How to Round Corners in Google Slides: Complete Guide

Learn how to round corners in Google Slides using both the simple yellow handle method and the advanced Edit Points feature. This guide explains how to adjust the corner radius, round specific corners, and create custom curved shapes for modern slide designs. Perfect for creating professional presentation cards, section dividers, and visually polished layouts in Google Slides.

Introduction

When you’re crafting a presentation, small design details can make a big impact. One simple yet effective technique is rounding the corners of images and shapes in Google Slides. This subtle tweak softens sharp edges, creates a modern look, and instantly makes your slides feel more polished and visually engaging—whether you’re designing a business report or a creative deck.

In this guide, we’ll cover everything you need to know: understanding rounded corners, which shapes and images support them, how to apply and customize them, why they enhance visual design, and how to troubleshoot common issues. By the end, you’ll be able to use rounded corners strategically to create cleaner, more professional presentations.

Understanding Rounded Corners in Google Slides

Rounding the image corners in your Google Slides presentation is a design choice that swaps harsh, sharp corners for smoother, curved edges. Instead of a standard square or rectangle, you use a shape mask, like a rounded rectangle, to give your visuals a more polished and modern look.

This small adjustment can significantly impact how your audience perceives your content. The level of roundness can be customized, allowing you to create a subtle softening effect or a more dramatic, fully rounded appearance. It’s a simple way to add a professional touch to your Google Slides templates.

Why Rounded Corners Enhance Visual Design:

• Create a softer, more modern look that feels clean and professional.
• Improve visual flow by reducing harsh edges that distract the eye.
• Make content feel more approachable, especially for team photos and testimonials.
• Enhance readability by framing text and visuals more gently.
• Support modern UI-inspired design trends commonly seen in apps and websites.
• Add subtle depth when combined with shadows and spacing.
• Increase visual consistency when used uniformly across slides in Google Slides.
• Help highlight key elements like callouts, product images, or data points.

Small design tweaks like rounded corners can dramatically improve your slide design. If you’re working in PowerPoint, explore our complete guide to adding borders in PowerPoint to enhance your presentation styling further.

Which Shapes and Images Support Rounded Corners in Google Slides?

In Google Slides, several shapes and visual elements allow you to apply rounded corners easily using built-in tools.

Shapes That Support Rounded Corners

• Rounded Rectangle – Fully adjustable using the yellow handle
• Basic Rectangle – Can be converted and adjusted for rounded edges
• Some callout boxes – Limited corner adjustment depending on style

Note: Not all shapes (like stars, arrows, or complex symbols) support corner radius adjustments.

Images That Support Rounded Corners

• Photos and uploaded images – Use Crop → Mask → Rounded Rectangle
• Profile pictures – Great for team or testimonial slides
• Product images – Ideal for modern, UI-style layouts

When you apply a rounded rectangle mask to an image, you can adjust the curve using the yellow handle to control the roundness visually. The same masking technique is also used when cropping a picture into a circle in Google Slides, since both rely on shape-based image formatting.

Pro Tip

For a clean and professional look, use consistent roundness across all shapes and images in your presentation. Mixing sharp and rounded edges randomly can make slides look inconsistent.

Rounded corners Google Slides are simple to apply — but when used thoughtfully, they instantly elevate your slide design.

Getting Ready to Round Corners: What You’ll Need

Before you start transforming your round corners Google Slides, here’s the good news: you don’t need anything complicated. Everything required to round corners is already built into the platform.

Below is a clear breakdown of what you’ll need.

Google Account & Device Requirements

• A Free Google Account: This gives you access to:
  • Google Drive (where your presentations are stored)
  • The full Google Slides feature set
  • Automatic saving (no lost work)
• A Compatible Device: You only need:
  • A desktop or laptop
  • An updated browser (Chrome, Firefox, or Safari)
  • A stable internet connection

Since Google Slides is web-based, no software downloads are required.

Prepare Your Images

Before you begin:

• Keep images saved on your computer or
• Store them in Google Drive for easy access

Tip: A stable internet connection helps when uploading large image files.

Do You Need Add-ons?

For basic rounded corners:

• No add-ons required
• The built-in Crop & Mask tool works perfectly

For advanced customization, you may consider third-party tools.

In most cases, though, Google Slides’ built-in tools are more than enough to round corners quickly and easily.

How to round diagonal corner in Google Slides?

To round diagonal corner in Google Slides, you’ll need to use the Edit points feature — since Slides doesn’t have a direct “round one corner only” button.

