Picking the Right Font for Your Corporate PowerPoint Presentation

Selecting a font your corporate PowerPoint presentation may seem like an easy task. After all, you may have a mandated corporate font, or, why not just go with the default Calibri? However, PowerPoint can throw some font curveballs, so it’s best to consider your options. Here at SlideRabbit, we often guide clients through font snafus; here’s a few takeaways:

Custom fonts are an excellent way to express brand identity.

Custom fonts set a brand apart and immediately cue associations with that brand for the viewer. There are a lot of beautiful custom fonts; they are often more elegant and modern than standard fonts.

(For more insight on fonts and branding, check out Why Fonts Matter by Sarah Hyndman. This book dives into the psychology of fonts; how they influence us as consumers and how we emotionally respond to them.)

But what about the functionality of your presentation fonts?

Custom fonts are not likely to display correctly from computer to computer. When viewing a presentation on a computer that does not already have the font installed, custom fonts will be replaced with a standard option.

Because fonts differ, text that looked beautifully laid out in one font could look sloppy and poorly designed in another.

That means there are some factors to consider when choosing whether to go custom or standard:

• Will the display computer(s) have the fonts installed?
• Are there collaborators that do not have the font? Would it be a nightmare to get the font installed for everyone?
• Is this going out to a large sales team where you’ll lose control of how the presentation is shared?

Unless you plan to only share a presentation in PDF form, we recommend sticking with a standard “safe font.” A designer can help you select the right standard font to compliment your brand or custom font preference.

Standard fonts are already included in Microsoft Office. Thus, they will remain stable across all platforms.

Below is a list of “safe fonts” for both PC and Mac.

These are compatible with any version of Microsoft Office.

Need help with the fonts in your corporate PowerPoint Presentation? Drop us a line!