Apply SmartArt Styles in PowerPoint 2010 for Windows

While changing the color of a SmartArt graphic changes the color fills of individual shapes in your SmartArt, it does not add other niceties such as outlines or effects. Rather than individually add these attributes to your SmartArt, you can use the all-inclusive SmartArt Styles option.

In this tutorial, you will learn how to apply SmartArt Styles to selected SmartArt graphics in PowerPoint 2010 for Windows:

1. Select your existing SmartArt graphic (learn to insert a SmartArt graphic within PowerPoint 2010), as shown in Figure 1, below. The SmartArt graphic variant that we are using (and have selected) is called Diverging Radial.
2. 
   Figure 1: Diverging Radial SmartArt graphic
2. When the SmartArt graphic is selected, you'll find two contextual tabs activated on the Ribbon. The SmartArt Tools Design and the SmartArt Tools Format tabs, highlighted in red in Figure 2, below. Select the SmartArt Tools Design tab.
3. 
   Figure 2: SmartArt Tools Design tab selected
3. Within the SmartArt Tools Design tab, locate the SmartArt Styles group, then click the downward pointing arrow, as shown highlighted in red within Figure 3, below.
4. 
   Figure 3: SmartArt Styles group
4. Doing so brings up the SmartArtStyles drop-down gallery that you can see in Figure 4, below.
5. 
   Figure 4: SmartArt Styles drop-down gallery
5. Just hover the cursor over any of the Style previews in the gallery as you move over different previews, the selected SmartArt graphic shows you a Live Preview of the style applied, as shown in Figure 5, below. Click on the preview thumbnail in the gallery to apply the style to the selected SmartArt graphic.
6. 
   Figure 5: SmartArt graphic showing live preview of the style selected
Tip: Place your SmartArt graphic in an area that is not covered by the SmartArt Styles drop-down gallery, so you can see the Live Preview.