The best PowerPoint presentations explain ideas in creative ways. Expert presenters rely on and use visuals like pyramid graphics to present content. We can leverage 3D shapes for PPT as we build PowerPoint pyramid designs.
When you use a pyramid in PowerPoint, you can illustrate ideas with the help of an eye-catching visual. Use a graphic like a PowerPoint pyramid to represent ideas and convert your dull, text-heavy slides to more visual ones.
In this tutorial, you'll learn two great ways to create pyramid 3D PowerPoint designs. These use premium PowerPoint pyramid templates from Envato Elements along with PPT features. Let's get started.
Create a Pyramid (3D) in PowerPoint (Quickstart Video)
Do you want to make a pyramid in PowerPoint right now? Get a head start with this quick video.
To learn even more about PowerPoint pyramids and 3D shapes for PowerPoint continue reading the written tutorial below.
How to Create a Pyramid in PowerPoint (Using Pyramid Templates)
In this tutorial, you'll see two methods of pyramid 3D PowerPoint designs. The best way is to use pyramid template for PowerPoint designs that already have most of the work done for you.
Premium templates already have all of the 3D shapes for PowerPoint graphics you need. They're drawn for you, and you can simply customize the PowerPoint pyramid.
In this tutorial, we'll work with a PowerPoint pyramid template from Envato Elements. You'll see how easy it is to adjust premium templates to match your own personal style. This is the beauty of designer content from Envato Elements. With unlimited downloads, you'll always enjoy unlimited possibilities.
Free download 3D shapes for PowerPoint are out there too, but stick to premium templates for time saving tricks.
What are you waiting for? Let's learn how to build your own presentation using our pyramid template for PowerPoint!
1. How to Use Pyramids to Explain Ideas (Visually)
Pyramids are visually appealing, but how can you use them in your presentation? Let's explore why pyramids are great resources to use in your next presentation.
PowerPoint 3D models are powerful storytelling tools. Pyramid models are perfect for showing a hierarchy: a rank of items in a vertical sequence. They can also illustrate proportions, or how individual concepts fit into a single overarching idea.
We're working in the Pyramid PowerPoint Template in this section. This fantastic template includes almost two dozen pyramid designs. For our purposes, let's customize and reinvent Slide 6.
As you can see, the centerpiece of the slide is a four-layer 3D pyramid. Off to the sides, there are text boxes built in to provide additional details. The top also has a title text box that's easy to update.
For our purposes, let's say that we want to use this pyramid to discuss a process. From a project management standpoint, a lot of preliminary work often goes into achieving a simple, streamlined result. That means we'll want to start at the bottom.
Let's begin by adding in some text of our own. To do that, we'll highlight the existing text, then start typing over it with our own words. We can repeat the process around the slide until each text box is transformed.
Many Envato Elements templates have stunning built-in fonts. That's great but remember: you don't have to use the default font. You can jump up to the Font menu on the ribbon. Highlight the text that you wish to customize, then choose a new font from the drop-down menu.
As part of your subscription, Envato Elements also has an incredible collection of Fonts available for download as part of your membership. Learn more about custom fonts and selection in the tutorial below:
2. How to Modify Your PowerPoint Pyramid Color Scheme
We've just taken the first step by customizing our text. Now let's jump into customizing the pyramid itself. A simple way to do this is by changing out the colors to something that fits your style.
Notice each layer of the pyramid: as a 3D model, there are multiple shades of the same theme color in use on each layer. Why? Darker tones lend a three-dimensional appearance by adding the illusion of shadows.
The left side of each layer is the lightest color tone. To change the color, we'll click on the appropriate pane (the flat surface that we want to change). Then, let's go up to the Shape Format menu on the ribbon. From there, let’s click on the Shape Fill drop-down.
A menu appears, with countless new fill options. We can choose from the main selection or click on More Fill Colors to launch a full-color wheel.
From here, it's a matter of repeating these steps throughout the pyramid. The same process also works for the descriptive text boxes on the sides. They can also be edited with Shape Fill.
It takes a few steps, but by using the color options built into PowerPoint, you can quickly bring your custom colors and style to any pyramid infographic design. Free download 3D shapes for PowerPoint simply lack this customization.
