Scientific visualization in publications

This workshop will provide an introduction on how to efficiently create professional scientific visualizations for your research. We will discuss the reasons why – despite a wealth of computational tools to automatically generate plots and images – scientists have to be skilled at communicating science visually. We will learn about the different use cases for vector graphics software, and why it is an essential tool in the modern scientists’ toolbox. After a short overview on graphics design principles, we will dive into a hands-on walk-through of a sample scientific illustration, and thus become aquainted with Adobe Illustrator. We will then discuss a few different use cases that go beyond an illustration: integration and modification of imagery from other sources, when to use Adobe Photoshop, compositing, and providing context for existing visualizations. You are encouraged to work on a figure for a publication relevant to your research after the first day of the workshop. Feedback on individual figures will be provided on the second day of the workshop.

• You will know how to apply visual design principles to guide your process of creating scientifc illustrations
• You will learn the basics of Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop, applicable to scientific visualization
• You will start to appreciate the power, control and flexibility that vector graphics software can add to your figure creation workflow
• You will be able to transform out-of-the-box visualizations of your data into a figure ready to be submitted to a journal
• You will know which technical pitfalls to avoid (file formats, color spaces and image resolution, text, etc.)

TBA