[ Note to readers: I originally published this comic on my old blog on MSDN, but people seem to like it, so I'm reposting it here so new readers don't miss out. -- David ]

High quality images and more

Many of you may be wondering why you should be excited by this. Perhaps the first thing that comes to mind when you hear “Clip Art” is this friendly little illustration you’ve known for more than a decade:

A word to the wise: there’s a lot more than you remember hiding in that gallery. We now feature high quality, royalty-free images, including selections from partners like iStockPhoto and Fotolia. There are even audio and video files to choose from, as well as the expected illustrations. The next time you need an image for your presentation, feel free to use one of these.

Use It on the Web

Adding Clip Art is just as simple as adding a picture. As you can see, there are two ways to add Clip Art to placeholders: the Ribbon and content buttons.

We hope you enjoy this feature on the web, and perhaps you’ll give it another look on the Office desktop applications, as well.

-Rebecca Loew
PowerPoint Program Manager

On and off the Web

For those of you using PowerPoint 2010 installed on your computer, we bring the latest and greatest content right to your front door through the themes gallery on the Design tab:

Just click the “Enable Content Updates from Office.com…” button:

Once you’ve enabled updates, you’ll see a set of themes at the bottom of the gallery that stays up to date as we add new ones:

Included in this update is the first in a set of new designer themes that we’re really excited to begin rolling out. It’s called “Summer,” and it’s perfect for capturing the essence of your warm weather excursions over the past few months:

For those of you living in the southern hemisphere, it’s time to start thinking light thoughts as your summer season draws near :)

Enjoy the new looks!

-Christopher Maloney
Program Manager, PowerPoint