1/22/2026 - Created a plan & started creating the schematic for the PCB

So, first things first, I created a (very rough) sketch of what I wanted my project to end up being (in Microsoft Paint.....), so here's what this was:

Of course, this is a very rough sketch and doesn't even show electronics or anything, but it's enough for now lol. The main features I want this to have are:

• 3 8x8 LED Matrices (Color doesn't matter to me)
• Reprogrammable so I can display whatever I want
• Scrolling text (Or animations)
• Small/light enough to put on a shirt
• 3D printed case so PCB & electronics arent exposed Once I had this list of things I wanted it to have, I started planning it out. For the LED matrices, I decided to use 3 1088as 8x8 LED matrix. For controlling these, I decided to use the MAX7219 LED display driver chip. Unfortunately, I didn't have any experience with these, so I had to read through documentation and other projects using them to fully understand how to use them. Once I decided on those parts, I started the PCB schematic in KiCad. Today, I got symbols and footprints for all my parts installed and set up. I also set up my LED matrices and MAX7219 symbols so I can have a good starting point.

I found myself at a good stopping point for now, since I've been staring at my computer and documentation for hours now lol. I still have a lot of work to do, but I'm excited for everything, even though I'm expecting a ton of problems. I'm really excited for how this is gonna turn out, I've been wanting something like this since forever :)

1/24/2026 12 AM - Worked on the schematic & added MCU + battery charging

OK, so some pretty big updates. I decided that I wanted my project to be able to be powered by a rechargeable LiPo battery & be able to charge the battery, and be reprogrammed through a USB-C port. I thought a rechargeable battery would be best so that when you wear it, there won't be any wires leading to a power bank or something. I could not for the life of me figure out how to implement this into my circuit by myself, so I did some research on how I would implement this by looking at similar projects and how other people did it. Eventually, I did learn how the circuit works, which I'm happy about. I also decided to use an ATtiny85 as the main MCU in my circuit, which I also did not know how to use :,)
After doing even more research on this kind of microcontroller and how other people used it in their projects, I implemented it into my schematic. I had a lot of fun reading about low-pin-count microcontrollers and how they work, and I was surprised when I learned how much you can do with only eight pins! I'm not quite done with this project, as I still have much more to do until this is considered complete, but I wanted to give an update on everything. I'm having a lot of fun doing all of this, and I can't wait to make it :)

1/24/2026 2 PM - Finished (probably?) the schematic

Ok, so I finally finished the P=CB Schematic (YAY :D). I had to look at other projects to figure out which parts I could use and how to incorporate them into my project. During my research, I decided I wanted to add an indication light and an on/off switch. I also saw some projects using the Adafruit MiniBoost 5V (https://www.adafruit.com/product/4654), so I decided to implement it in my project as well. Unfortunately, I couldn't find an already-made symbol or footprint for this part, so I spent a bit making my own of each to use in my design. As of now, I believe I'm done with my schematic and can begin working on the actual PCB design :D. My next steps are to get my schematic reviewed by some people and get some feedback, and then change what needs to be changed. I'm super excited for next steps and how this project is going :D.

1/24/2026 7 PM - Changed Schematic & Started PCB

So, after doing some schematic review, I made some slight changes to my schematic, but mostly minor stuff. I was now ready to begin the actual PCB :D... Or so I thought. Apparently, 90% of the parts I used didn't have any footprints assigned to them, and half of them I had to find online and download myself, which took a bit. During this time, I made slight changes to the schematic cause I found better symbols to use or better options for components. Here is the completed schematic:

Once every part had a footprint assigned to every part, I could finally start on the actual PCB design. Right now, everything is just thrown onto there and unorganized. My next steps are to rearrange all the parts and begin routing the PCB. I purposely chose certain parts to be through-hole because I suck at surface mount hand soldering :,)
I'm really excited for this part, I like routing PCBs :) I might work on it tonight and do another devlog, or start tomorrow, depending on how tired I am later. Anyways, here's a photo of all my parts for my PCB:

1/24/2026 10 PM - Arranged PCB & changed footprints

So I arranged the PCB to be how I wanted it to be :D I haven't started routing anything yet or anything like that, but I did change some footprints and stuff. I did notice that my capacitors are sooo tiny and would be so hard to hand-solder, so I made them quite a bit bigger and found similar ones online. I am OFFICIALLY (hopefully) ready to start routing the PCB (YAY :DDD).

1/25/2026 1 AM - Routed the PCB

Woohoo!! :D The PCB is finally routed!
Once I laid out all the components, I began routing the PCB and slightly rearranging components to my liking. I decided that I wanted the nametag to look like one of those "Hello, my name is..." nametags, so I added that to the top of the PCB. I did this in ~3.5 hours, so it doesn't look the best, so I'll continue working on making it look better tomorrow lol. It's almost 2 in the morning where I am, so I'm done for today. I had a very fun (and very frustrating) time routing this, and I'm hoping I'm able to get started on the case and firmware pretty soon :D. Anyways, here's my current routing (It's a mess, I know, I'll fix it) and some 3d models of it :D. I'll give more updates tomorrow!

1/25/2026 9 PM - Made the case & made adjustments to PCB

Today I made quite a bit of progress towards my project :D
First, I made some adjustments to the PCB routing (what was I doing at 2 am last night???) and fixed some issues, which only took ~30 minutes.
Later in the day, I began to work on the case for my nametag. The main purpose of the case was to make sure no electronic components were exposed, so I'm not focusing much on aesthetics for now. It took me a bit to figure out how to export and import my PCB 3D model, lol, but I got it figured out. My next steps will be to start writing firmware, which I unfortunately won't be able to test, but will hopefully give me a good starting point for when I do have it. I had a lot of fun making the 3D model though :) Here it is:

1/26/2026 8 AM - Worked on writing firmware

Yesterday and today, I worked on writing firmware to actually make the project work, but unfortunately, I was not able to test to see if it works. About 50% of my code is just an amalgamation of other people's code that they used in their projects, so I have no idea if it works or not lol. From writing it, I think the logic is (probably?) correct and could work (MAYBE?????). Anyways, most of the time spent coding was looking at other projects and trying to apply the same logic to my own code lol. My next steps for this project will be making a BOM and editing my README :D I'm almost done woohoo

1/26/2026 12 PM - Finished project :D

I'm done!! :D Woohoo
I spent time creating a BOM and adding to my README in my repo to satisfy the submission guidelines.
Overall, I had so much fun creating this project, and I can't wait to actually build this. I've been wanting to do this project for so long, but I lacked the money to do so. I can't wait :)

2/3/2026 - Bought the parts

Sorry this is so late, I ordered the parts a couple of days ago, and I thought I should update this.
I received my grant a couple of days ago and bought parts from DigiKey, AliExpress, and PCBWay. As of the time of writing this, they should be getting here around the same time, except for some outliers. I can't wait for things to get here :)

3/3/2026 - FINALLY got the parts

I got the last and final part yesterday (after having to ask for more money for it because I forgot to order it), meaning I now have every part needed to make this! I'll be posting updates on how things are going and my progress
with building my project! I'm really excited :D