Google Slides is really great for creating diagrams

When you think of Google Slides, you probably only think of something that you can use to design slides for your many presentations. What you might not realize is that Google Slides is also—surprisingly—great for creating diagrams, whether it’s flowcharts, Venn diagrams, or mind maps.

Why use Google Slides to create diagrams

Of course, there are plenty of other (more specialized) tools you can use to create diagrams, such as Lucidchart and other Google Docs add-ons. However, Google Slides is a great and viable option for several reasons.

One of the main advantages is the real-time collaboration feature. If you already use Google Suite, you know how easy it is to access projects from any device with an internet connection. This accessibility makes teamwork a breeze; just use Share the ability to invite your colleagues and give them edit or comment access to provide feedback or make changes to your diagrams on the fly.

Google Slides also integrates seamlessly with Google Sheets, so it’s perfect if your diagrams need to include data. By navigating to Insert card and select Diagram > From Tablesor by copying and pasting cells directly from Tables, you can link your data so that any updates to the table are reflected in your slides.

Plus, Google Slides is completely free and provides free features – all you need is a Google account. Unlike tools that require a subscription or have limited free features, Google Slides offers built-in tools that are more than sufficient for polished, professional diagrams.

With shapes, lines, graphs and even basic AI help, creating and exporting diagrams as JPEG, PNG or SVG images is fast and intuitive. From basic shapes to more advanced features, Google Slides has several tools to help you create excellent diagrams. Here are some of the most useful features.

Shapes, arrows and lines

Any good diagram consists of a few basic shapes and connectors, and Google Slides has plenty of them. You can use these tools to create flowcharts, Venn diagrams, and even some graphs.

Because Google Slides lets you do just that Group and Ungroup elements on your page, it’s easy for you to treat multiple elements as a single unit. This is especially useful when you need to move or resize parts of a diagram.

You can also click Order To change the layering of elements on the slide, bring some forward or send them back to ensure your diagram looks exactly how you want it.

Built-in diagram templates

Google Slides offers some solid diagram templates that you can use to get started quickly. These templates include pre-designed layouts for flowcharts, timelines, and process maps.

Click Insert > Diagrams > Show all. Choose what type of chart you want, choose levels, dates, steps or areas and choose a color. Then browse the options and select any template that looks like what you have in mind.

You can then modify the diagram to suit your needs.

While I think the native features of Google Slides are pretty much sufficient, you can use add-ons like Lucidchart that extend its functionality.

These add-ons integrate directly with Google Slides and allow you to create more complex diagrams without leaving slides. Click Extension > Accessories > Get extras and you will find a lot of relevant options.

Many of these add-ons have free plans with paid tiers for even more features.

Custom colors and other fonts

You can apply solid or gradient colors to your shapes, and you have full control over fonts and text styles in diagrams. This means you can match the look and feel of your diagrams to your project or branding guidelines without the need for advanced design skills.

For example, you can separate elements in a diagram, select a line, and click Format > Borders and lines > Border color. Then click on the plus icon below Custom enter the hexadecimal code of the color you prefer.

While you can’t add your own fonts, you can still add additional fonts to Google Slides, giving you more font options than what’s immediately available.

Gemini AI

If you’re part of Google Workspace Labs, you’ll have access to Gemini in Google Slides. Generating illustrations is one of the ways I use Gemini AI in Presentations.

It’s not the best at generating graphs and mind maps, but it’s a decent diagramming tool considering that all you have to do is provide a detailed description of what you want.

You can use Gemini AI by launching the Ask Gemini bar, but I’ve had more success with Create an image bar. Just keep in mind that your diagrams would look more like pictures than graphs, and that the texts might be unreadable as the AI ​​struggles to type text into pictures.

You can stick to just using Gemini AI to brainstorm ideas for your diagrams, such as the best color combinations, shapes and connectors to create what you have in mind.

Animations and transitions

If you’re creating a step-by-step diagram or want to show the flow of a process, Google Slides animations and transitions can be incredibly useful. You can animate individual shapes or elements in a diagram to appear one after the other, so your audience can follow the process in a structured way.

On your computer, just select the element you want to animate and click Insert > Animation. You can have them fly in, zoom out, or whatever tickles your fancy.

Google Slides might not be the first tool that comes to mind when you think of creating diagrams, but they are actually more than capable. So the next time you’re thinking about creating some diagrams, don’t overlook Google Slides!