Office 2007 includes some handy preset image effects – select a picture, click on the ‘Format’ tab which appears on the top ribbon bar, and choose a preset ‘look’. You can also customise a range of parameters including a drop shadow, reflection, border, rotation, opacity, colour, and so on.
Here’s a neat way to use these new image effects to create a glossy 3D look for objects in PowerPoint.
1. Create a gradient background with a solid dark colour at the top, and a lighter gradient below the centre – I have used a 4 step gradient to do this:
Gradient Background
2. Insert an image, and a text box, and align the base of each object on the same plane, just below the centre – it’s easiest to align the objects using a drawing guide:
Insert Objects
3. Select the image, and from the ‘Format’ tab in the ribbon bar, choose ‘Reflected Rounded Rectangle’, which should be the 5th preset look in the menu:
Image Effects: Reflected Rounded Rectangle
4. Select the text box, and choose ‘Half Reflection, touching’ from the ‘Text Effects’ menu in the ‘Format’ tab:
Text Effect: Half Reflection, touching
5. Your finished slide should look something like this:
Glossy 3D Slide Example
6. You can create ‘depth of field’ effects by making objects smaller, and moving them upwards, closer to the vertical centre – using a darker shade of colour for text objects also helps to add to the ‘depth of field’ effect:
PowerPoint 3D Depth of Field Text Effect