How to make Web 2.0 graphics in PowerPoint

It started with the wet floor effect. It’s been on my mind a lot, because I’ve seen it everywhere recently. Not content with infecting every bit of Apple’s software and website, and pretty much every Web 2.0 site going, I’ve now seen it crop up in everything from ITV idents to ads for Lemar’s new album. If I had my act together more, I’d have captured some of its many diverse appearances, and made this a much more interesting post. But I didn’t. Too disorganised, too lazy.

Anyway, I was fooling around in PowerPoint recently, and decided that I wanted to do a wet floor. You know, as a pastiche. But I didn’t want to just use Photoshop to make a graphic for import, as that would be cheating. So I worked out how to do it:

1. Insert the graphic that you will later want to reflect (Insert > Picture > From file)

   

2. Duplicate it (Ctrl C then Ctrl V, or drag while holding Ctrl)

   

3. Invert the duplicate (Open the Drawing toolbar, then choose Draw > Rotate or Flip > Flip Vertical)

   

4. Line the duplicate up directly under the original.

   

5. Draw a new rectangle, so it completely covers the duplicate graphic.
6. Get rid of the rectangle border (Line colour > No line)

   

7. Change the Fill colour, with a fill effect that is a horizontal gradient fill, with one colour (white), light-ish, from 20% transparency to 0% transparency.

   

 

Bingo. Your PowerPoint wet floor is complete. Not why not try other Web 2.0 cliché graphic effects…

 

Add a gradient background fill:

1. Draw rectangle that fills the top half of the slide.
2. Make the line colour ‘no line’.
3. Change the fill colour, with a fill effect that is a horizontal gradient fill, with one colour (your choice; light ones work best), fully light, from 20% transparency to 0% transparency.
4. Send the rectangle to the back in the order menu.
5. Do this in the slide master to add the gradient to every page.

   

 
Make a Web 2.0 style ‘logo’:

1. Draw a 16 pointed star (Drawing toolbar > Autoshape > Stars and banners > choose the star with ‘16’ in the centre.
2. Reduce the depth of the points using the yellow grab box (visible when your star is selected).
3. Make the line colour ‘no line’.
4. Change the fill colour, with a fill effect that is a horizontal gradient fill, with one colour (your choice; bright colours like pink work best), light-ish, from 20% transparency to 0% transparency.
5. Add your Web 2.0 brand name (Select your star > right click > Add text) (Lightsphere can help with your name)
6. Change your font to white Arial – or Arial Rounded if you have it.
7. Rotate your star to a jaunty angle – around 15° works for me. (Select star > Rotate with the green grab box).

   

 

Ahthankyou.

 

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