Content365 Authoring: manage and apply branding

Introduction

Required role: catalog admin during course creation. Course admin can manage branding after the course is created.

The Content365 Authoring brand kit enables you to set up logos, color palettes, and fonts that can be applied to new and existing courses. It also enables you to save custom course themes, helping you to ensure consistent branding across multiple courses. This streamlines your course creation processes by removing the need to recreate design settings for every new course.

In this article, we explore how course and catalog admins can manage and apply branding across Content365 Authoring.

In this article:

• Open the brand kit
• Apply a theme to a course
• Manage logos
• Manage themes
• Manage images

Open the brand kit

1. In a new or existing course, select the theme icon () near the top of the screen.

2. Select Brand kit. The Brand kit panel opens on the Themes section.

Select the relevant section in the left-hand panel.

• Logos. The brand kit logo library is a centralized hub that enables you to upload visual identity logos that you want to display in the bottom left-hand corner of the screen when learners take a course. You can then add them to any of your Content365 Authoring courses. Here, you can view and manage logos, edit logo titles, and add alt text.
• Themes. The brand kit enables you to set up logos, color palettes, and fonts using themes. Themes can be applied to, and used across, new and existing courses. You can apply predefined themes, create custom themes from scratch, and create custom themes based on predefined themes. Creating themes help to ensure consistent branding across your courses, while streamlining your course creation processes by removing the need to recreate design settings for every course.
• Image library. The brand kit image library is a centralized media hub that enables you to upload images once, then add them to any of your Content365 Authoring courses. Here, you can view and manage images you've upload to Content365 Authoring.

Apply a theme to a course

You can change the look and feel of your course using themes. You can choose any of the predefined themes or choose one you've created. You apply the same theme to multiple courses.

You can apply a theme during course creation or when editing an existing one. Your changes are automatically applied across your Content365 Authoring course. When you add a new screen, it inherits your current course theme.

1. In a new or existing course, select the theme icon () near the top of the screen.

If you created the course before March 16, 2026, you'll see the message "You have a theme from our previous version. Before accessing the theme library, choose how to proceed". For information about how to proceed, see this article.

For courses created after March 16, 2026, you can choose a different theme using the theme selector.

Any themes you've already created are displayed in the WORKSPACE THEMES section. Here, the current course theme has a checkmark next to it. Predefined themes are available under PRESET THEMES.

2. Select the required theme.

When you select a theme, the current course is updated with the theme and a checkmark is displayed next to it in the theme selector.

3. Select the theme icon () near the top of the screen to close the selector.

Manage logos

The brand kit logo library is a centralized hub that enables you to upload visual identity logos that you want to display in the bottom left-hand corner of the screen when learners take a course. You can then add them to any of your Content365 Authoring courses. It also enables you to view and manage logos, edit logo titles, and add alt text.

You can upload multiple versions, such as primary and secondary logos, and alternative color versions, to suit different background colors or themes.

You can also upload logos from within a scheme. Any images you upload from within a scheme are displayed here.

1. In the Brand kit panel, select Logos. The Logos section opens.

All logos that have been uploaded to Content365 Authoring are displayed. This includes logos uploaded here and logos added directly to a theme.

2. To upload logos, select Upload files.

3. Locate and select the relevant logos to upload them.

The logos are displayed in the list.

4. To edit logo properties, hover over the relevant logo, select the ellipsis, and select Edit.

The Image details section opens.

5. Edit the image Title and add Alt text, if required.

6. Select Save changes to save and return to the Logos section, or Cancel.

You can delete unwanted logos from your library. You can't delete a logo that has been added to a theme.

7. To delete multiple logos from the library, hover over each logo, then select the checkbox. Select Delete, then confirm by selecting Delete again.

You can also delete individual logos using the previous step, or hover over the relevant logo, select the ellipsis, then Delete.

As you select logos using either method, the number of logos selected is displayed at the bottom of the panel, for example (2) selected.

Manage themes

Required role: catalog admin during course creation. Course admin can edit and manage the course after it's created.

