Presentation Styling

Presentation Styling

Child of presentation-builder. This skill owns all visual identity concerns: templates, branding, color palettes, tone profiles, layout conventions, and consulting slide standards. It does NOT own content creation (narrative), data visualization (datavis), diagram generation (diagrams), or final file assembly (renderer).

Siblings:

• presentation-narrative — Outline generation, storytelling structure, slide sequencing
• presentation-datavis — Charts, data visualization, data-driven slides
• presentation-diagrams — Architecture diagrams, flowcharts, system visuals
• presentation-renderer — Final assembly, PPTX/HTML export, format conversion

When NOT to Use This Skill

1. Asset Repository CRUD

All styling assets live in a two-tier directory structure. Project-local overrides global on matching keys.

Directory Layout

Global path:

~/.claude/skills/presentation-builder/assets/
  templates/       # Base slide templates (.pptx, .css, theme.json)
  logos/            # Reusable logos
  palettes/         # Color palettes (JSON)
  tone-profiles/    # Tone definitions (JSON)

Project-local path:

<project>/.presentations/
  templates/       # Project-specific templates
  logos/            # Project / client logos
  palettes/         # Project color palettes
  tone-profiles/    # Project tone overrides
  output/           # Generated presentations

Operations

List — Show available templates, logos, palettes, and tone profiles. Merge global and project-local inventories into a single table. Mark each item with its source (global or project-local). When both sources contain an asset with the same name, show only the project-local version (it wins).

Add — Copy a user-provided template, logo, palette, or tone profile into the appropriate directory. Default target is project-local. If the user explicitly requests global storage, write to the global assets path instead. Validate the asset format before saving (JSON must parse, images must be a supported format, PPTX must be openable).

Update — Replace an existing asset. Confirm the asset exists before overwriting. Back up the previous version by appending .bak before replacing.

Remove — Delete an asset. Confirm with the user before deleting. If the asset is project-local and a global version exists, inform the user that the global version will now take effect.

2. Template Management

PPTX Templates

The user provides a .pptx file with master slides and layouts already defined. Store it in the appropriate templates/ directory. When building a deck, the renderer will apply the template as the base for all slides.

Required layouts in a well-formed PPTX template:

• Title Slide
• Content Slide (action title + body)
• Two-Column Slide
• Section Divider
• Chart / Visual Slide
• Closing Slide

HTML Themes

CSS themes for reveal.js or Marp. Stored as .css files or theme.json configuration objects in the templates/ directory.

A theme.json file maps palette tokens to CSS variables:

{
  "name": "corporate-blue",
  "engine": "marp",
  "palette": "corporate-blue",
  "css_file": "corporate-blue.css",
  "font_heading": "Calibri, Arial, sans-serif",
  "font_body": "Calibri, Arial, sans-serif",
  "font_code": "Consolas, 'Courier New', monospace"
}

Template Selection

Match the template to the audience profile received from the parent skill:

The user can override the default selection at any time.

First-Time Setup

If no templates exist in either global or project-local directories, generate minimal defaults:

1. A basic Marp CSS theme with the corporate-blue palette applied.
2. A theme.json mapping file for the default theme.
3. Log a note recommending the user provide a branded .pptx template for higher-fidelity output.

3. Color Palette System

Palettes are stored as JSON files in the palettes/ directory.

Palette Schema

{
  "name": "corporate-blue",
  "primary": "#1B365D",
  "secondary": "#4A90D9",
  "accent": "#E07020",
  "background": "#FFFFFF",
  "text": "#333333",
  "text-light": "#FFFFFF",
  "success": "#2D8B46",
  "warning": "#D4A017",
  "danger": "#C0392B",
  "neutral": "#95A5A6"
}

Default Palettes

Provide three defaults on first-time setup:

corporate-blue — Professional blue tones. Primary #1B365D, secondary #4A90D9, accent #E07020.

dark-modern — Dark background for technical audiences. Primary #1E1E2E, secondary #89B4FA, accent #F38BA8, background #1E1E2E, text #CDD6F4, text-light #FFFFFF.

warm-neutral — Soft warm tones for client-facing decks. Primary #5C4033, secondary #C4A882, accent #D4763C, background #FAF7F2, text #3E3E3E, text-light #FFFFFF.

RAG Color Standard

Red-Amber-Green status colors are standardized across all palettes and must not be overridden per-palette:

• Green (success): #2D8B46
• Amber (warning): #D4A017
• Red (danger): #C0392B

4. Tone Profiles

Tone profiles control language formality, data density, slide constraints, and visual style. Stored as JSON files in the tone-profiles/ directory.

