The Canvas Overlay Designer allows you to brand your virtual event map by adding featured images, badges, sponsor logos, and custom graphics with precise positioning controls.
Accessing the Canvas Designer
- Navigate to Manage Virtual Event
- Go to the "Canvas Design" tab
- Ensure you have selected a virtual route first
- The canvas will display your route background
- Start adding overlay elements
Adding Overlay Elements
You can add multiple types of overlays to your virtual map:
- Featured Images: Hero images or promotional graphics
- Event Badges: Achievement badges or completion medals
- Sponsor Logos: Display sponsor branding with optional links
- Custom Graphics: Any PNG/JPG image to enhance your design
- Click "Add New Overlay" button
- Select overlay type
- Upload your image (PNG, JPG, max 2MB recommended)
- The overlay appears on the canvas ready to position
Positioning & Transforming Overlays
Each overlay can be precisely positioned and styled:
- Drag & Drop: Click and drag overlay to move it
- Resize: Drag corner handles to resize (hold Shift for proportional)
- Rotate: Use rotation handle or enter exact degrees
- Opacity: Adjust transparency from 0% (invisible) to 100% (solid)
- Lock: Lock position to prevent accidental changes
- Z-Index: Control which overlays appear on top
Layer Management
Organize your overlays with layer controls:
- Layer Panel: View all overlays in a list
- Visibility Toggle: Show/hide individual overlays
- Bring to Front / Send to Back: Reorder layer stack
- Group Overlays: Organize related elements together
- Delete: Remove overlays you no longer need
Alignment & Precision Tools
- Snap to Grid: Enable grid snapping for precise alignment
- Alignment Guides: Visual guides when dragging near center or edges
- Numeric Inputs: Enter exact X/Y coordinates, width, height
- Keyboard Shortcuts: Use arrow keys for fine 1-pixel adjustments
- Aspect Ratio Lock: Maintain proportions when resizing
Preview Modes
Preview how your design looks on different devices:
- Desktop Preview: Full 1920x1080 view
- Mobile Preview: 375x667 portrait view
- Toggle Edit/Preview: Switch between editing and participant view
- Live Simulation: See exactly what participants will see
Saving & Templates
- Click "Save Canvas Design" to apply to your event
- Optionally "Save as Template" to reuse design
- Load templates from your saved presets
- Export configuration as JSON for backup
- Import JSON to restore or share designs
Adding Clickable Sponsor Logos
Make sponsor logos clickable to drive traffic to their websites:
- Add sponsor logo overlay to canvas
- Select the overlay in the layer panel
- Enter sponsor website URL in the Link field
- Logo becomes clickable in participant view
- Test the link in preview mode
Design Best Practices
- Don't obscure important route elements like milestones
- Use subtle opacity (60-80%) for background graphics
- Keep sponsor logos small and in corners
- Ensure text overlays have good contrast
- Test on mobile - what looks good on desktop may not fit mobile
- Use high-resolution images to avoid pixelation
- Limit overlays to 5-7 elements for clean design
- Maintain consistent branding across all overlays
Performance Tips
- Optimize images before uploading (compress large files)
- Use PNG for logos/graphics with transparency
- Use JPG for photos and complex images
- Keep individual files under 500KB when possible
- Total canvas size should stay under 2MB
- Test loading speed in preview mode
What Participants See
Once published, participants will see:
- All visible overlays rendered on the virtual map
- Clickable sponsor logos (if links added)
- Overlays scale responsively on mobile devices
- Design appears consistently across browsers
- Overlays don't interfere with map interaction