Durham Beamer Theme

Version: 1.1.0
Author & Maintainer: Suhail Rizwan
License: LPPL 1.3c

Overview

The Durham Beamer Theme is a content-first LaTeX Beamer theme designed for teaching, research, and structured academic presentations.

It prioritizes:

• Structural clarity
  
• Cognitive restraint
  
• Predictable layout behavior
  
• Accessibility support
  
• Minimal visual distraction

Installation

Automatic (TeX Live / MiKTeX)

Install via your package manager, then use:

\usetheme{durham}

Manual (CTAN zip)

Download the package archive and place:

beamerthemedurham.sty

in your project directory or local texmf tree.

Overleaf

Upload beamerthemedurham.sty into your project.

Compilation Engine (LuaLaTeX Required)

The Durham Beamer Theme is designed to be compiled using:

• LuaLaTeX (recommended and expected)
• XeLaTeX (generally compatible)

The theme uses professional font settings and modern font packages. For consistent typography and correct font rendering, compile your presentation with LuaLaTeX.

Compilation with pdfLaTeX is not officially supported and may lead to font substitution or rendering inconsistencies.

Basic Usage

\documentclass{beamer}
\usetheme{durham}

\title{My Presentation}
\author{Author Name}
\date{\today}

\begin{document}

\maketitle
\makeoutline

\section{Introduction}
\subsection{Motivation}

\begin{frame}{Slide Title}
Content here
\end{frame}

\makereferences
\makethankyou

\end{document}

Core Commands

• \maketitle
• \makeoutline[Optional Title]
• \makereferences
• \makethankyou
• \makethankyou[Line1]
• \makethankyou[Line1][Line2]

Theme Options

Supported:

• accessibility
• plain
• invert (only valid together with plain)

Examples:

\usetheme{durham}
\usetheme[accessibility]{durham}
\usetheme[plain]{durham}
\usetheme[plain,invert]{durham}
\usetheme[accessibility,plain]{durham}
\usetheme[accessibility,plain,invert]{durham}

Unsupported:

• invert (i.e., invert without plain)
• accessibility + invert (when used without plain)

Design Notes

• Outline uses bullet-based hierarchy (no numbering).
• Section titles support math.
• Accessibility mode enforces strict black/white palette.
• Plain mode removes headline and footline.
• Invert mode requires plain.
• Thank You page supports defaults and user overrides.

Institutional Disclaimer

The color palette is inspired by publicly visible Durham University branding. This package is an independent academic contribution and is not an official or endorsed Durham University template.

Maintainer

Suhail Rizwan