Events & Courses

Course overview

Choose a scientific paper and picture it – literally. If it were a single image, what would it look like? This exercise is more relevant than ever. Eye-catching visuals, from graphical abstracts to online article banners, play a key role in communicating science effectively, both within and beyond specialist circles. In a crowded poster hall, a well-designed poster can make you stand out—or blend in. The right illustration can entice a casual science reader to click on your blog post—or pass it by.

So, if visuals are so important for engaging audiences, why don't more geoscientists use illustrations to bridge the gap between themselves and others? Often, the answer is simply, "I can't draw." But what if you could?

This hands-on course, drawing on Dr. Lucia Perez-Diaz's experience as a scientific author and illustrator, will guide participants through the 'less-daunting-than-you'd-expect' process of creating engaging scientific graphics from start to finish. If time permits, participants will spend the last portion of the workshop working on their own scientific illustration – perhaps a graphic for a paper, a conference presentation, or even an eye-catching social media post.

Whilst Lucia is a digital illustrator, this is not a course for learning how to draw with pixels, nor does it require particular pieces of software or prior knowledge. The learnings of this course are applicable to a range of projects, from creating accurate and accessible data visualisations for scientific papers, to illustrating science for children.

At the very least, you'll never lose at Pictionary again!

Who is this course aimed at?

From PhD students to senior professionals.

Most scientists lack training in communicating science despite having a need for communicating their work from the very early stages of their career (be that to peers, the public, or even the media). This makes this course suitable both to those at the start of their careers and those who might want to refresh the ways they approach disseminating (and having fun with) their work.

Although Lucia will use examples from geoscientific topics (because she is a geoscientist herself), this course is applicable for anyone in the sciences, regardless of discipline. It is also relevant to a range of applications. Some attendees might aim to simply improve the figures that accompany their scientific papers, or improve their ability to sketch in the field, whilst others may wish to take the first steps into children's non-fiction publishing. Regardless, the workshop purposely caters for both extremes, as well as the many scenarios in between. The tools Lucia shows, exercises she suggests and tips she shares have been carefully considered so that they have value regardless of what specific graphic a participant may be attempting to create.

Drawing ability isn't a requirement!

Learning objectives

1. Acquire the basic notions of what is required to create engaging stories through graphics (basics of scientific communication, with a focus on visual elements).
2. Develop an understanding of what makes 'successful' graphics (i.e. understand audiences, messaging, clarifying vs. simplifying information).
3. Understand the stages of creating a science-based graphic and how you can adapt them to your own needs, developing an easy-to-follow roadmap that makes the creative process more enjoyable and less daunting.
4. Recognise the ways in which you could widen the reach of your research beyond specialist-only circles, and the benefits of doing so.
5. Become able to identify common pitfalls when visualising scientific information and critically evaluate your own outputs with a view to improve them.

Programme

This course take place on 8 May 2025 at 16:00 BST, and will last for approximately two hours, depending on audience participation.

Speaker

Dr Lucia Perez-Diaz

Lucia is an Earth Scientist and author-illustrator currently based in Oxford, UK. Following completion of her PhD in computational geodynamics in 2017, she spent time as a researcher and teacher at the University of London and the University of Oxford, before moving to industry in 2020.

Lucia's journey into illustration and design started during her PhD studies as a way to open up scientific discovery to broader audiences and convey complex topics in engaging ways. Having spent the best part of the last decade somewhere in the intersection of science and art, she now spends some of her time teaching scientists about the power of visuals for scientific communication. As an author and illustrator, she makes science approachable to diverse audiences—from primary school children to educated adults, as well as the media.

Among her recent projects, she illustrated a card game about geological time called 'QUARTETnary' and is finalising 'How Earth Works', a non-fiction children's book about plate tectonics, set to be published by DK Books in early 2025.

Location

This course will be delivered virtually via Zoom. Joining details will be sent out the day prior, alongside any course materials that may be needed.

Fees

Group Discounts

We offer competitive group discounts on all Training Courses:

5 – 9 delegates: 20% off
10 – 14 delegates: 25% off
15 delegates or more: 30% off

For more information on how to access the Group Discount, please contact [email protected]

Concessions

We offer students a generous discount. Please verify your student status by either registering with your student email address, or uploading a photograph of your student identification/acceptance letter.

The Society offers a limited number of concessionary rates for those in financial hardship. Contact [email protected] (Please note you may be required to provide details/evidence to support your application for this.)

If you require an invoice to register for this course, please email [email protected]

Registration will close 24 hours before the event takes place.

GSL reserves the right to postpone or cancel a Training Course in the event of low interest. In this instance, a full refund will be offered for registration fees.