Excel Tutorial: How Can I Customize SmartArt?

Elizabeth asked, "Once I insert SmartArt in Excel, how can I change the color and look?"

What Elizabeth is asking is very smart. Inserting the same old SmartArt and not changing it, or customizing it in any way, looks very boring. I recommend customizing SmartArt and other objects to match your company colors and logo, your presentation style and format, so that it doesn't feel like it was an after thought.

To customize SmartArt, simply follow these steps.

You can also watch the video tutorial below.

Click the "Insert" Tab.
Click "SmartArt" from the Illustrations group.

In the "Choose a SmartArt Graphic" dialog box, select the category on the left. Then you select the item in the middle. The right shows a preview of the item. Select OK to insert the content.

Excel inserts the selected SmartArt graphic in the middle of the spreadsheet.

You can simply click on one of the boxes and type in your text, if desired. Notice that the font sizes adjust, depending on how much text you enter.

Don't stop there, now it's time to customize the SmartArt.

With the SmartArt selected (click on it, if you need), you will see the "SmartArt Tools" contextual tabs "Design" and "Format."

Click on these tabs to see the customization options. Features on these tabs will be different based on the type of SmartArt you inserted.

You can customize things like the colors, the styles, and fonts.

Look around and practice to find the best look for your Excel spreadsheet and/or presentation.

Now that you know how to customize SmartArt, you will look like the expert professional for visualizing in Excel.

Watch the video tutorial here.