Graphic Design for Print & Digital

The graphic designer's job on an FRC team#

You will produce a steady stream of assets: buttons, sponsor packets, pit banners, award presentation slides, social graphics, and merch. The secret to doing this fast and well is templates plus your brand system.

Tools#

• Canva - the most popular choice for FRC teams (FRCZero notes some teams do nearly all their graphics in Canva); great free templates, easy collaboration, and Canva for Education is free for schools.
• Adobe Illustrator - vector work (logos, anything that scales or prints large).
• Adobe Photoshop / GIMP - photo editing and raster composites.
• Figma - free, collaborative, great for designing templates and web mockups.

Print vs. digital basics#

• Resolution: print needs 300 DPI; screen needs 72 PPI. A logo that looks crisp on a website may print fuzzy if it's a low-res raster - use vectors for print.
• Color mode: CMYK for print, RGB for screen. Colors shift between them, so proof a test print.
• Bleed: for anything printed to the edge (banners, packets), extend artwork ~0.125" past the trim line so there are no white slivers after cutting.

Designing buttons#

Buttons (badges/pins) are FRC currency - teams trade and collect them. The most common size is the 2.25-inch round button. You can outsource them or buy a 2.25" button maker (e.g., American Button Machines) and press your own.

• Design at the press's required template size, which is larger than 2.25" to wrap around the edge - follow the maker's template exactly.
• Keep key art and text inside the safe zone so nothing important wraps around the curved edge.
• Make several designs: your logo, a fun seasonal pin, and a "trade" pin people will want.

Sponsor packets#

A sponsor packet is often the most important document your team produces. Design it to look like a real company brochure: cover with logo, a short team story, your impact numbers, sponsorship tiers with clear benefits, and a contact/call to action. FIRST publishes a Sponsor Packet template and a "How To: Sponsor Relations" guide on its FRC Team Management Resources page. Many teams (e.g., FRC Team 5417) post their own public packets that show tiered benefits and clean layout - study a few before designing yours.

Slides, banners, and social graphics#

• Award/pit presentation slides: clean, few words, big visuals, consistent fonts - the Impact Award guidelines reward presentations that are "compelling" and consistent with your essay.
• Pit banner: large, readable from across the venue, featuring number, logo, and sponsor logos.
• Social templates: make reusable templates for "match win," "meet a member," "thank you sponsor," and "event countdown" so posting is fast and on-brand.

Workflow tips#

• Build a shared Canva or Figma team so everyone uses the same brand kit (colors and fonts pre-loaded).
• Keep editable source files, not just exports, so others can update them.
• Always export both a print (PDF/CMYK) and a web (PNG/RGB) version.