Introduction

Microsoft SharePoint Server 2013 offers a variety of methods to apply styles and branding elements that range from simple configuration settings to custom code-based solutions. Before we explore the more advanced branding capabilities of SharePoint Server 2013, we will cover the basic branding offerings.

At the most basic level, branding and styling SharePoint includes applying one of the included master pages, setting the site logo, applying a color palette, and applying a font scheme. These elements, when combined, comprise a composed look.

Master pages are a feature of the ASP.NET web application framework that SharePoint leverages to provide a consistent look and feel for all pages within a SharePoint site.

Composed looks are stored as list items in the _catalogs/design list of each SharePoint site. Each composed look item contains the master page URL, color palette URL, font scheme URL, background image URL, and display order in relation to other composed looks.

SharePoint 2007 and 2010 each included theming capabilities. However, the theming capabilities in SharePoint 2013 are completely new in how they work and the level of customization they provide.