You can create a theme from scratch or from a preset, edit your themes, set a default theme for new courses, and delete themes.

1. In a new or existing course, select the theme icon () near the top of the screen.

2. Select Brand kit. The Brand kit panel opens on the Themes section.

Create a theme from scratch

Creating a custom theme enables you to define specific colors, fonts, and display settings that can be applied to your courses. 

Use this process when you want to design a specific visual style, such as your organization's branding, that dictates how courses look, including buttons, backgrounds, and typography.

1. In a new or existing course, select the theme icon () near the top of the screen.

2. Select Brand kit. The Brand kit panel opens on the Themes section.

3. Select Create theme near the top right-hand corner of the panel.

4. On the page that opens, enter a Theme name.

5. Work through the Colors, Fonts, and Logo sections to customize your theme.

6. Select Save changes, or Cancel.

The new theme is displayed in the Workspace themes section.

Your new theme can be applied to your courses. For more information, see Apply a theme to a course.

Colors

1. Expand the Colors section.

2. To apply colors for the main screens in your course, click in the Accent, Background, and Heading fields and choose the relevant colors using the color pickers, or enter hex codes.

The Accent color relates to actionable and important areas of the screen, such as buttons.

As you change colors, the top preview on the right-hand side of the panel updates to show the selected colors.

3. If you want to apply a different, distinct color scheme for Start and Finish screens, set the Emphasise Start and Finish screens toggle to On. The example of the theme opens on the right-hand side of the panel. If you set this toggle Off, the Start and Finish screens will use the color scheme applied in step 2.

4. For Start and Finish screens, click in the Accent, Background, Heading, and Gradient fields and choose the relevant colors using the color pickers, or enter hex codes.

As you change colors, the bottom preview on the right-hand side of the panel updates to show the selected colors.

5. To change a color, select the relevant color disc and choose an alternative, or enter a hex code.

Fonts

With your preferred theme selected, you can change the font for headings, labels, and body text.

1. Expand the Fonts section.

2. Select the font and style you want to use for Headings and labels from the drop-downs.

3. Select the font and style you want to use for Body text from the drop-downs.

4. Alternatively, you can add custom fonts to your theme for Headings and labels and Body text. To do this:

• Select Add fonts from the respective font drop-down.
• In the opened Upload custom fonts window, either drag and drop your font file into the area or select browse to upload to find and select the file from your local device.
• Apply the style for the custom font.

Logo

You can add a logo that learners see in the bottom left-hand corner of all screens when they take the course.

The selection of logos available depends on the logos you've uploaded to Content365 Authoring. For information about how to upload logos to Content365 Authoring, see Manage logos.

1. Expand the Logo section.

2. To add a logo to your theme, set the Display logo toggle to On.

3. Select a logo from the drop-down.

As you select a logo, the example on the right-hand side of the panel updates.

4. Some logos might look better on a white background. To add a white background, set the Bounding box toggle to On. Set the toggle to Off to remove the box.

5. You should preview the content to see how the logo looks on all screens. For information about how to preview content, see Preview content in this article.

Create a theme from a preset

While you can't edit directly edit a preset theme, you can save one as a custom theme, then edit the custom one.

Creating a custom theme from a predefined one enables you to quickly prepare a new theme based on an existing one.

Use this process if you find a predefined theme that you like and want to change only a few elements. Once created, you can define specific colors, fonts, and display settings that can be applied to your courses.

1. In a new or existing course, select the theme icon () near the top of the screen.

2. Select Brand kit. The Brand kit panel opens on the Themes section.

3. In the Start from a preset section, select the theme from which you want to create a custom theme.

4. On the page that opens, replace the Theme name.

5. Work through the Colors, Fonts, and Logo sections to customize your theme.

6. Select Save as new theme, or Cancel. Alternatively, select Restore to revert to the original settings and return to step 4.

Your new theme can be applied to your courses. For more information, see Apply a theme to a course.

Edit a theme

You can customize themes that admins at your organization have created. 

While you can't edit directly edit a preset theme, you can save one as a custom theme, then edit the custom one. For more information, see Create a theme from a preset.

