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Kamis, 26 Juni 2014

Latest modern science | Link roundup for June 2014 - Si Bejo Science

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Points for honesty. Hat tip to Alan Rice.


The Science of Comic Sans is an interesting article on research about type, and how type has, for lack of a better word, �personality.� (Comic Sans is apparently the Upworthy-esque keyword that makes people click links about type.) Hat tip to Mary Canady.

Studies done in the past decade or so have identified the range of type traits with more precision. Broadly speaking, serif types are more focused and organized and calm than sans serifs � and much more than scripts. Rounder types elicit happiness; sharper types, anger. Odd spacing can be interesting but aggressive; consistent spacing feels professional but boring. Some work argues that most typefaces can fit into three personality groups: elegant, friendly, and direct.

It seems a little early to do a �2014 trends� article, but here�s one on logo design this year (so far). I had no idea pom pom logos were big this year. Hat tip to Mike Weytjens.


�Then� and �now� in design always make for interesting points of comparison. How does the humble pop can fare? Not to well, alas. Hat tip to Sleestak.


This painted type is here purely as eye candy.


Kamis, 29 Mei 2014

Latest modern science | Link roundup for May 2014 - Si Bejo Science

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Here are some posters to help you learn about typography, like this one:


Biochem Belle peers into the future:

Looks for poster tubes boarding flight. How will we spot science conference goers when posters go fully digital?!

Remember, talking to people with poster tubes in the airport lobby is a great way to network!

And Jeremy Berg peers into the past:

Last time I made a poster myself, it involved much more rubber cement.

Katie delivers five great tips for how to mingle at conferences at her blog, Sickness is Fascinating.

Don't be afraid to mention random or only tangentially-related things if you're getting the vibe that these people you just met a few minutes ago would totally appreciate learning about the International Mustache Film Festival or seeing a picture of the awesome mullet you sported in kindergarten.

Kamis, 24 April 2014

Latest modern science | Link roundup for April 2014 - Si Bejo Science

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I�ve blogged about digital posters from time to time, but I have yet to see or hear them done well. Das Terminal is apparently trying to position itself for the inevitable future of posters on screens instead of paper (hat tip to Peter Casserly). Here�s some of their screens:


I�m not sure of the industrial location they chose to photograph their product places it in the friendliest, or gives the impression of something contemporary or forward-looking.

This is a very interesting article about how your colour choices affect how people interpret your data.

When colors are paired with the concepts that evoke them, we call these �semantically resonant color choices.� ...(S)emantically resonant colors can enable you to take advantage of familiar existing relationships, thus requiring you to use less conscious thought and speeding recall. Non-resonant colors, on the other hand, can cause semantic interference: the colors and concepts interfere with each other(.)

Here�s an example:



Hat tip to Nancy Duarte and Harvard Business Review.

Poster Session alerts PowerPoint users to some weirdness in how PowerPoint renders purples.

The reason is that PowerPoint works in the RGB color space, and the interpretation of RGB into the CMYK colors that a printer uses is not always what it should be.

A nominee for �Best poster title of the year�:



Heh. Jon Tennant says, �Just decided this is going to be the layout for every future poster presentation I give�:


Empathy with the user! That�s the heart of Justin Kiggin�s great answer to, �Why do scientist still read PDFs of papers instead of web versions?� Because publishers keep doing this to their HTML versions:


It�s the logo problem all over again. Stop giving us irrelevant stuff.

Here�s a nice set of answers on Quora over how professionals choose different typefaces. Here�s an excerpt from the top rated answer:

�How do I choose the right font� is such a simple question yet there are so many ways to answer it. ... As a designer, you are (or should be) always paying attention to design in your environment and media. If you notice a cool typeface in something, like a movie poster or a billboard, see if you can track it down later using Google searches or WhatTheFont, so you can add it to your arsenal for future use.

Also includes a link out to bad type choices.

For some weird, strange reason, academics seem to love Comics Sans. I don�t think it�s the right choice for most academic purposes, but, if you insist on that style of typeface, why not at least get cleaned up version of it? Presenting Comic Neue, a much improved version of the most maligned typeface. (I still don�t like the serif on the capital C.) Hat tip to Mary Canady.


But an even better choice? Use typefaces created by professional comic letterers!

Kamis, 27 Maret 2014

Latest modern science | Link roundup for March 2014 - Si Bejo Science

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Hood Scientist takes a look at the making of this cool wanted poster:


I�m also grateful to the link to this post on making chemistry posters. It includes this video. The advice is generally sound, though I have misgivings like it assuming you will use PowerPoint (get a real graphics editor, folks!) and advising adding institution logo (although it doesn�t use the dreaded bookend).


This blog is mainly geared towards scientists, but it uses the crafts and tools developed by graphic design. Ben Lillie makes a similar case: scientists should look outside their own fields to see what others have learned, particularly in science communication. And a poster is just a communication tool, after all:

(C)ommunicating science, fundamentally, isn�t very different from communicating anything else. It isn�t easy, but the answers are out there. The textbooks are already written. ...

I believe in the value of expertise. There are people who�ve dedicated their lives to learning and teaching how to connect and communicate. Why wouldn�t we avail ourselves of that?

A menu has some interesting parallels with a poster: you both have to contain a lot of information in a logical structure that people can find. This article looks at the redesign of the menu at IHOP:

The menu IHOP ended up launching ... prioritizes images over text, with large pictures of food offerings studding the menu�s pages. It also offers color-coding�a feature meant, in part, to draw the eye toward certain food offerings and categories. Perhaps the most important change from the previous menu, though, was a grouping system that categorized food items into neat culinary taxonomies: pancakes on this page, omelettes on this one, etc.

Hat tip to Emily Anthes.

