The Art and Science of PCB Design:
print-to-motion
promotional poster series
OBJECTIVE
To design a poster (or series of posters) promoting an event involving at least two of the following subjects: science, technology, engineering, math, and art/design; and to create an AR animation for the poster through the Artivive app.
YEAR
Senior
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“The Art and Science of PCB Design” is a short hands-on workshop teaching the ins and outs of designing functional printed circuit boards (PCBs). Organized by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Edgerton Center, which is devoted to providing experiential learning opportunities to the campus, the event is welcome to all levels of experience with PCBs and to students and faculty alike. The posters in the series would be posted around the MIT campus, on bulletin boards or building exteriors, with the purpose of piquing students’ interest and promoting a welcoming environment for all levels of experience with PCBs, including complete beginners.
Each poster contains the same basic information: the title, date and time, and brief summary of the event, as well as a QR link to the signup on MIT’s website and another to a download of the Artivive app, allowing the viewer to easily access the accompanying animation. The type is set in varying weights of Emigre’s Platelet and Modula Serif, with Apercu for the summary copy. The posters feature inductor, capacitor, and resistor illustrations, respectively, and a consistent tricolor scheme relates the series. The tech-y typography contrasts with the soft chalk pastel illustrations, which celebrate the form of the tiny PCB parts and emphasize the artful side of PCB design indicated by the title of the event.
The animation continues the typographic approach of the printed poster, and places the featured PCB component alongside others of all shapes and sizes. The information on the still poster is expounded on with a clear call to action about signup, ending with a small plug for the Edgerton Center (which offers a wide variety of other hands-on extracurricular courses). The featured music is Gabriel Gundacker’s fictional Wii Sports soundtrack song, “Wii Chess in the Park,” which gives the event a sense of fun, lightheartedness, and challenge.