1. In a new or existing course, select the theme icon () near the top of the screen.

In the theme selector, a checkmark is displayed next to the current theme.

2. Choose the theme you want to edit:

• To edit the theme of the current course, select Edit theme. The current course theme opens in the Themes section of the Brand kit panel.
• To edit the current course theme or any other one, select Brand kit. The Brand kit panel opens on the Themes section. Select the tile of the custom theme you want to edit, or select the ellipsis next to the title of the required theme and select Edit.

For information about how to edit a theme, follow the instructions from step 4 in Create a theme from scratch.

Set a default theme for new courses

You can enforce a standard theme as the default for new courses, which helps to ensure that every new course starts with the correct branding.

If you have only one theme, it will always be marked as the default. You can't delete the default theme.

1. In the Brand kit panel, select Themes. The Themes section opens.

Default is displayed next to the title of the current default theme.

2. Review the available Workspace themes to find the one you want to set as the default. You can't choose a preset theme as the default.

3. Select the ellipsis next to the title of the required theme, and select Set as default. This option isn't available for the current default theme.

The selected theme will be automatically applied to any new courses you create.

Delete a theme

You can delete custom themes, with some exceptions:

• You can't delete a custom theme if it's currently used in a course.
• You can't delete a custom theme if it's the only one displayed in the Workspace themes section.
• Additionally, you can't delete the custom theme that is marked as the default one for new courses. You'll need to make a different theme the default before you can delete this one.

Where only only one custom theme remains in the Workspace themes section, it will always be the default. 

1. In the Brand kit panel, select Themes. The Themes section opens.

Default is displayed next to the title of the current default theme.

2. Select the ellipsis next to the theme and select Delete.

Manage images

The brand kit image library is a centralized media hub that enables you to upload images once, then add them to any of your Content365 Authoring courses. It also enables you to view and manage images, edit image titles, and add tags and alt text.

You can also upload images when you update course content. Images uploaded in this way are saved to the brand kit image library, where they can be reused in other courses. If you remove an image from a course, the image remains in your library.

1. In the Brand kit panel, select Image library. The Image library section opens.

All files that have been uploaded to Content365 Authoring are displayed. This includes images uploaded here and images added directly to a screen, as well as images that were uploaded but not yet added to a screen.

2. To switch the display between icon view () and list view (), select the relevant icon near the top right-hand corner of the panel.

3. To upload images, select Upload files.

4. Locate and select the relevant images to upload them.

The images are displayed in the list.

5. To edit image properties:

• In icon view, hover over the relevant image, select the ellipsis, and select Edit.
• In list view, select the ellipsis (the three dots icon) next to the relevant image and select Edit.

The Image details section opens.

6. Edit the image Title, and add search Tags and Alt text, if required.

7. Select Save changes to save and return to the Image library, or Cancel.

8. You can search for a specific image using all or part of the image title, tags, and alt text. Select and enter your search criteria. Any images that match your search criteria are displayed as you type.

You can delete unwanted images from your library. If you delete an image that has been added to a screen, the image will remain in the screen. However, you won't be able to add it to any screens in future.

9. To delete multiple images from the library:

• In list view, select the checkbox next to the relevant images.
• In icon view, hover over each image, then select the checkbox.

Select Delete, then confirm by selecting Delete again.

You can also delete individual images using the previous step, or:

• In list view, select the ellipsis (the three dots icon) next to the relevant image, then Delete.
• In icon view, hover over the relevant image, select the ellipsis, then Delete.

As you select images using either method, the number of images selected is displayed at the bottom of the panel, for example (3) selected.

Next steps

Any changes you make after initial creation are saved automatically, but only in Content365 Authoring. Changes are applied to the course in Learn365 only when you choose to update the associated content package.

For information about how to update your Learn365 course with changes you've made in Content365 Authoring, see this article.

Content365 Authoring data handling, AI usage, and compliance

For information about data storage, subcontractors, data flows, and AI usage in Content365 Authoring, see this article on the Trust Center.