Designing + Importing Custom Artwork

This article will show you how you can create and import your custom artwork into Pebble. 

To demonstrate this, we're going to use a design software called Canva. 

Size Of Your Design (Postcards)

When creating your design, keep in mind the length and width of your postcard. Because postcards are printed on a larger sheet, and then trimmed to size, you always need to take into account the trim size so your design will fit within the margins for printing. 

So if you are looking to create a 9" x 6" inch postcard, you'll need to add a margin of a quarter of an inch so that once it is trimmed it will then end up being the correct size which is 9" x 6" inches.  

Here are the design document sizes you'll need to create when working with your choice of graphic design software:

9" x 6" Postcard needs to be a 9.25" x 6.25" design

6" x 4" Postcard needs to be a 6.25" x 4.25" design

Designing Your Artwork

After you have set the size of your postcard, you can now proceed to design. When it comes to designing, you need to think of your design in layers. So, if you want the property map to show up as the background, behind elements and text, you will need to allot space in your artwork as to where you want to place the map image to show up.

Because Pebble will place the map image as the bottom layer (Background) and not your graphic design software, make sure you keep the map area (or any other area in which Pebble is going to display an image as the bottom layer) as a transparent area so that will be visible.

In order to keep an area transparent, simply make sure there are no design elements in that area. 

Once you are happy with your design, you can download or export your artwork as a hi-resolution PNG file format, as PNG allows for transparency. Formats like JPG will convert any transparent area into a white area which will not allow you to show anything below the image you've created in Pebble.

Importing to Pebble

Now that you have downloaded your artwork in PNG format, you are now ready to import it to Pebble.  

You can add more elements such as custom placeholders and more text to your postcard using Pebble's document editor. 

You can then insert the "Property Map" placeholder and set it as a background. 

Then add the next layer which is your artwork by clicking on the Artwork icon. 

Set it as a background and just choose whichever dimension you want to put as you can adjust it once the artwork has been imported.