Science, Illustrated

We often say we need to “see it to believe it,” but what happens when the thing we’re trying to see is too small, abstract, or complex to visualize? Whether it’s visualizing how the fabric of space-time is warped around a black hole or showing how Alzheimer’s disease unfolds in the brain, the frontiers of basic science challenge our understanding and imagination.

In this conversation, we’ll explore the creative minds behind the visuals that bring complex science to life. Whether through conceptual illustrations, graphics or editorial design, artists and editors help audiences grasp ideas that can’t always be photographed or easily pictured in our heads. But how do these expert communicators decide what to show and what to leave to the imagination? What’s the line between metaphor and scientific diagram? What’s the relationship between language and visuals in communicating a message?

Join us for a conversation with illustrator and animator Jun Cen, known for his minimalist, emotionally resonant work in The New York Times and The New Yorker; Rebecca Horne, art director at The Transmitter, where she leads the magazine’s visual storytelling; and Matt Carlstrom, senior engagement editor at Quanta Magazine, where design and data play a central role in how science is communicated. Moderated by John Tracey, program director for Science, Society & Culture at the Simons Foundation, this conversation will peel back the layers of how science gets illustrated and how collaboration between scientists, artists, and editors shapes how we interpret scientific information.