Emily Tjan, a second year student in the Master of Science in Biomedical Communications, leads a training session in design strategy for scientists. Photo credit: Tunyalux Langsub
Data2Design (D2D) is a visual science communication workshop developed for scientists, postdoctoral fellows, graduate students and undergraduate trainees.
The free workshop was offered for the first time Friday, June 9, 2023, and held in CDRS (the Collaborative Digital Research Space,) a core facility supported by the UTM Office of the Vice Principal-Research.
D2D is the culmination of a months-long user-centred co-creation process led by Principal Investigator Nicholas Woolridge, associate professor in the Master of Science in Biomedical Communications (MScBMC.)
In the workshop, Woolridge and a team of biomedical communications graduate students addressed an often-overlooked aspect of science communication: the knowledge and skills necessary to create effective images, diagrams, and visualizations targeted at different audiences.
The D2D team began the morning with an orientation to the topic, and a session on defining audiences and communication goals. In the second session, they led the participants in exploring storytelling and thumb-nailing. Finally, they led a session on visual design strategies. All topics had interactive activities associated with them that gave participants an opportunity to apply the principles they were learning.
The D2D team also offered an afternoon design clinic for attendees to seek design advice on their own works-in-progress.
Data2Design was designed and facilitated by MScBMC graduate students Neramy Ganesan, Tunyalux Langsub, Samantha Li, Anaïs Lupu, Nadine Tan, Emily Tjan and Amy Zhu, and Research Associate Ke Er Amy Zhang. Extra design and facilitation support was contributed by MScBMC graduate students Andrew Janeczek, Viktoriya Khymych, Brendan Lazar, Xinyi Li, Vadim Lytvynov and Avila Sanchez.
D2D was made by possible by an NSERC PromoScience grant, and with an in-kind contribution and support from the service design consultancy Bridgeable.
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Web sites referenced above.
Nicholas Woolridge’s research web site: https://www.nickwoolridge.xyz/
Collaborative Digital Research Space: https://www.utm.utoronto.ca/cdrs/
NSERC funds training in visual education of researchers: https://bmc.med.utoronto.ca/news-events/2020/10/visual-education-researchers