Here’s the step-by-step method 

Using “Edit Points” (Best for One Diagonal Corner)

• Step 1: Insert a Shape
  • Go to Insert → Shape
  • Choose a rectangle (or any shape you want)
• Step 2: Convert to Editable Points
  • Select the shape
  • Right-click → Edit points
  • You’ll now see small blue dots (anchor points).
• Step 3: Round the Diagonal Corner
  • Click the diagonal corner point you want to round
  • Drag the small handles attached to that point
  • Adjust the curve until it becomes rounded
• Tip: Hold and drag slowly for smoother curves.
• Step 4: Click Outside to Finish: Once you’re happy with the curve, click anywhere outside the shape.

How to Round Corners in Google Slides: Step-by-Step Guide

Rounding corners in Google Slides is a simple way to give your shapes, images, and design elements a softer, more modern look. Whether you’re designing a professional presentation, social media mockup, or marketing slide, a box with rounded corners instantly enhances visual appeal. Here’s how to do it step by step.

Method 1: Round Corners of Shapes

1. Open your presentation in Google Slides.
2. Click Insert → Shape and choose a shape (like a rectangle).
3. Select the shape on your slide.
4. Look for the yellow diamond handle (adjustment handle).
5. Drag the yellow handle inward to increase the roundness of the corners.

The more you drag, the rounder the corners become.

Method 2: Use a Rounded Rectangle Shape

1. Go to Insert → Shape.
2. Choose the Rounded Rectangle option directly.
3. Resize the shape as needed.
4. Adjust the yellow handle to control the corner radius.

This method is perfect if you already know you want rounded edges.

Method 3: Round Corners of Images

To create round image corners Google Slides:

1. Insert your image (Insert → Image).
2. Select the image.
3. Click the Crop dropdown arrow in the toolbar.
4. Choose Mask Image → Rounded Rectangle.
5. Adjust the yellow handle to fine-tune the roundness.

This works great for profile pictures, product images, or testimonial slides.

Pro Tips

• Combine rounded shapes with soft shadows for a modern UI-style design.
• Use consistent corner radius across slides for a clean, professional look.
• Rounded corners work especially well in minimalist and corporate presentations.

By mastering rounded corners in Google Slides, you can instantly elevate the design quality of your slides without using any advanced tools. Small design tweaks like this make a big difference in how polished and professional your presentation feels.

Customizing Rounded Corners: Tips and Tricks

• Keep corner radius consistent across slides for a clean, professional look.
• Use subtle rounding for corporate decks; avoid overly curved edges unless it fits your brand style.
• Match rounded corners with spacing — add enough padding inside shapes so content doesn’t feel cramped.
• Pair with soft shadows to create depth and a modern UI-style effect.
• Use rounded images for profiles (team slides, testimonials, speakers) to make slides feel more approachable.
• Align rounded shapes properly using guides and gridlines to maintain visual balance.
• Avoid mixing sharp and rounded elements randomly — choose one style and stay consistent.
• Test different roundness levels visually since Google Slides doesn’t allow numeric radius input.
• Use templates with pre-designed rounded elements to save time and maintain design consistency.

If you’re working with multiple rounded shapes, grouping them keeps your layout aligned and consistent. Learn how to group and ungroup elements in Google Slides for better control.

Troubleshooting Common Issues with Rounding Corners

• Yellow adjustment handle not visible?: Make sure the image or shape is selected. If it’s grouped, ungroup it first before adjusting.
• Mask option not showing?: Confirm you’re using the Crop dropdown → Mask Image inside Google Slides — clicking only the crop icon won’t show shape options.
• Corners not rounding on a shape?: Some shapes don’t support adjustable corners. Use a Rounded Rectangle instead of a standard rectangle.
• Roundness looks uneven?: Reset the mask and reapply the rounded rectangle for a cleaner result.
• Image looks stretched after masking?: Double-click the image and reposition it within the mask to maintain proper proportions.
• Can’t adjust the corner radius numerically?: Google Slides does not support numeric radius input — you’ll need to adjust visually using the handle.
• Image quality drops after editing?: Upload a higher-resolution image to avoid pixelation when resizing or masking.
• Corners disappear after resizing?: Re-adjust the yellow handle after resizing, as scaling can affect the visual curve.

These quick fixes should help you solve the most common corner-rounding issues in seconds.

Conclusion

In summary, rounding corners in Google Slides is a simple yet effective way to enhance your visual presentations. With just a few adjustments, you can give shapes and images a cleaner, more modern appearance. When paired with strong layout choices, consistent typography, and balanced colors, small design details like rounded corners can significantly elevate your slides.

In fact, many of these visual improvements align with broader principles that help make Google Slides look good, especially when you focus on structure, spacing, and cohesive styling across your presentation.

With these techniques in place, you’re well-equipped to create polished, professional slides that truly stand out.

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