Fritzing's Graphic Standards

Fritzing's parts share the same graphic styles, colors and fonts. You should make sure to design your part according to the following standards. Please download our fonts and graphic templates before you start designing your part. 

1. BreadBoard View Graphics
2. Schematic View Graphics
3. PCB View Graphics
4. File Naming Conventions

1. Breadboard View Graphics

Colors

Fonts

Fritzing uses two types of fonts for parts in the Breadboard View:

For ICs: OCR A  
For other parts: OCR A or Droid Sans

When using a different font, please converted the text into paths, otherwise it won't be compatible with Fritzing.

The standard font size is 5pt and font color 10% Black (RGB 230 230 230).

Download Fonts

Grid & Dimensions

In order to fit into the breadboard, Fritzing parts must be designed with a fixed distance of 0.1 inch between the connector pins (legs).
Legs dimensions should be 0.03 inch wide and at least 0.03 long.

We recommend downloading and using our templates or the breadboard SVG as a reference while designing graphics for the Breadboard View.

2. Schematic View Graphics

Colors

The Schematic View uses only the color black (HEX 000000 / RGB 0 0 0).

Fonts

In the Schematics View, Droid Sans is used in different sizes according to the following hierarchy:

Part Name (18 points)
Pin Label (10 points)
Pin Group (10 points)
Pin Character (7 points) - for example PWM

When using a different font, please converted the text into paths, otherwise it won't be compatible with Fritzing.

Download Fonts

Grid & Dimensions

The fixed distance between the connector pins in the Schematic View is 7,5 mm.
Connectors dimensions should be 2,4 points thick and 7,5 mm long.

We recommend downloading and using our templates as a reference while designing graphics for the Schematic View.

3. PCB View Graphics

Colors

The PCB View uses the following colors:

Fonts

Adding and editing text on your PCB can be done in three different ways:

1. By editing a part's label directly in Fritzing. Fritzing uses a standard font and the text will not be included when exporting to gerber.
2. By adding text after exporting to PDF (for DIY production).
3. By adding text on the silkscreen layer of the PCB SVG.

Dimensions

A Part's dimensions and distance between connector pins in the PCB View should be exactly as in the real world. This is extremely important for a successful pcb production. We highly recommend checking a part's dimensions in its datasheet.

Here are a couple of things to keep in mind:

1. The stroke of a footprint should be at least 0.5mm (20mils) thick, otherwise the connection might be ruined while drilling and soldering will be much harder.
2. The hole itself should be at least 1mm (40mils) thick, so you would actually need to create a circle which is at least 1.5mm wide in diameter, because half of the stroke is drawn inside the circle.
3. If your part fits on the breadboard, the distance between the footprints should be 5mm (100mils) long.

We also recommend downloading and using our templates as a reference while designing graphics for the PCB View.

4. File Naming Conventions

While it is possible to name files however you like, it helps to stick to a standard naming convention.  These names should clearly describe the important attributes of a part and follow the order described here.  By using standard names you make it easier for you and other users to find and reuse existing graphics.  Although most description parameters are optional, it helps to provide as much detail as possible.

Breadboard and schematic images:

part#_description_package_pins_spacing_color_view.svg

For example an Atmel ATmega168 microcontroller in a narrow (300mil), 28 pin DIP package would have the following file name for the  breadboard SVG file:

atmega168_microcontroller_DIP_28_300mil_breadboard.svg

PCB footprint SVGs follow a slightly different convention:

package_pins_spacing_pcb.svg

A PCB footprint SVG should only describe the industry standard "package" and not be tied to a specific part, unless the part has a unique specific footprint.  In the case of our ATmega168, it uses an industry standard 28 pin narrow (300mil) DIP package, so the SVG file would be named as follows:

DIP_28_300mil_pcb.svg

Note: Many industry standard footprint graphics are already inside fritzing.  It is usually best to check and make sure someone hasn't already created the PCB footprint SVG that you need.  This saves you time and makes parts more consistent.