PPTX Core Style

Core Style — Core Architecture Presentations

Canonical visual style for architectural slides. Use alongside the pptx skill.

Slide Format

• Layout: LAYOUT_WIDE (13.3 x 7.5 inches, 16:9)
• Font: Arial (all elements)
• Corners: roundRect with adj=4246 for content blocks, adj=50000 for badges
• PptxGenJS rectRadius mapping: adj=4246 → rectRadius: 0.08, adj=50000 → rectRadius: 0.12

Color Palette

Typography Scale

Category-Colored Emphasis

When listing details under a category (e.g., technologies, tools, metrics), use bold text colored to match the category's block color. This creates a visual link between the description and its category.

Layout Grid

Slide Anatomy

┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│  NAVY bar  │  "Slide Title" 24pt bold WHITE              │ ← 0 – 0.70 in
├────────────┬────┬────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ Left col   │ ▏  │ Right col                              │ ← 0.78 in
│ x=0.40     │ ▏  │ x=6.45                                 │
│ w=5.60     │ ▏  │ w=6.45                                 │
│            │ ▏  │                                        │
│ Blocks +   │ ▏  │ Table / Key Insight /                  │
│ badges +   │ ▏  │ category descriptions                  │
│ ↓ arrows   │ ▏  │                                        │
│            │ ▏  │                                        │
│ Footnote   │ ▏  │ Footnote                               │ ← 7.10 in max
└────────────┴────┴────────────────────────────────────────┘
              ↑ divider x=6.20

Header

• Bar: x=0 y=0 w=13.30 h=0.70 fill=NAVY
• Text: x=0.50 y=0 w=12.50 h=0.70

Two-Column Layout

• Divider: vertical line at x=6.20, from y=0.88 to y=6.98, color=BORDER_GRAY, width=1pt, solid
• Left column: x=0.40, w=5.60
• Right column: x=6.45, w=6.45

Single-Column Layout

• Full-width content: x=0.40, w=12.50
• Use for slides with a single large table, diagram, or full-width key insight block
• Same header bar and content area y-positions apply

Content Area

• Top: y=0.78 (section titles)
• First content block: y=1.18
• Bottom margin: y=7.10 max (0.40" from slide edge)
• Available height: ~5.9"

Title Slide

• Background: fill=NAVY (full slide)
• Main title: 44pt bold WHITE, centered horizontally, y≈2.30 (optically centered)
• Subtitle: 28pt regular BLUE, centered, directly below title
• Decorative accent: horizontal line, w≈5.00", color=ORANGE, width=2.5pt, centered at slide midpoint
• Tagline (optional): 14pt regular WHITE, centered, below accent line
• No header bar, no divider, no footnote

Component Styles

Content Blocks

• Full-width block: x=0.40 w=5.60
• Split blocks (two categories side by side):
  • Primary: x=0.40, w=3.85 (70%)
  • Secondary: x=4.35, w=1.65 (30%)
  • Gap: 0.10" between blocks
• Block height: ~0.30" per item + 0.10" total vertical padding (e.g., 3 items → h≈1.00", 4 items → h≈1.30")
• Badge: w=1.55 h=0.24, inset 0.10" from block right edge and 0.02" below block top edge
  • Contrast rule: badge color must contrast with block color (ORANGE badge on BLUE block, NAVY badge on ORANGE/STEEL block)
  • Badge clearance (narrow blocks): when a narrow (30%) block has a badge, push ALL content 0.26" below the block top — the badge spans most of the width.
  • Badge clearance (wide blocks): when a full-width or primary (70%) block has a badge, shorten the FIRST content item width by 1.85" (badge + inset + gap) so text wraps before the badge. Do NOT push text down — this wastes vertical space on wide blocks.
• Block title: ABOVE the block (not inside), numbered, DARK_GRAY on white
• Content item padding: left/right 0.12" inset from block edges
• Items inside blocks: separated by white horizontal lines (9525 width, 60% alpha)
• Arrows between blocks: downArrow, fill=ORANGE, cx=0.25" cy=0.20"

Table

• Header row: fill=NAVY, text=WHITE bold
• Data rows alternate: WHITE / LIGHT_GRAY
• Accent rows (secondary category): fill=LIGHT_ORANGE
• Cell borders: BORDER_GRAY, w=6350 EMU
• Cell padding: marL=50800 marR=50800 marT=25400 marB=25400

Key Insight Block

• fill=NAVY, full column width
• Internal padding: left/right 0.25", top 0.15"
• Headline: 14pt bold WHITE, 0.15" from top
• Formula / key statement: 11pt bold WHITE, 0.45" below headline top
• Subtitle: 9pt regular WHITE, 0.40" below formula
• Distribution bar (optional): BLUE segment + ORANGE segment, h=0.30", 0.55" below subtitle
• Legend: colored squares 0.22x0.22" with labels, sz=9pt WHITE, 0.45" below bar top

Category Descriptions

• Text blocks, each with:
  • Line 1: Name (bold) + description (regular), DARK_GRAY
  • Line 2: Details (bold), colored per category (see Category-Colored Emphasis)
• Spacing between blocks: ~0.55" per block

Dynamic Layout Formulas

All component positions are computed from column bounds. Hardcoded examples above are for the most common case — use these formulas for any count or ratio.

