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Circuit boards are increasingly being made to be seen. Whether they're personal or commercial, many projects show off their PCBs in an array of shapes, colours and sizes instead of hiding them in enclosures.
While making an electronic design work correctly and making it look amazing are not conflicting goals, they do require very different skillsets.
If you are not one of the rare people whose expertise spans both graphic and electronic design, it may feel very daunting to collaborate with someone who has a very different skillset. You must figure out what you don't know about each other's fields, what the other needs to know, and find the right language to bridge that divide.
We will share our experience of working together as circuit designer and artist, and will talk about:
- the possibilities and constraints of modern PCB technology as a medium for visual art
- turning a functional electronic design into an artistic playground
- our experience of communicating across fields of expertise, developing a common language and conveying essential ideas without getting in each other's way
- some fantastic free software for art and electronic design
- sample workflows for embellishing circuits
- what PCB design software and manufacturers expect and how to get away with doing "weird" things
- many examples of beautiful things we and others have made
We hope this will inspire and encourage you to make your own beautiful collaborative designs a reality.