Robot Aesthetic Appeal

[BrendanB]

The simplest things can make your robot look great! While it is a little late for powdercoating or special cnc parts, they aren't the only things that make a robot appealing.

One of my biggest peeves is sponsor stickers. They are the easiest thing to make a robot look unprofessional when they aren't done properly. When cutting out homemade stickers, cut all the white from the edges unless the logo calls for it. I've seen so many robots that take the nasa logo and turn it into a house.

Don't write your sponsors on. Teams that have tape with their number or sponsors just look unprofessional and like an after thought. With some label paper and some basic skills on the computer you can make some really nice homemade sponsors stickers. *

Keep wiring and other items neat and clean. Just like written stickers it looks unprofessional and it is harder to work on. If your team has a few minutes before ship or before you leave the pit on Thursday taking 10-30 minutes to clean up your wiring can have a huge impression.

Lexan/polycarb side panels make for great aesthetic robots when you follow the above rules. 2337's robot that was posted above is a great example of this. Painting or making an entire side of your robot a color/covering can look a little overkill/ugly when not done right.

Under glow/cathodes/LEDs are cool too but remember to make your robot working before aesthetics. Nothing is worse than having a cool powdercoated robot with under glow and a matching cart that doesn't do a thing on the field.

Good luck!

*Microsoft recently came out with Microsoft Publisher which is great tool for making presentations, signs, stickers, etc.