In which Violet Frances describes how she developed the June @sciam.bsky.social cover art. The journey includes a print of Grace Jones & grappling w/what it means to be an artist in the age of generative AI. (Collabs like this one are why I love my job.) www.violetfrances.com/casestudies/... #SciArt

Do you have any favorite non-Google browsers for directly finding *primary* sources (not AI summaries) and/or tips on which are best at searching for images specifically? (I'm looking to change my research habits for data source exploration and graphics references.) #sciart #dataviz

Happy June @sciam.bsky.social issue launch day! As always, thanks to the artists who make it all possible. (Scroll through the 🧵 for a #sciart lagerstätten.) I'm THRILLED with Violet Frances' fresh take on quantum computing for the cover. Check out more of Violet’s work here: www.violetfrances.com

I took some time off from my fulltime gig last week to recalibrate. Talked with friends, went on walks, repotted plants, and tended to a long-overdue personal website/portfolio refresh. www.jenchristiansen.com #dataviz #sciart #infodesign #scicomm

When I heard the theory that the cruise ship hantavirus outbreak originated at a landfill in Argentina that is popular with birders, I had questions. I visited that dump on a bird-watching trip last year. It seemed like an unlikely infection site. So I did some digging. Here's what I found out 🧪 🪶

Scoop for @sciam.bsky.social: Last year's sweeping NIH grant cuts included funding to study hantavirus transmission, the virus that's likely killed three people on a cruise ship. The cuts shuttered a network of facilities meant to study dangerous pathogens. www.scientificamerican.com/article/trum...

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As @springernature.com continues to employ tired and costly union-busting tactics, we just wanted to say we’re so grateful to all the subscribers, scientists and journalists who’ve reached out and said they’ll stand with us as we fight to ensure @sciam.bsky.social lasts another 180 years. Thank you!

Join us in Bologna!

Hey Bluesky! 👋🦋 We’ve been reading your replies about our paywall, and we’re listening. We want to share why it’s there—and an easy, low-cost way to read more. TL;DR: You can unlock every Scientific American article for 90 days for just $1 spklr.io/6003EyRIR More context below 🧵 1/6

BIG OPEN VISUALIZATION ACADEMY UPDATE: 10+ more instructors and 10+ more courses to be released on a monthly basis #dataViz #infographics #dataJournalism #dataVisualization @alyssafowers.bsky.social @elsieleerobbins.bsky.social @petrinkae.bsky.social @rsimmon.bsky.social and many others

#sciart (Trying the hashtag again on a thread filled with artist shout-outs. Looks like it didn’t work a few days ago.)

The post below triggered a flood of memories. I took a scientific illustration course at Shoals Marine Lab years ago. Such a great environment to for inspiration and to hone skills! #sciart

Happy May @sciam.bsky.social issue launch day! Just one more full issue as acting design chief for me, as I'm thrilled to report that Maria Amador has joined the magazine as chief art director! // cover illustration by Maria Corte, animation by me www.scientificamerican.com/issue/sa/202... 🧪#sciart

Hello, Bluesky! We, the staff of Scientific American, are pleased to announce we have formed a union with @wgaeast.bsky.social. Just as mitochondria are the powerhouse of the cell, we are the powerhouse of the publication, and we’re excited to have a new way to contribute to its success.

❤️ www.scientificamerican.com/article/nasa...

The crew of Artemis II is experiencing a total solar eclipse RIGHT NOW from just a few thousand miles above the lunar surface. Here's why it's cool and what they could see 🧪 🔭

It's Moonday, not Monday, for the crew of Artemis II! As they approach their lunar rendezvous (watch live: www.youtube.com/watch?v=m3kR...), a reminder you can follow all @sciam.bsky.social's coverage here: www.scientificamerican.com/report/nasa-...

Who's ready to watch history being made? Let's send Artemis II to the moon!!! @sciam.bsky.social's got the key details for today's launch attempt—timing, livestreams, and so on. Click here to learn more, and tune in to follow along: www.scientificamerican.com/article/nasa...

Excited to share this piece by @parshallison.bsky.social and me in the April issue of @sciam.bsky.social. This is my fav type of #dataviz challenge: tackling a concept that is complex, fascinating, and that I haven’t seen represented in this way before. 📊 🧪 www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-...

Happy April issue launch day! (My fourth as acting design chief @sciam.bsky.social). Two covers this month: kids for the newsstand & dark matter for subscribers. I’m particularly excited about Chad Hagen’s modernist galaxy art, designed w/some of my favorite vintage SciAm covers in mind. 🧪 #SciArt

🚨Internship opportunity!🚨 Now accepting applications for Scientific American summer/fall graphics internship: springernature.wd3.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/Spring... Apply by March 26. Please feel free to share, especially within the 📊 dataviz community.

Happy March issue launch day! My wild ride as acting design chief at @sciam.bsky.social continues. 🧪 #Sciart // Many thanks to the fabulous artists who make it all possible, including....

