Last Updated: 20/04/2026
Step 1: Start With a Clean Slate
Open LibreOffice Impress and take a look at the default slide layout. Before adding your custom background, it’s best to clear out the default placeholder objects:
- Select all the objects on the slide
- Delete them to start with a blank canvas
Step 2: Check Your Slide Resolution
This is a step people often overlook. By default, LibreOffice Impress uses a 4:3 resolution, which is designed for older projector displays. However, if you’re presenting on modern HD screens (720p or 1080p), you’ll want to switch your slide size to 16:9 widescreen. Setting the correct resolution before adding your background ensures your image fills the slide properly without stretching or cropping.
Step 3: Add Your Custom Background Image
Here’s the core of the tutorial:
- Go to Slide in the top menu
- Select Set Background Image
- Choose your prepared image file (a resolution of 1920 x 1080 works well for HD slides)
- Click Open
- When prompted, choose Yes to apply the background to all slides
Once applied, your custom background will automatically appear across your entire presentation, giving it a consistent, professional look from slide one.
Step 4: Add Your Logo
With the background in place, drag and drop your logo image directly into the slide. Resize and position it wherever fits your layout best – commonly in a corner – so it appears on your title slide and beyond.
Step 5: Duplicate Slides to Keep Branding Consistent
Rather than rebuilding your background and logo on every new slide, simply:
- Right-click on your slide in the slide panel
- Select Duplicate Slide
Duplicating carries over all existing elements – including your background and logo – onto the new slide. From there, you can draw a transparent box underneath your logo to hold your text content, making it easier to read against the background image.
Quick Recap
- Delete default placeholder objects to start clean
- Set your slide size to 16:9 for HD presentations
- Use Slide > Set Background Image to apply a custom background to all slides
- Drag in your logo and position it
- Duplicate slides to maintain consistent branding throughout your deck
This simple workflow lets you create a fully branded, professional-looking presentation in LibreOffice Impress without any complicated design software. It’s a great foundation before diving into more advanced formatting and content design.