Content Area Constants

// Two-column mode
L_X0   = 0.40        // left column start
L_W    = 5.60        // left column width
R_X0   = 6.45        // right column start
R_W    = 6.45        // right column width
// Single-column mode
F_X0   = 0.40        // full-width start
F_W    = 12.50       // full-width
// Vertical
Y0     = 1.18        // first content block top
YE     = 7.10        // max bottom
GAP    = 0.10        // standard horizontal gap (split blocks)
VGAP   = 0.08        // vertical gap between block title and block
ARROW_H = 0.20       // arrow height
ARROW_GAP = 0.08     // space above/below arrow

Split Blocks (any ratio)

For any primary/secondary width split within a column of width COL_W starting at COL_X:

Given ratio r (0.0–1.0, primary share):
primaryW   = COL_W * r - GAP / 2
secondaryW = COL_W * (1 - r) - GAP / 2
primaryX   = COL_X
secondaryX = COL_X + primaryW + GAP

Default ratio: r = 0.70 → primary w=3.85, secondary w=1.65 (in left column).

Block Height (any item count)

h = items * 0.30 + 0.10

When a badge is present on a narrow block, add 0.26 for badge clearance:

h = items * 0.30 + 0.10 + 0.26

N Blocks Vertically Stacked with Arrows

blockTitleH = 0.26
blockY[0]   = Y0
blockTopY[0] = Y0 + blockTitleH + VGAP

For i = 1..n-1:
  arrowY[i]    = blockTopY[i-1] + blockH[i-1] + ARROW_GAP
  blockY[i]    = arrowY[i] + ARROW_H + ARROW_GAP
  blockTopY[i] = blockY[i] + blockTitleH + VGAP

Check: blockTopY[n-1] + blockH[n-1] ≤ YE

Distribution Bar (any segment count)

For N segments with ratios r[0..n-1] summing to 1.0:

barX    = ix              // bar left edge (inside Key Insight block)
barW    = available width
segW[i] = barW * r[i]
segX[0] = barX
segX[i] = segX[i-1] + segW[i-1]    // i = 1..n-1

Default: 2 segments (BLUE + ORANGE). For 3+, cycle through: BLUE, ORANGE, STEEL.

Table Column Widths

Column widths should sum to the container width (L_W, R_W, or F_W):

Given relative weights w[0..c-1]:
totalW  = sum(w)
colW[i] = containerW * w[i] / totalW

Row heights: header 0.32, data rows 0.36. Reduce to 0.28/0.30 for dense tables (8+ rows).

EMU Reference

1 inch = 914400 EMU. Common conversions:

• 0.04" gap = 36576 EMU
• 0.10" gap = 91440 EMU
• 0.24" badge height = 219456 EMU
• 0.25" = 228600 EMU
• 0.30" = 274320 EMU
• 0.55" = 502920 EMU
• 6.45" = 5897880 EMU
• 13.30" = 12161520 EMU

Rules

1. Always render the NAVY header bar at the top of every slide
2. Badge contrast: ORANGE badge on BLUE block, NAVY badge on ORANGE or STEEL block — never same color for badge and block
3. Block titles go ABOVE the block (numbered, DARK_GRAY on white), never inside the colored fill
4. Items inside blocks are separated by semi-transparent white lines (width 9525, a:alpha val="60000"), not solid borders
5. Category assignment: BLUE = primary / dominant category, ORANGE = secondary, STEEL = legacy / out-of-scope
6. Arrows between vertically stacked blocks: ORANGE downArrow, 0.25 × 0.20 in
7. Table header is always NAVY fill with WHITE bold text
8. Accent rows use LIGHT_ORANGE fill to mark items of the secondary (ORANGE) category
9. Distribution bar segments use only category colors (BLUE + ORANGE)
10. Footnotes are italic MUTED_GRAY, positioned 0.20–0.30" below the last content element (never floating with a large gap). Maximum y ≤ 7.10 in
11. No shadows on any shapes — all elements are flat. Add empty <a:effectLst/> to spPr to override theme-inherited shadows