choose Lines from the drop-down list.
4. Drag to create your first line. Hold down the Shift key to make sure you insert a straight line. This works with all shapes, not just the line shape.
5. With the line still selected, click the Shape Format contextual tab.
6. In the Shape Styles group, click Shape Outline.
7. From the drop-down list, choose the color white and 4 ½ point as the weight (Figure C).
Figure C
Not all images respond to PowerPoint’s transparency setting. When this happens, insert a rectangle shape over the original image, change the fill color to white, and apply the transparency setting to the rectangle.
This next tip will help you: to insert multiple lines with the same properties, set the first line as the default. Then right-click on the formatted rule and choose Set as Default from the submenu, as shown in Figure D. You can do this with any formatted shape.
Figure D
Here’s another quick tip: after you set up the default rule, you need to insert a lot of rules. You can speed things up by locking in drawing mode. When you insert the second line, instead of clicking the line in the drop-down list, right-click it and choose Lock Drawing Mode, as shown in Digits E. Then you can simply click anywhere to add the formatted rule. You don’t have to go back to the Insert tab at all. Press Escape when ready to exit drawing mode.
Digits E
Continue adding lines until you have the number of segments you want, then add text or other images, such as a logo or icon, but adding other images can be a questionable decision. Figure F shows some additions, including an icon in the lower left corner.
Figure F
This is such a simple technique considering the effect. You can use it as title slide or fact slide. Depending on your needs, it can even become a template slide.
