The McGovern Institute for Brain Research is a community of MIT neuroscientists committed to understanding the brain and to applying this knowledge to improve human health and well-being. For the occasion of its 15th anniversary, an ambitious booklet was created to give current and potential supporters a real sense of the progress that has been made—as well all the progress that is yet to be made.

Instead of creating a standard chronological timeline listing facts, a storyline was created based on discoveries of different size scales from small to large (Genes / Neurons&Synapses / Neural Circuits / Whole Brain Imaging). Four discoveries were identified in each of these four categories. 

An accordion book that opens to 63” wide was chosen as as effective format to illustrate the forward momentum of these 12 discoveries, giving equal weight to each. A series of lines moving from left to right contribute to the forward trajectory. This book can be easily folded into a small 4.5” x 6” book that it can be carried or put in the post.
Ensuring that the focus is never inward, the context of the larger field of neuroscience is also included. A coloured ribbon running along the bottom compares where neuroscience research is today, compared where it was 15 years ago. 

The overall messaging does not require a lot of time or study to understand. Care is always taken to not only highlight the “what,” but also the “why.”