# Pitch deck cover slide: the first impression in one frame

[Canonical HTML page](https://gradiently.design/guide/pitch-deck-cover-slide)

The cover is page one of the deck, and the slide that stays up while the room settles. It needs a name, one clear line, and the same ground as your website.

## The short version

- A pitch deck cover slide should show the product name and one line about what it does, and leave metrics, the team and the story for later slides.
- Design the cover at 16:9, 1920 × 1080 pixels, and use 4:3 at 1600 × 1200 only when the screen itself is 4:3.
- The website hero is the same 1920 × 1080 frame, so the cover and the hero should share one ground and the same line.
- Set the product name at title size, keep every word at least 80 pixels from the edge, and check contrast before you export.
- Send a screen PDF. A voice-over is optional and only for a narrated file, not for a meeting where you will speak.

A **pitch deck cover slide** should say the product name and what it does, in one 16:9 frame, and then stop. Build it at 1920 × 1080 on the same ground as your site hero, and leave metrics, the team and the story for later pages.

A 16:9 pitch deck cover with Northroom in large type, the line Payroll for small studios, and a seed meeting label on a dark gradient.

The cover: the name largest, one line under it, and the meeting named in small type.

A website hero at 1920 by 1080 using the same dark gradient, the name Northroom, and the same payroll line as the cover.

The site hero, same size and same words, so the deck and the website read as one brand.

Northroom, and the line under it, are an illustration, not a real company. The cover and the hero share those words so the deck and the site look like one brand.

## What a pitch deck cover slide should say

Four pieces, and only four. The name people say. One line a stranger can repeat. A small line for the round, the meeting or the date, and your name if the room needs it. Metrics, the market, the team and the vision are later slides.

| On the cover | Put this | Leave this off |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Product name | The name people say, largest | A legal name nobody says |
| One line | What it does, one sentence | A mission or three benefits |
| Context | Round, meeting or date, small | Confidential as the headline |
| Speaker | Your name and role, small | A team photo grid |
| Ground | The site hero's ground | A palette made only for the deck |

Four pieces fit. A chart or a paragraph belongs on a later page.

Say the line the way you would across a table. Here the name is Northroom, the line is "Payroll for small studios.", the context is "Seed meeting" and the speaker is Ada Shah, founder. A speech about reimagining the back office will not hold on this frame.

> If you need a second sentence to explain the line, the line is not done.

"Seed meeting" or a month and year tells a reader which file this is, once you have more than one deck. Set it at the same small size as your name. Confidential, if a lawyer requires it, goes in the footer, never as the headline.

### Avoid

- A vision paragraph under the logo
- Feature bullets or a traction chart
- Partner logos on page one
- A photo the website does not use
- The name tiny in a corner
- A second slogan beside the line

### Do

- The product name, largest
- One line a stranger can repeat
- Round, date or your name, small
- The website ground, full frame
- Empty space around the name
- The wordmark or a symbol, not both

A spoken deck and an emailed deck follow the same cover rule. Later slides in an email deck need more words, because you are not there to talk: see [slide design tips](https://gradiently.design/guide/slide-design-tips). Name the file with the company and the round, such as Northroom-seed.pdf.

## Cover size: 16:9 at 1920 × 1080

- 16:9, 1920×1080: 1920 × 1080
- 4:3, 1600×1200: 1600 × 1200

Design at 16:9. Use 4:3 only when you already know the screen or projector is 4:3.

1920 × 1080 is 16:9, which matches current laptops, projectors and video calls. [Google Slides page setup](https://support.google.com/docs/answer/3447672) offers Standard (4:3), Widescreen (16:9), Widescreen (16:10) or a custom size for every slide. PowerPoint Widescreen is 13.333 by 7.5 inches, and On-screen Show (16:9) is 10 by 5.625 inches. Both fit this cover. Use 16:10 only for a 16:10 screen.

> **Set the ratio before the type** Changing the ratio later reflows every slide, not just the cover. Pick 16:9, place the name, and leave the file shape alone.

4:3 at 1600 × 1200 is taller and sits between bars on a widescreen display, so use it only when the room is 4:3. [Aspect ratios](https://gradiently.design/guide/aspect-ratios-explained) is why you lock the shape first. Keep type at least 80 to 100 pixels in from every edge, so a crop does not clip the name.

## Type, contrast and the edges

On a 1920 × 1080 slide, a title reads from across a room at about 88 to 112 pixels, and body text wants about 48 pixels or more. Start the name in the title range, keep the one line above body size, and let context be smaller. [Presentation fonts](https://gradiently.design/guide/typography-for-presentations) has the quarter-size check: if the name fails at a quarter of full size, the back row cannot read it. If the name is already the logo, skip a second symbol.

