How to give a scientific presentation: Design Tips

Artist, graphic designer and oceanographer. Eric Heupel shares his experience in designing effective scientific communication in visual mediums.
As scientists, researchers and innovators we have two jobs - do the science and communicate the science. We receive a great deal of training and experience to conduct research and innovation, but, except for journal publications, little to no training in communicating science, especially to divergent groups of stakeholders or audiences. While graphics design is a full-time pursuit, there are a number of core ideas and techniques that can help all of us create more engaging power point slides and posters that will in turn help us communicate more effectively to all audiences.
PhD candidate Eric Heupel has worked for over 20 years for a variety of major companies as a freelancer, artist, graphic designer, and animator before returning to study Oceanography. He serves as the graphics editor for the Journal of Shellfisheries Research, designed book covers and book layouts for half a dozen science books and contributed scientific illustrations and graphics for leading scientist’s publications in Nature, Science, and PNAS, among others. These illustrations have also appeared in the New York Times and Washington Post. Eric’s research is broadly in seascape and landscape ecology issues, primarily benthic ecology, larval ecology and has recently been involved with using remote sensing to assess marshlands. For fun Eric makes fantasy maps, illustrations, practices illuminated manuscript techniques, brews beer and gardens using regenerative microbial techniques.