I am often telling people to leave more space on posters. Here�s a brilliant case of using space to make a point:


Hat tip to Amanda Bauer and Stephanie Stamm.

TED provides a list of ten quotes about design. I particularly like this one:

�If anybody here has trouble with the concept of design humility, reflect on this: It took us 5,000 years to put wheels on our luggage.� � William McDonough

New Scientist has an article about typefaces that, in the magazine, was titled, �Tricksy type: how fonts can mess with your mind� (paywalled). The title in their weekly newsletter was better, though. It was, �Comic Sans is evil.�



Congratulations to reader Alex Warnecke, who took the Provost�s Award in the ecology section of San Diego State University�s recent student conference. She was nice enough to say this blog helped.

Post by Alex Warneke.

Kamis, 27 Februari 2014

Kamis, 30 Januari 2014

Latest modern science | Link roundup for January 2014 - Si Bejo Science

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If you want your poster to look modern, try using fonts that were designed in this century. MyFonts has a list of their most popular fonts from last year. Many of them are display fonts (like the gorgeous Desire), but several text fonts are there, too, like Metro Nova (above) and Corbert. And by the way, the regular and italic versions of Corbert are free!


Speaking of the �Best of 2013,� Business Insider picks its favourite logo makeovers of last year. The overarching trend? Simplify. (Their list of bad logos includes many I�ve seen before at I Can Haz Cheezburger.)


That said, you don�t have to worry too much about making your poster look distinct. John McWade reminds us that many famous logos are very similar, and that�s okay. John writes about the three logos above:

All three are foods or beverages that come in small cans, yet note this: No one mistakes one for the other. None of us brings home a can of chicken noodle when we went for a Coke.

The Conference Mentor is a blog devoted to helping conference organizers! To date, however, there are no posts on how to make a good poster session, something that some organizers apparently need, judging from some of the dubious decisions I�ve featured here.

I recently reviewed Go, and have a review of Graphic Design for Kids in the works. One that things that both book emphasize is documenting things that you see, building a collection of design inspiration. Joyce Lee reminds us of the importance of documenting: you have a smartphone. Use it (but without the flash)!

If you happen to be at a conference at this time of year, even one in a supposedly usually mild climate with no snow on the ground, you may want some advice on how to keep warm.

You may want to read this article about creative differences between two typeface creators for the surprisingly fun comments section. Hat tip to Doc Becca.

Kamis, 26 Desember 2013

Latest modern science | Link roundup for December 2013 - Si Bejo Science

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�Fonts have feelings too� is a nice look at typography by Mikael Cho (hat tip to Julie Dirksen). I am indebted for it sharing this visual on text legibility, originally from here:


Namnezia has a nice take on what a poster is for, and why you shouldn�t hold back on presenting stuff on it:

(A poster) is not a press release, or pre publication. Rather it is a chance to present your work and get your colleagues excited about it.

Apparently, many poster authors get their work done here. From I Can Haz Cheezburger.


The difference between screen and print. ICHC again.

ICHC is on a roll.


And I�ve got one more, showing the power of proximity is great. Do not abuse it! Courtesy of Scott Jordan Harris:


The American Society for Cell Biology has a little rationale and tutorial for putting a poster in the cloud. It emphasizes figshare, which has been featured on the blog before.

ACNP spotted this creative and interesting poster tube:

Kamis, 28 November 2013

Latest modern science | Link roundup for November 2013 - Si Bejo Science

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I�ve featured posters from Michael Barton here and here. Here�s another great description of his process, and the result is this nice poster he did last year. (Hat tip to Sam Evans.)


ScientifFig claims to produce publication ready figures. We�ll see.

Holly Bik looks at dress style. While she frames it in the context of job interviews, it can also apply to times when you're giving a poster presentation.

Peter Tennant has evidence about what going to a conference can do for you. Correlation is not causation, but still...

The Neuroscience conference is the biggest congregation of posters in the world, so here are selected tweets:

Nicky Pentilla ponders travel:

Shoe test for #SfN13: Can I walk the poster floor in them without wincing by the end?

As does Kristen Delevich:

Must stop using my poster tube as a walking stick.

Ed Wilson, Jr., reminds us that you�re there to present, not talk.

It�s incredibly frustrating when presenting author socializes rather than being avail to discuss work during poster session.

Similarly, Taking a Cat Apart asks that you not drop names.

Dude, you really don�t need all the name dropping when you talk me through your poster. It�s cool by itself. Relax.

Phat Ma notes that you should also ask about what isn�t shown on a poster:

I usually get more value from talking to people about the data they aren't showing than from the graphs on the poster.

Drug Monkey has a handout tip:

If you don't have page sized copies of your #SFN13 poster to hand out you are screwing up.

Still, one might go too far. Felipe Gerhard saw an optimistic presenter:

Saw somebody having approximately 500 printed hand-outs of his poster.

Valerie Thompson has presentation advice:

Ask visitors how familiar they are with your work before launching into your spiel, and adjust accordingly.

Unfortunately, Doc Becca found presenters who hadn�t taken heed of Valerie�s advice. Remember, presenters, to get to the point!

Poster spiel in 2 min or my brain starts to drift. Figure it out, folks.

Adam Calhoun reminds you all to show up to your session!

Worm community you�re letting me down! I went to three C. elegans posters this afternoon, and one had no presenter while other two posters totally missing!

This might be music to the ears of Bob Graybeard, who indulges in imposteration:

Sometimes I'll pick an unattended #SfN13 poster at random and present the shit out of it, just to prove I can.

And not being by your poster that could be a bad movie if My T CHondria is around; if you're not by your poster:

If you aren't standing by your poster, I'll assume you want me to just leave my comments on it with Sharpie.
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