Canvas Credentials Step 1 of 5: Create a Custom Badge

Digital badges are an engagement strategy educators can design to reward learning achievements beyond standard academic credits earned through coursework. Badges are great for skills, bootcamps, internships, volunteer work, student organizations, and more. They are easier to distribute than printed awards and allow learners to share their achievements in portfolios, resumes, or social media. This guide explains how to design a custom badge using PowerPoint that meets accessibility standards and Canvas requirements.

Accessible Design Considerations

Badges are often displayed as small as 90px by 90px, which is 1-inch square. Ensure your design is legible and meets WCAG standards for digital content:

Ensure high color contrast between text and background.
Select a font that's clear and large enough to be read easily in a 1-inch space.
Choose simple icons that represent the context of your badge.

Badge Image Requirements

Canvas Credentials requires all badges to be square with equal width and height:

400px x 400px is recommended
4.17 inch x 4.17 inch is the 400px equivalent
PNG or SVG format only
Canvas attempts to resize PNG with any dimension larger than 400x400
Canvas does not resize SVG
Ensure clarity at 90x90 (1 inch) for optimal visibility and effectiveness of the badge in various online contexts.

Create an Image with PowerPoint

If you prefer a simpler option than using PowerPoint or another image tool, you can design a badge directly in Canvas instead.

Consider starting with the attached pptx 4-inch square design template.
Add layered shapes, lines, and icons to create a badge structure.
Insert a text for a title.
Right-click the image to Save as Picture to create a PNG image and chose a folder to save to.
Insert the image back into the slide to downsize to 1 inch and check your work.