🔷 Note: Themes work a little differently in our new Gamma 5. Themes now live on each file, so changes you make to a theme only affect that gamma. You can still save a theme to your workspace to share it with your team. We are updating this article with full details.
Introduction
Gamma allows you to design custom themes to match your brand or personal style.
A custom theme in Gamma defines the overall visual style of your content, including colors, fonts, slide styles and accent images.
In the new Gamma, themes live on each file, so you can fine-tune the look of one gamma without affecting any others.
🔷 Note: Changes you make to a theme only affect the current gamma unless you save the theme to your workspace to share it with your team.
How Do Themes Work in the New Gamma?
Themes now live on the file. When you edit a theme, your changes only affect the gamma you are working in, not other documents. Previously, updating a theme updated every gamma that used it, which could cause surprises across your workspace.
What happens to my existing gammas?
When you open the theme on a gamma created in Gamma Classic, the theme automatically converts into a file theme. The same theme is applied, so your gamma looks exactly the same, but it is now decoupled:
Changes to the workspace theme will not affect this gamma.
Changes you make to the theme inside this gamma will not affect other gammas.
Can I still use workspace themes?
Yes. Workspace themes still exist, and you can apply them to any file:
In your gamma, open Styles.
Go to Theme > Apply theme preset.
Choose the workspace theme you want to apply.
How do I share a file theme with my team?
If you have customized a theme on one gamma and want to reuse it elsewhere, save it to your workspace:
In your gamma, open Styles.
Go to Theme > Save as.
Your theme is saved to the workspace and available to everyone in it.
💎 Pro Tip: Use file themes for one-off experiments, and save a theme to your workspace once it is polished enough for your whole team to use.
How to Create a Workspace Theme
If you want to save a workspace theme to use as a theme preset and keep everyone in your workspace on brand, there are three ways to create one:
Option 1: Save a File Theme as a Workspace Theme
Customize the theme on any gamma until it looks the way you want.
In that gamma, open Styles, then go to Theme > Save as.
Your theme is saved to the workspace and available to everyone in it.
Option 2: Create a New Workspace Theme from Scratch
Navigate to Themes.
Click New Theme.
Follow the step-by-step builder to customize your:
Background and primary colors.
Fonts and typography.
Design elements (buttons, links, and shadows).
Logos and accent images.
Save your theme to use it across your workspace.
Option 3: Edit an Existing Standard Theme
Click on the three-dot menu (…) at the bottom right of an existing theme.
Select Customize Theme.
Adjust the following elements:
Colors: Modify the color palette for backgrounds, links, and buttons.
Fonts: Change the typography, including font styles and sizes.
Logos: Upload a logo to appear on all decks using this theme.
Design: Adjust slide shapes, strokes, and shadows.
Images: Set default accent images and define AI-generated image styles.
How to Customize a Workspace Theme
Customizing Colors for Text, Background and Theme Palette
Open the Theme Editor.
Navigate to the Colors tab.
Customize:
Background colors
Button and link colors
Element fills and outlines
Enter a Hex Code or use the color wheel to select colors.
Customizing Font Colors
Click on Fonts in the Theme Editor.
Adjust heading and body text colors.
Apply gradients for a unique text style.
Customizing Typography & Font Settings
Gamma allows more control over typography in custom themes. You can adjust:
Line height
Letter spacing
Base size
Uppercasing (for headings only)
How to Add a Logo to Your Theme
Recent updates allow greater flexibility in logo placement, ensuring professional results.
Open Themes > Logo > Upload.
Upload your logo.
Navigate to Headers and footers under Page setup in your presentation.
Choose the logo placement: top-left, top-right, bottom-left, or bottom-right.
💎 Pro Tip: You can also add your logo using headers and footers (only available for Pro Users).
Customizing the Design
You can adapt the design of slides, blocks, content, buttons, and links:
Roundness: Adjust how sharp or rounded elements appear.
Stroke and Shadow: Add outlines or hard shadows to content.
Block Colors and Fills: Customize the colors of smart layouts and interactive elements.
How to Set a Consistent Image Style
Open the Theme Editor.
Navigate to Images.
Add specific keywords for AI-generated images to maintain a consistent style.
Upload accent images to apply them to your custom theme.
FAQs & Common Issues
Why don't my theme edits affect my other gammas anymore?
In the new Gamma, themes live on each file. Editing a theme only changes the gamma you are working in.
To reuse a theme across gammas, save it to your workspace via Styles > Theme > Save as.
Then, in any other gamma, apply it via Styles > Theme > Apply theme preset.
What happened to the theme on my existing gammas?
Nothing changes visually. When you open the theme on a gamma created in Gamma Classic, it automatically converts to a file theme with the same look.
After conversion, workspace theme changes no longer affect that gamma, and its theme edits no longer affect other gammas.
Can I share my custom theme with my team?
Yes. Save your file theme to the workspace via Styles > Theme > Save as, and it becomes available to everyone in your workspace.
Why can't I import my document to the theme editor?
Ensure that your theme is saved as PowerPoint (.pptx) or as a Google Slide. Gamma does not yet support PDF or doc uploads to the custom theme workspace.
Why doesn't my logo appear or display correctly in Present mode?
Ensure your theme is applied correctly under Themes > Edit Theme > Logo.
Navigate to Page setup > Headers and footers in your presentation and reselect the logo placement to ensure visibility in Present mode.
Can I import themes from Figma or Canva?
Currently, Gamma supports importing from PowerPoint and Google Drive, but not from Figma or Canva.
Why aren't my custom fonts displaying correctly?
Check that your font files are correctly uploaded under Themes > Edit Theme > Fonts.
Why isn't my heading using a gradient when I have it set that way in my theme?
When a slide has a custom background color (like one you picked from the palette or recolored manually), Gamma automatically checks whether the heading gradient is readable against that background. If any part of the gradient doesn't have enough contrast, Gamma swaps the whole gradient out for a solid color: black on light backgrounds, white on dark ones.
Turning off "Adjust colors for contrast and accessibility" in theme settings doesn't prevent this. That setting only affects slides using the theme's default background color. On those, Gamma nudges gradient colors slightly instead of replacing them. On a slide with a custom background color, the contrast check always runs, regardless of that setting.
To get your gradient to show, either reset the slide to the theme's default color, or pick a slide color your gradient reads clearly against.