Course description

Aim:
You will learn to visually communicate your complex research ideas and results so your messages are effortlessly understood by any specific audience (scientists or non-scientists). We will not focus on aesthetics but on how knowledge on human visual perception can help you create effective scientific images, slides, and posters.

You will design a graphical abstract of your research, discuss it with peer scientists in a group exercise, and get actionable advice and feedback on your own images and slides. It is an immersive workshop, comprehensive, structured, memorable, easy to follow, useful and fun.

Takeaway:
You will get feedback on a selection of your figures, slides and posters submitted ahead of the workshop. In an exercise, you will draw a sketch of your research (a graphical abstract) and discuss it with other participants.

Format:
The course consists of

1) A self-study module: A video course, with ~5-6 hours of recorded lectures.
2) Homework: You prepare a selection of your own visual materials (figures, slides). You will receive personalized feedback.
3) A live (online) workshop

About a month before the live workshop, you will receive information about the self-study module and the homework.

Course objectives

Self-study module

• Communicating with scientific vs non-scientific audiences
• Visual perception and what humans find intuitive
• Layout: simplifying comprehension through a structured layout
• Eye-flow: effortlessly guide the audience through the design
• Colors: how to amplify, not ‘fancify’
• Typography for legibility, structure and aesthetics
• Slides that amplify messages and don't distract when presenting
• Posters: strategy and process for creating posters that attract and explain
• Homework: you submit your images and slides for feedback.

Online workshop

• Recap and Q&A: an effective review of self-study topics and optional 1-on-1 consulting with facilitator to address your individual challenges.
• Feedback on submitted materials: you will get actionable suggestions on how to improve your own scientific images and slides.
• Graphical abstract drawing exercise: you will draw a sketch of your research

ECTS

0.5

Available methods of payment

• Projectcode (e.g. ITB)
• Payment by money transfer