How to Create This Modern Split-Layout Presentation Slide

Creating a presentation slide that balances a striking visual with heavy text can often feel like a tightrope walk. You want your audience to be engaged by the imagery, but you also need them to read and understand your core message. The slide we are looking at today achieves this balance perfectly.

This "What We Do" slide uses a beautiful split-screen layout. It combines a full-bleed landscape photo with a clean, structured text area, bridged together by a creative custom shape. It is an excellent format for an "About Us," "Services," or company introduction slide.

In this tutorial, we will break down exactly how this layout is structured and how you can recreate this exact style from scratch in PowerPoint, Google Slides, or Keynote.

Understanding the Slide Layout

Before jumping into the software, it helps to deconstruct the visual hierarchy of the slide. This design is built on three distinct layers:

• The Foundation: A high-quality, full-screen background image that sets the emotional tone.
• The Content Container: A solid white rectangular block on the right side that provides a clean canvas for readability.
• The Bridge: A custom, angled blue shape in the center that holds the iconography and creates a dynamic transition between the photo and the text.

This three-part structure ensures that the text remains highly readable while still allowing the brand imagery to shine through on the left side of the screen.

Setting Up the Background and Base Shapes

Let's start by building the foundation of our slide. Open a blank presentation slide and follow these steps.

1. Placing the Background Image

Find a high-resolution image that fits your brand. In this example, a mountain landscape is used to convey growth, stability, and aiming high. Insert the image into your slide and resize it so that it covers the entire canvas completely. Send this image to the back so it sits behind all other elements.

2. Creating the White Text Panel

Next, we need to create the safe zone for our text.

• Select the Rectangle shape tool.
• Draw a large rectangle on the right side of the slide, covering exactly from the top edge to the bottom edge.
• Adjust the width so it covers roughly the right 40% to 45% of the slide.
• Change the shape fill to solid white and remove the shape outline.

3. Crafting the Custom Blue Shape

This is the most visually interesting part of the slide. It is not a standard square or circle. It is a custom polygon that angles inward towards the text and then back out.

To create this in PowerPoint:

• Go to Insert > Shapes and select the Freeform: Shape tool (it looks like an irregular polygon).
• Click to drop your first anchor point at the top edge of the slide, slightly overlapping the left side of your white rectangle.
• Click again to drop a point further down and further left (creating the top inward angle).
• Click to drop a third point straight down (creating the vertical edge where the middle icon sits).
• Click to drop a fourth point further down and to the right (creating the bottom outward angle).
• Click to drop a point at the bottom edge of the slide.
• Finally, click along the right edge (hidden behind the white box) and connect back to your starting point to close the shape.
• Fill this shape with a vibrant, brand-appropriate color (like this deep royal blue) and remove the outline.

Design Tip: You can also use the "Edit Points" feature on a standard rectangle to drag the left edge into this specific chevron-like shape.

Choosing Fonts and Building the Content Structure

Now that our background is set, let's add the text to the white panel.

Formatting the Main Title

Insert a text box in the upper right corner. Type your main header, such as "What We Do" or "Our Services."

• Alignment: Align the text to the right.
• Font Choice: Use a bold, modern sans-serif font (like Montserrat, Open Sans, or Helvetica).
• Color: Use a very dark gray (almost black) rather than pure black. This is easier on the eyes.
• Size: Make this the largest text on the slide to establish a clear visual starting point.

Adding the Subheading and Divider

Beneath the title, add a subheading like "Your Heading is Here." Keep it right-aligned, but make it significantly smaller and less bold than the main title.

To separate the headers from the body text, insert a simple line shape. Make the line slightly thick (around 2pt or 3pt) and color it the same blue as your custom center shape. This creates visual consistency and anchors the text block.

Formatting the Body Text

Insert a final text box for your main paragraph content.

• Alignment: Right-align the text to keep a crisp edge along the right margin.
• Font Weight: Use a standard or light weight.
• Color: Use a medium gray color. This creates a clear hierarchy: dark bold title, medium gray body text.
• Line Spacing: Increase the line spacing slightly (e.g., 1.2 or 1.3) to make the paragraph feel breathable and easy to read.

Using Icons and Visual Elements

The custom blue shape acts as a timeline or a structured list. We will populate it with icons.

Selecting the Right Icons

For a clean, modern corporate look, use "line art" or "outlined" icons. In this example, we see icons representing business, launch, communication, data, and science/innovation. Ensure all icons come from the same family so their line weights match.

Placing and Aligning the Icons

• Insert your five icons into the presentation.
• Change their color to pure white so they pop against the blue background.
• Position them vertically along the blue shape. Notice how the middle icon sits exactly at the deepest point of the inward angle.
• Select all five icons, go to your alignment tools, and choose Distribute Vertically to ensure the spacing between them is mathematically perfect.
• Finally, add tiny text boxes centered below each icon (e.g., "Lorem ipsum dolor") using a small, white, legible font.

Final Design Polish

Great design comes down to the final 10% of tweaking. Take a step back and review your slide.

• Check Margins: Is there enough breathing room on the right side of the "What We Do" title? Never let text touch the absolute edge of the slide.
• Check Contrast: Ensure the white icons are easily visible against the blue. Ensure the gray body text is readable against the white background.
• Visual Balance: Does the weight of the image on the left balance out the heavy text block on the right? The blue shape in the middle acts as the fulcrum holding it all together.

By following these steps, you can create a highly professional, engaging slide that perfectly balances narrative imagery with important business data.