Google Slides is a presentation tool, almost identical to PowerPoint. If you have a gmail account, you have access to Google Slides. What most people don’t realize is that each slide can be used as a graphic art template where you can control background colors, add text boxes or images, rearrange items on the page, make outlines, add shapes, or anything else you might want to do to create a graphic image which can be used as a banner, a book cover, a collage, or a meme.

Today we’re making a meme.

Start with a “Blank” presentation. This has no theme to distract you. I even delete both text boxes from their starter so that the slide is empty to begin with.

Change the size of the slide with the following steps. File > Page Setup > Custom > 5” x 5”

If you have any trouble with these steps, I also have a training at WA on Making a Banner With Google Slides, and it goes through these steps in greater detail.

The blank square is pretty boring so far. The first thing I’d like to do is to add an image. A good meme has a single eye-catching photo of something cute, emotional, or narrative (seems to tell a story.) You may notice lots of memes around with the same picture. It was created on one of the websites where you can design your own meme, so they re-use the same images a lot. Ours will be better, because we’re using our own image!

Add an image with these steps: Insert > Image > Upload from computer > Choose file > Open

Or, you can use the “image” icon (little mountains?) from the task bar.

Here’s my silly picture. If you want to have fun, get together with a friend and take each other’s pictures in silly poses so you can use them as graphic images. There may be wine involved. Who says professional models get to have all the fun?

Go to the next lesson to see how to add text to your meme.