Rebranding Client Course Slides in PowerPoint: Slide Master, Theme Colors and Fonts

White-label course decks often contain dozens of slides across several modules. Changing logos and colors slide by slide is slow and leaves inconsistencies behind. PowerPoint’s slide master and theme tools let you rebrand the whole deck from a few central places.

The steps below follow Microsoft’s support pages as of October 2026. Microsoft lists them for PowerPoint for Microsoft 365 on Windows and Mac and for recent desktop versions back to PowerPoint 2016; each source page names its exact versions. Some features, such as Replace Fonts, are not available in PowerPoint for the web. If your client works in Google Slides instead, see our separate guide linked at the end.

Before You Start

Confirm that the deck’s license covers client work and editing.
Collect the client’s brand kit: color values, fonts, logo files in light and dark versions.
Save a copy of the original deck.

Step 1: Open the Slide Master

On the View tab, choose Slide Master. The top thumbnail in the left pane is the master; the thumbnails beneath it are layouts such as Title Slide or Title and Content. Changes to the master flow down to its layouts, and changes to a layout affect every slide that uses it.

Check how many masters the deck contains. Microsoft notes that if a presentation uses more than one master, you need to change each one.

Step 2: Create Custom Theme Colors

On the Design tab, open the Variants gallery and choose Colors, then Customize Colors.
Click the button next to each element, such as Accent 1 or Hyperlink, and use More Colors to enter the client’s exact values.
Name the color set and save. Use Reset first if you want to start over.

Charts, shapes and SmartArt that use theme colors will pick up the new palette. Elements colored manually will not, so look for them in the next steps.

Step 3: Set Theme Fonts

In Slide Master view, choose Fonts, then Customize Fonts, and select the client’s heading and body fonts. Name the set and save. If a slide still shows the original font, it was probably applied directly to that text box.

To catch these, use Replace Fonts: on the Home tab, in the Editing group, choose Replace, then Replace Fonts, pick the old font in the Replace box and the new one in the With box.

Step 4: Update Logos and Layouts

While in Slide Master view:

Remove the original logo from the master and layouts, then place the client’s logo in the same position.
Update background images and decorative shapes to match the client’s style.
Check footers for old names, URLs or copyright lines.
Choose Close Master View when you are done.

Step 5: Save the Client Theme

In Slide Master view, choose Themes, then Save Current Theme. PowerPoint saves a .thmx file to your Document Themes folder. Applying it to the next deck for the same client gives you a consistent starting point.

Step 6: Edit Content Slide by Slide

Branding is visual, but rebranding is also about content:

Rewrite titles and module names in the client’s voice.
Replace examples with ones that fit the client’s audience.
Add slides that show the client’s own frameworks or results they are able to describe accurately.
Check speaker notes, which often contain the original creator’s wording.

Common Problems and How to Fix Them

A few slides keep the old colors. Those shapes or text boxes were probably colored manually. Select them and choose a theme color from the palette so they follow future changes.
Titles jump position on some slides. Those slides may not use the layout you edited. Reapply the correct layout to those slides, then check them again.
The client’s font looks different on another computer. The font may not be installed there. Agree with the client which fonts they have, or choose brand fonts that are available on the machines where the deck will be edited.
Charts show the vendor’s sample numbers. Open the chart data and replace or remove it; never leave figures in a client deck that nobody can source.

Step 7: Export and Check

Save the PPTX the client will present from, and export a PDF if students will receive handouts. Open both and check fonts, colors and links. Before delivery, inspect the file for hidden data, comments and old document properties.