Awesome Templates and Visual Design Add-Ons for Google Slides 👀

  

This video almost always makes me laugh, but it also reminds me of some of the awful presentations I've created or had the misfortune of watching. I think that teachers and students sometimes focus so much on the content and what we want to say that we don't think about or find the time to consider design. I think visual design has to be at the top of our list if we want to engage students in learning experiences.

3 Simple Things to Consider When Creating a Presentation

• Less is often more when it comes to text. If you can't make your point with a few points, you may want to reconsider your purpose.
• Backgrounds should connect to you message and not distract the viewer. Backgrounds set the theme for your message. 
• Images should emphasize essential ideas and not just be space fillers. Remember a picture is worth a 1000 words if it is used in the right way. 

I've blogged about why I think design is so important, so I am going to use your time in this post on the why and the how of visual design. If you want learn more about visual design in general, please take a moment to visit or bookmark this post. If you are just getting started with google slides, be sure to explore the Google Slides Training and Help Center.

Today I am going focus on the tools that support visual design in Google Slides. Here are some recommendations for templates, images, and fonts. (While I am focusing on Google Slides, many of these can also be used with PowerPoint or Keynote.)

Templates

While Google Slides has a built in template gallery, there are some incredible sites that offer free templates. Here are three of my favorites. I highly recommend exploring these sites. 

SlidesMania

SlidesCarnival

slidesgo

Images and Icons

Sometimes images speak louder than words. A well designed slide deck includes images that support the text. Images can also be great ways to start a discussion and engage students in critical thinking.

Unsplash - Photos for Everyone

The Unsplash Images Add-on even allows users to insert high quality royalty free images without leaving Google Slices

The Noun Project

Use The Noun Project Add-on to quickly find the icon you want, change its color & size, then insert it right into your Google Slides and Docs.

Flaticon

Use the Flaticon add-on to access to +2,5 million of free customizable icons for your Slides, Docs, and Sheets.

Fonts

Google Slides has an extensive collection of fonts and you can also insert customizable "Word Art" using the insert menu. Many of the templates included in this post already have fonts included. I love the Google fonts page when I am exploring new fonts. A quick Google search can also lead you to some recommended fonts for Google Slides. My favorites right now include Playfair Display, Merriweather, and Ubuntu. I do try to only use 1 or 2 fonts in my presentations. One font will be the majority of the text and then a second related font will be used to emphasize key words. 

Google Fonts

Google's font catalog places typography front and center, inviting users to explore, sort, and test fonts for use in more than 135 languages.

Additional Resources

• Spice Up Your Slides with 600+ Free Design Templates (Eric Curts)
• 20 free Google Slides and PowerPoint themes for teachers (Matt Miller)
• Using Google Slides to Create Stunning PNG and JPEG Images (Me)
• Creator Studio turns your Google Slides presentation into GIFs and Videos (Tall Tweets)
• 4 Ways to Insert Images and Icons in Google Docs, Drawings, and Google Slides (Me)
• Creative Communication with the Bitmoji Chrome Extension (Me)
• Design 101 for Educators: 5 Simple Typography Tips (Edutopia)
• Design 101 for Educators: Choose Your Fonts Carefully (Edutopia)
• How to Add or Change Fonts in Google Slides (slidesgo)

Teaching and Learning Books