Sharing scientific data is one way to make the world better. The more we spread information, more likely it is that sooner or later someone discovers newer and better ways of improving our way of life, whether it is in the medicine field, mobility, technology, etc. Nowadays, in the digital age, people demand information more than ever, bringing new challenges for those in the position to share it: in the middle of this enormous melting pot of knowledge, how to make my work stand out?
One of the best ways to make your research eye-catching and interesting for audiences is to present your research through visual elements. It takes a great deal of work and time finding the best way of organizing information to make sense visually, but you will be astonished by how many more people you can impact this way. Here are some tools you can use to present scientific data accurately, efficiently but visually attractive at the same time.
Scientific illustration
Scientific illustration is a more artistic-oriented kind of illustration compared with charts or infographics. They are largely used in medicine (anatomy) and biology, for example, because of the attention to detail and realistic approach. It is the perfect way to render aspects of nature that are still impossible to be understood by audiences with the aid of technology alone. Its purpose is didactic, objective, with the aim to express something that a scientific entity needs to disclose, but keeping an aesthetical side to it. They are mostly used to represent a single object than a sequence of events like a scientific infographic, for example.
Scientific graphs
Graphs are probably the most familiar visual data representations for you. They are excellent to consolidate large amounts of information and show patterns or relationships to an audience. Normally graphs are used to communicate key findings of your investigation and eventually comparisons between groups of elements. The most common types of graphs include:
- Line graph
- Histogram
- Box plot
- Scatter Plot
- Bar Graph
- Pie Chart
Scientific infographic
Infographics are normally used to convey a narrative. They combine icons, simplified illustrations, minimal text and data visualisations to engage the audience to follow a story. It is very common to see infographics communicating with non-academic audiences due to their simplicity: they are very efficient in transforming complex information to primarily visual messages, making it perfectly understandable. Use them in posters, websites, brochures or articles. They also present themselves as a good option for researchers to summarize their research and communicate it to peers without the formalities of a journal article.
Types of infographics:
- Article
- Comparison
- Decision tree
- Flowchart
- Single Graphic
- Timeline
How can an infographic illustrator help?
Let’s Imagine, for an instance, that you are invited to an important conference in your field of work and you have the opportunity to bring your work forward to the public in the form of a poster. Problem: your article is twelve pages long and it is hard for you to imagine all that information displayed in one single piece of paper, as large as it might be. A professional infographic illustrator is someone who is used to translate written data into visual elements in a self-explanatory outcome. Together with him, you can determine the information flow, what to highlight and where, and even decide about more aesthetic aspects like color schemes, fonts, type of illustration. A scientific/academic infographic is an excellent way to show your work in an accessible way, broadening audiences for your research. Take a look at what Elsevier has to offer regarding illustration services. We guarantee aesthetic attention hand in hand with scientific rigor:
Academic Infographics by Elsevier Illustration Services:
- Let Elsevier’s illustrators turn your research into a simple and compelling visual story
- Free quote in 24 hours
- Lead the process with your input and ideas
- Easy preview mechanism lets you communicate directly with the infographic illustrator
- Get inspiration from our image gallery
Find more about Scientific Illustration Services and Academic Infographics
