How the Figures Tell the Story: BioInspired Scientific Figure Design Workshop

A scientist’s world consists of not only doing the science, but also communicating the science via multiple types of outlets, seeking funding to do the science, etc. In other words, time is probably a scientist’s most precious resource. Therefore, when reading through papers, many scientists quickly read the title, abstract, introduction, discussion, and look through the figures to determine how relevant a paper is to either their own work or to science in general. So having a set of figures that clearly communicate the story/essence of the paper can be key in helping fellow scientists quickly decide upon its relevance.

This workshop will help students and post-docs learn this important “figures telling the story” concept via a best-practices presentation followed by activities and discussion. Some specific topics include multipanel figures, using Illustrator for scientific figures, and graphical abstracts. The interdisciplinary faculty team of Jessica MacDonald (Biology) and Jen Schwarz (Physics) is facilitating the workshop.

This workshop is part of the BioInspired Graduate Student and Postdoctoral Professional Development Program and counts toward the completion of the Graphic Design badge. Read more about the program here.