If you use Microsoft Teams for collaboration and virtual meetings, you may want to make your own branded background for this platform. It is easy to create a Teams virtual background of an office environment that includes space for a custom logo. Learn how to customize a branded background that you can use in Teams.
Choosing Your Backgrounds
Selecting a design is the first step towards creating a branded background. You can choose from nine free virtual office backgrounds or 24 premium backgrounds. Based on your user license, you may have access to one free or premium background or a package of premium backgrounds. When choosing a background, it is a good idea to consider the occasions on which you plan to display the background.
A virtual office background of a conference room environment can be ideal for calls and meetings in which other attendees will make contributions. If you choose a conference room background, you may also want to use Zoom icebreakers for large groups to invite participation during calls and meetings on Teams. Backgrounds with fewer chairs can direct the attention of participants towards a primary presenter.
Importing Your Logo
You can customize Microsoft Teams or Zoom office backgrounds by importing your company logo. Choose a high-resolution image file with a transparent background and upload the logo to see how it looks on a virtual office background. For the best results, you should save your logo as a PNG image file.
If the logo you upload appears blurry or pixelated, you should use a higher resolution version of the image for branded virtual backgrounds. You can remove the opaque background from a logo by using an image editing application or a free online service. Once your logo looks good in the background, you are ready to save your branded virtual office and set it as the default background for Microsoft Teams video calls and meetings.
Setting Your Background
You can set up a branded background to display in Microsoft Teams by opening a new meeting and clicking on the icon with three dots. The option to “Show background effects” should appear in the menu on systems and clients that support using virtual backgrounds. Add a new background from the menu on the right side of the screen.
Teams supports the use of PNG, JPG or BMP image files as backgrounds. The abstract stock images that you select will appear as a mirror image on your screen but will appear normally to attendees. Once you select a branded background, this image will appear on all calls and meetings until you take these steps to set a different virtual background.
You can create a free custom background with a watermark, get a single user license for one fully custom background or invest in a premium package of background designs to be able to change your virtual surroundings and add a logo to any background. You can also get user licenses for employees who participate in virtual meetings or video calls for more consistent branding.