An important part of science is the way it is presented. The media team plays a large role in this at Archipelagos. Infographics, scientific posters, business cards; our interns are always designing things to communicate what we do at the institute.

A primary part of our work  is data visualisation. Data visualisation is the presentation of data in a graphical or pictorial format. By displaying it this way, the data is easier to understand, and can be analysed in a more efficient way. On scientific posters, for example, designers use graphs to make the data more accessible, but data visualisation is used in a lot of ways.

We also use design to communicate with the public. Our website, our business cards, our social media accounts; they are all part of how we present ourselves to the world, of our image. It is very important that these are designed to represent the institute as best as possible, and we are continuously working on improving them.

The most obvious function of design is, of course, that it simply looks good. A simple change in design can make the whole impression of something change, even if the content stays the same. Nice colour schemes, crisp fonts and beautiful illustrations make all designs look more professional, and make more people want to look at it. We are an environmental organisation, and we want to bring our message to the public. If the message (i.e. posters, social media posts, campaigns) looks good, it will reach more people, because it attracts attention.

For one of our biggest projects, the Aegean Marine Life Sanctuary, we have applied design in a lot of different ways. We made a business plan, a new logo, building plans, and much more.