If you have PowerPoint 365, by now you should have a major new feature, icons. Icons are vector files, just like PowerPoint drawing objects are, so you can resize them and they never get pixelated — unlike bitmap images such as JPGs and PNGs.
Let’s talk about whether you have this new feature, what you can do with icons, and why you might want to use them.
Do you have PowerPoint 365?
You have PowerPoint 365 if you see this when you choose File, Account. That means that you pay monthly instead of 1-time. The advantage is that you get new features pretty much every month. In addition to icons, some of the major new features in the past few months are:
- Morph: Interpolating animation
- Designer: Slide layout suggestions when you insert an image or bulleted text
- QuickStarter: Gives you research and design suggestions when you choose a topic
- SVGs: You can insert SVG files (also a type of vector file)
- Zoom: Automates the creation of a menu summary slide that uses a zoom animation to link to other slides
- Ink highlighter: Lets you highlight text, just like you can in Word
In informal polls I have taken, about 20% of users have PowerPoint 365. That percentage will grow significantly, I believe.
At the end of this post, I give some options for icons if you don’t have PowerPoint 365.
Why use icons?
Icons are VERY popular these days in 2D design. You seem them a lot on websites and on mobile devices, but also in other marketing materials. Icons may take the place of text labels or be included along with labels.
- They help organize a page or a slide, giving the audience or reader a clearer understanding of complex material.
- Icons are usually minimalist, so they look modern. Often they are one color and many are gray or black.
- Because they are vector images, you can resize them without that grainy look.
How do you add icons in PowerPoint?
To add icons, choose Insert, Icons. Then the Insert Icon dialog box opens where you can select the icons you want. You can scroll down or choose a category. You can select multiple icons at a time. Here you see the People and Technology and Electronics categories.
What can you do with icons?
When you select an icon on a slide, the Graphics Tools Format tab appears, as you see here.
Basically, you can do everything with icons except ungroup and use the Merge Shapes commands on them. Here’s a 6-second video of some animation I created showing the concept of people leaving their department bubbles and reaching out to others. I used this slide in a training webinar I gave on animation techniques that help audiences to understand and remember concepts.
What if you don’t have PowerPoint 365 yet?
You can use another vector format, especially WMF and EMF files. Or you can create your own icons in PowerPoint. Here’s are some other blog posts and resources for icons:
Icons are hot now–how to make, get, and use icons
Create your own graphics and icons for PowerPoint: Part 1–Using Clip Art
Create your own graphics and icons for PowerPoint: Part 2–Creating line art from scratch
Recently, Microsoft withdrew support for one type of vector file, EPS. They did this because EPS files can contain scripts and were actively being used to infect computers. Here’s more information.
Are you using icons?
Have you noticed the icon trend? Are you using more icons? Where to you find them? Leave a comment and please share this post with others using the Share icons.
Learn easy principles and techniques that designers use. “Slide Design for Non-Designers” shows you, step-by-step, how to easily get the results you want. Plus bonus theme, template, sample slides, and 5 short video tutorials to make implementing the principles easy.Updated for PowerPoint 2016/365. Learn more at http://www.ellenfinkelstein.com/pptblog/slide-design-for-non-designers/
Thanks for the great blog post! Have definitely noticed the trend and have been using them a lot lately myself. Primarily I use them to create a visual agenda for our all hands meetings as a way to break up what is usually a bullet slide into something with more visual interest. I also use them a lot in simple process descriptions to give people a visual to attach to each role in the process so that they can see at a glance who is acting in each area. Our company has a strong visual style and they provide us… Read more »
Christine, It sounds like you’re using icons perfectly — to help your audience understand the material. (I also miss that clipart library!)
Hi I have the Office 365 version 1701 but I´m not able to see the icons button. Do you know how to enable it?
I have 1704. Does the description that you see at File> Account have the word “Delayed” in it?
Like Christine above, I don’t have O365 yet, so I often draw my own icons – which I enjoy! A few years ago, I needed to show a couple of Salesforce.com’s 3D icons at a large size. But the copies I had were small bitmaps that looked really grainy when blown up. So PowerPoint’s drawing tools did the job! I drew a 3D manila folder (with shadows, bevels and gradients), made from just 3 freeform shapes, and a 3D coin (with a crown on it and a knurled edge), made from just 5 shapes. Actually, I was surprised how quick… Read more »
Craig, great suggestions! I also “draw over” bitmaps sometimes. I’ve used Inkscape in the past, but not recently. I didn’t know that it can trace a bitmap. Adobe Flash can convert a bitmap into a vector image, too, but I haven’t tried that in years either.
Hi Ellen,
Great post, but i have office for mac and i don’t see the Icons function? Is it available for office for mac? I do have a office365 account..
Hope you can help me, because it’s a really cool function in the new office suite.
Peter
Any idea on how to access this on a MacBook? The Insert tab isn’t available at all…
Unfortunately, icons aren’t available on the Mac version of PowerPoint…
Do you know if I can use the icons in work I am selling to teachers on Teacher Pay Teacher? I know I can use the fonts would this be the same?
Jennifer, it’s a good question and I’m not sure. I’ll try to check.
I too would like to know about using icons in tpt.
Also can icons be layered? Send back send forward?
Here are 2 posts of mine on icons:
https://www.ellenfinkelstein.com/pptblog/inserting-icons-powerpoint-365/
https://www.ellenfinkelstein.com/pptblog/icons-are-hot-now-how-to-get-make-and-use-icons/
Yes, you can layer icons, just like any other object in PowerPoint.
Do you have Office 365? If you do, you have icons. Otherwise, you have to find them elsewhere.