A projector spends some of your contrast. [WCAG contrast guidance](https://webaim.org/articles/contrast/) asks for 4.5:1 on ordinary text and 3:1 on large text, and 3:1 is only the floor for a title. Check ground against type with [colour contrast](https://gradiently.design/guide/color-contrast-accessibility), on a calm area of the ground. Auto ink picks light or dark type from that palette, with no box, blur or shadow.

## Use the same ground as the site hero

The website hero is also 1920 × 1080. Shared ground and a shared line make the cover and the hero one brand. Two palettes make them two projects. [Hero section design](https://gradiently.design/guide/hero-section-design) covers the words and the button on the site. [Website hero backgrounds](https://gradiently.design/guide/website-hero-background) covers the ground. [Brand consistency](https://gradiently.design/guide/brand-consistency) is the habit of repeating both everywhere else.

The hero may add one button. The cover should not copy that button, a logo row or a screenshot. Matching means the ground, the name and the line. The site offers a next step. The cover opens the meeting.

Cover ground: `linear-gradient(118deg, #14110e 0%, #3a2a22 46%, #c47a45 100%)`

A dark ground with a warm light at one side. Keep the name on the calmer, darker end, and the type in a warm off-white.

If the hero is built in CSS, copy the same recipe. It stays sharp at any screen size. Keep the name over the darker end, in a warm off-white.

```css
.hero {
  min-height: 100svh;
  display: grid;
  align-items: end;
  padding: 8vw;
  background: linear-gradient(118deg, #14110e 0%, #3a2a22 46%, #c47a45 100%);
  color: #f4efe8;
}

.hero h1 {
  margin: 0;
  font-size: clamp(3rem, 8vw, 7rem);
  line-height: 0.95;
  max-width: 12ch;
}

.hero p {
  margin: 0.6rem 0 0;
  font-size: clamp(1.25rem, 2vw, 1.75rem);
  max-width: 28ch;
}
```

The cover's colours as a site hero. The name sits low, with room around it, and the line is the only sentence underneath.

In Gradiently that shared ground is a Mark. The cover is one page at 1920 × 1080 wearing it, and the hero can wear it too. Preview your own name on a deck title at [Try on your brand](/try). Anyone can design with a Mark that is still unclaimed.

## Build the cover, then the rest of the deck

1. **Lock the frame** Make the page 1920 × 1080 before any type. That is 16:9. Use 1600 × 1200 only when the screen is 4:3.
2. **Use the site's ground** Use the same colours, or the same Mark, as the website hero. If the site is still blank, design this frame first and reuse it there.
3. **Write the name and one line** Stop when a stranger can say what you do. Here, that is Northroom and Payroll for small studios.
4. **Add context, small** Add the round, the meeting or the date, and your name. Keep it at least 80 pixels from the edge.
5. **Check it from far away** Set the name near 88 to 112 pixels, then view the slide at a quarter size. Fix anything you have to squint at.
6. **Export the file you will send** Export a screen PDF named with the company and the round. Record a voice-over only for a narrated file, and review the clip first.

When the cover holds up small, add later slides as pages in the same Gradiently design so they keep the ground. Slide types are in [pitch deck design](https://gradiently.design/guide/pitch-deck-design). Charts need a quieter field, as in [presentation backgrounds](https://gradiently.design/guide/presentation-backgrounds). Export a screen PDF, which is a Pro export. A print PDF with bleed is for a printer: see [exporting a print PDF](https://gradiently.design/guide/export-print-pdf). A voice-over is optional, also on Pro, and only for a narrated file you review before adding. In the room, you are the voice.

## FAQ

### What size should a pitch deck cover slide be?

16:9 at 1920 × 1080 pixels. That fits widescreen laptops, projectors and video calls. Use 4:3 at 1600 × 1200 only when the screen in the room is 4:3.

### What belongs on a pitch deck title slide?

The product name, one line about what it does, and a small line for the round, the date or your name. Metrics, the team and the story come on later slides.

### Should the cover match the website?

Yes. The hero is the same 1920 × 1080 frame, so share one ground and the same line. [Brand consistency](https://gradiently.design/guide/brand-consistency) is that habit on every other surface.

### Do I need to record a voice-over on the cover?

No. Record one only when you send a narrated file, and review the clip before you add it. In a live meeting, you are the voice.

### What file should I send to investors?

A screen PDF, with the cover as page one, named with the company and the round. Bleed and crop marks are for a printer: see [exporting a print PDF](https://gradiently.design/guide/export-print-pdf).