3. How to Create an Animated Pyramid in PowerPoint
Last but not least, let's add some animation to our slide. This becomes an animated PowerPoint pyramid template with just a few tweaks. Initially, all four layers of the pyramid will appear at the same time. For some purposes, that might be great, but let's return to our theme for a moment.
Let's set the slide up to present each layer in sequence upon our click. Group each layer by clicking Control on the keyboard, then click to select all of the pyramid pieces.
Once selected, we'll navigate to the Animations tab on the ribbon. A list of simple animations lives on the menu bar. To find more click on the drop-down arrow in the right corner.
To maintain a clean and elegant presentation, a simple animation like a wheel will work well. We can add that to a pyramid layer simply by clicking on Wheel on the menu.
The animation will automatically preview onto the slide. We can repeat those same steps for the other three levels, until we've built a fully animated pyramid. It looks great and will keep our presentation flowing at just the right pace.
As you can see, thanks to PowerPoint and Envato Elements, building your very own animated pyramid PowerPoint design is truly a breeze! You'll gain the ability to use amazing visuals. Audiences will be enthralled with your presentation prowess.
How to Make a Pyramid in PowerPoint Using SmartArt
You've already seen the preferred option for building 3D shapes PowerPoint designs: premium templates. But when you don't have the budget, PowerPoint has another option you can leverage.
SmartArt is a PowerPoint option you can use to create an informative graphic that you can edit. In this example, go to the Insert tab and choose SmartArt. Then, click on the Pyramid section.
On this menu, you'll see four fundamental design options. Choose one, then press OK to add it to your PowerPoint slide.
Once you've added a SmartArt graphic, you'll see a text box that's ready to customize. These PowerPoint pyramid designs are totally customizable. Type in those text boxes to update the overlay on the pyramid graphic.
That's all there is to it. To update your text later, click on the SmartArt graphic and update the text. Your PowerPoint pyramid SmartArt updates automatically.
To learn more about the SmartArt feature, check out the tutorial below:
SmartArt is a flexible method to create PowerPoint pyramids. But it leaves a lot to be desired versus the PowerPoint pyramid premium templates you saw. Remember that this method won't give you the best finished results for PowerPoint pyramids!
Discover More Great PowerPoint Templates
Can you imagine creating a graphic like a pyramid from scratch? With PowerPoint pyramid templates, you'll never have to spend hours of design work (and re-work) on adding an infographic. Free download 3D shapes for PowerPoint can't match the quality of a premium template like the ones we share.
For more great PowerPoint infographics, check out the articles below. You'll see even more great examples that help you use informative graphics to illustrate concepts and create great presentations.
35 Best Infographic PowerPoint Presentation Templates: With Great PPT Data Slides 2023
30+ Fun PowerPoint Templates (Colorful Presentation Templates for 2023)
34 Top PowerPoint Flowchart Templates (Infographic Slide Designs for 2023)
Learn More About How to Use PowerPoint
PowerPoint is the best of both worlds: it's easy to get started with, but it's got a ton of advanced features under the hood. It helps to know more about those advanced features so that you make the most of your preparation time.
At Envato Tuts+, we've created a library of PowerPoint tutorials that help you master the app. The single best source is How to Use PowerPoint (Ultimate Tutorial Guide.) Use it as a central guide to learn the app.
Check out some of the best tutorials in that guide below:
What Are the Right Dimensions (Size) for Your PowerPoint PPT Slides? (+ Video)
How to Work With Images in PowerPoint (Complete PPT Picture Guide)
How to Quickly Add Good Animations to Your PowerPoint PPT Presentations
Design a 3D Pyramid in PowerPoint Today
Pyramids are far more than a historic landmark—they're beautiful graphics that you can use to explain concepts. In this tutorial, you learned to do that with PowerPoint pyramid templates.
You can rapidly build a pyramid PowerPoint slide with Envato Elements templates. These pyramid template for PowerPoint designs save time and give you great results. Start practicing working with these 3D shapes for PPT today!
Editorial Note: This tutorial was originally published in November of 2017. It's been comprehensively revised to include new information and video—with special help from Andrew Childress.
