How do I create custom shapes in PowerPoint?

Answer 1

Create one shape and then another. Move them on top of each other and ctrl click to select both of them. Now Merge Shapes. You can Union, Combine, Fragment, Intersect or Subtract depending on where your mouse points. Order matters here! If in doubt, undo.

Use Shape Outline to select outline color and Shape Fill to fill in a color . For extra effect, use Shape Effects (Relaxed Inset under Bevel is especially fun.)

You can also make texts into shapes by merging text boxes into rectangles. Subtract gives you the rectangle without the text. Intersect gives you a shape shaped liked the text. Fragment gives you the individual shapes of the letters!