Tone Profile Schema

{
  "name": "executive",
  "formality": "high",
  "jargon_level": "low",
  "data_density": "headline_metrics_only",
  "slide_count_max": 12,
  "font_size_min": 24,
  "preferred_flows": ["minto-scr", "bluf", "status-risks-next"],
  "title_style": "action_title_mandatory",
  "visual_style": "clean_minimal"
}

Default Tone Profiles

executive — High formality, low jargon, headline metrics only, max 12 slides, min font 24pt. Preferred flows: minto-scr, bluf, status-risks-next. Action titles mandatory, clean minimal visuals.

technical — Medium formality, high jargon acceptable, detailed data density, max 25 slides, min font 18pt. Preferred flows: problem-solution, deep-dive, architecture-walkthrough. Action titles mandatory, diagram-heavy visuals.

client-facing — High formality, low jargon, balanced data density, max 15 slides, min font 22pt. Preferred flows: minto-scr, bluf, value-proposition. Action titles mandatory, polished brand-forward visuals.

mixed — Medium formality, moderate jargon, balanced data density, max 18 slides, min font 20pt. Preferred flows: minto-scr, problem-solution, status-risks-next. Action titles mandatory, clean visuals with selective detail.

5. Layout Conventions

Standard slide layouts that apply across all templates. These are the canonical layouts that the renderer will map to template-specific masters.

Title Slide

• Centered title (large, bold)
• Subtitle below title (smaller, lighter weight)
• Date below subtitle
• Logo bottom-right
• Optional: author name, department

Content Slide

• Action title top-left (states the takeaway, not the topic)
• Body content center (bullet points, text, or single visual)
• Source line bottom-left (when data is referenced)

Two-Column Slide

• Action title top spanning full width
• Left column: text / bullet points
• Right column: visual / chart / diagram
• Source line bottom-left

Section Divider

• Section name centered vertically and horizontally
• Contrasting background color (use palette primary or secondary)
• Text in text-light color
• No logo, no source line

Chart Slide

• Action title top (states the chart's takeaway)
• Chart centered, occupying primary visual space
• Callout box highlighting the key data point (positioned near the relevant area of the chart)
• Source line bottom-left

Closing Slide

• "Thank you" or "Questions?" centered
• Contact information below center text
• Logo centered, larger than on content slides
• Optional: QR code, follow-up links

6. Consulting Slide Standards

These standards are always applied regardless of template, palette, or audience profile.

Action Titles

Every slide title states the takeaway, never the topic. Reading the titles across the deck in sequence must tell the complete story (the horizontal flow test).

• BAD: "Q3 Revenue"
• GOOD: "Q3 revenue grew 12% driven by enterprise expansion"

One Idea Per Slide

Each slide communicates exactly one message. If a slide requires two takeaways, split it into two slides.

Horizontal Flow

The sequence of action titles, read left to right through the deck, must form a coherent narrative. Test this by listing all titles — they should read like an executive summary.

Source Lines

Every slide that references data must include a source line at the bottom. Format: Source: [dataset/report name], [date].

Callout Boxes

Key data points on chart slides get a callout box — a bordered or shaded rectangle highlighting the critical number with a brief label.

Chart Hygiene

• Minimal grid lines (light gray, not black)
• No chart junk (no 3D effects, no unnecessary decoration)
• Consistent chart position and size across the deck
• Axis labels must be readable at the minimum font size for the tone profile

7. Logo Placement Rules

Title Slide

Logo centered or bottom-right, sized appropriately (typically 15-20% of slide width). Must not compete with the title text.

Content Slides

Logo top-right corner, small (typically 5-8% of slide width). Must not distract from slide content.

Closing Slide

Logo centered, larger than on content slides (typically 20-30% of slide width).

Logo Storage

When the user provides a logo file, store it in the appropriate assets directory:

• Project-specific logo: <project>/.presentations/logos/
• Reusable logo: ~/.claude/skills/presentation-builder/assets/logos/

Supported formats: PNG (preferred for transparency), SVG, JPEG.

8. Hard Rules

1. Never apply styling that contradicts audience profile norms. If the tone profile says formality: high, do not use casual fonts, bright neon palettes, or informal layouts.
2. Templates must be reusable. After creating or customizing a template, save it to the assets repository so it can be reused across presentations.
3. WCAG AA contrast ratios are mandatory. All text-on-background color combinations must meet WCAG AA minimum contrast (4.5:1 for normal text, 3:1 for large text). Validate palette combinations before applying.
4. Font selections need cross-platform fallback chains. Always specify fallback fonts. Examples:
   • Headings: "Calibri, Arial, sans-serif"
   • Body: "Calibri, Arial, sans-serif"
   • Code: "Consolas, 'Courier New', monospace"
5. RAG colors are immutable. The standardized green/amber/red values must not be overridden by any palette or template customization.
6. Project-local always overrides global. When resolving any asset, the project-local version wins if it exists.

Anti-Patterns