If you’re in DC, stop by the AAAS building for a really neat exhibit that showcases a decade of visuals in Science magazine 🤩 www.aaas.org/programs/art... Kudos to Beth Rakouskas and the Science Visuals team! 🧪#SciArt 📊

Attention visual journalists: I’m always open to pitches for @sciam.bsky.social’s Graphic Science column. The column tells concise stories on topics in science via graphics (dataviz, illustrated diagrams, comic-style explainers, etc). It appears in both print & online. DM me for a pitch guide.

Last term I tried an experiment: I walked into my Tech and Design Ethics class, admitted that I had *no idea* what to do about ChatGPT - so I would let them figure it out. As in: their first project was to decide and write the ChatGPT policy for the class. Here's what happened:

Kudos to @kimay.bsky.social @maxkozlov.bsky.social @jeff-tollefson.bsky.social and @dangaristo.bsky.social for this illuminating article.

It’s been a wild ride at work. I’ve been stretching my page design & editorial illustration art direction muscles during an interval of expanded duties as acting design chief (in addition to my feature graphics editing responsibilities).

Eyes and brain awash with imagery related to math, here at Rigorous Illustrations—Their creation and evaluation for mathematical research (a workshop hosted by the Institut Henri Poincaré). The blackboard in the break room does not disappoint. indico.math.cnrs.fr/event/13124/

Overheard while perusing LA ON THE MOVE exhibit by @datavandals.bsky.social at Union Station today: “p22 is on here!” “Our home is on this map.” “Did I tell you about the time a hawk swooped me?” “What? No baby opossums?” Lovely hearing and seeing people engage with data in a public space. 📊 #SciArt

Rediscovered @unamandita.bsky.social ‘s delightful 2016 article “Everyone’s a Little Bit ‘Shapist’”—featuring a project by Nicky Case—while prepping for a math graphics talk. So good. Great to have an excuse to read it again. www.scientificamerican.com/blog/sa-visu... 📊 #sciart 🧪

Looking for an *L.A. based* artist who (against all odds) has time for a poster gig before the end of the year. It's for a science + art event. We can offer $500 for the gig. Dreadfully sorry about the timeline. Link a portfolio if you're interested, I'll delete this post when we found someone.

What an unexpected treat! I bumped into the one and only @nigelblue.bsky.social in the lobby at Informa in NYC today. We’re both filming videos related to our CRC books on information graphics. Nigel always brings a smile to my face.

The moon is gorgeous right now from where I can see it. I recommend looking for it if you have clear skies.

Such a satisfying museum day today. Lots of art/natural world parallels. Left: Fluorite with sphalerite (Peabody museum); Right: Untitled oil painting by Mark Rothko, 1954 (Yale Art Gallery).

The @infoplusconf.bsky.social presentation by @laurenfklein.bsky.social and Tanvi Sharma also prompted me to think more deeply about this: How (if at all) do you attempt to humanize with data if the story isn’t yours to tell? 📊

Appreciate the conversations around the politics of aesthetics prompted by a presentation here at @infoplusconf.bsky.social by @laurenfklein.bsky.social and Tanvi Sharma. Some questions revolved around the idea of a disconnect between striving for a pleasing dataviz about a horrific topic. 📊

Many have written and presented around this sentiment before, but I think this is my new favorite metaphor on the topic, as articulated by Barbara Urrutia-Badilla at @infoplusconf.bsky.social ~ We often think of data as a raw ingredient. She says not so. Data is already cooked. 📊

Enjoy pondering how info extracted from some people is used by other people to construct stories? Spend a few minutes w/this parable generator. It’s a lovely reminder to be thoughtful about framing. HT B. Robertson @data4change.bsky.social via @infoplusconf.bsky.social www.data4chan.ge/the-parable 📊

If you—like me—are struggling with uncertainty these days, and your preferred method of learning/communication is via imagery, I suspect you'll appreciate this newsletter by @ashendruk.com. The first installment just dropped and it sure resonated with me. 📊 #sciart

We used @sciam.bsky.social's 180th anniversary as an excuse to revisit an old favorite. Familiar with the efficiency of locomotion chart from the March 1973 issue? Here it is again, reimagined for 2025 by DTAN Studio, w/text by @parshallison.bsky.social 📊 🧪 www.scientificamerican.com/article/a-hu...

The science is in: COVID boosters are worth it, even if you've been vaccinated and/or infected before. Stay safe out there, friends!: 🧪 🛟 www.scientificamerican.com/article/new-...

What does it mean to share a Nobel Prize—especially if the laureates aren’t direct collaborators? 🧪 www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-...

The moon is gorgeous right now. If you live in the northeast of the U.S., look for it. Large and very close to the horizon. Peeking out from behind pink and lavender clouds from where I can see it.

BIG NEWS! We've updated the website of the Open Visualization Academy, where you can see all its contributors: openvisualizationacademy.org This is the announcement in our newsletter: openvisualizationacademy.beehiiv.com/p/we-re-back... #dataViz #infographics #dataJournalism #dataVis 📊 1/x

What @ariellemargot.bsky.social said. We're hiring a Social Media and Digital Content Creator! www.climatecentral.org/open-positio...

Here’s What Happened at RFK, Jr.’s Overhauled Vaccine Panel Meeting www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-... Three vaccines were on the agenda for this week’s meeting of ACIP, the CDC’s key advisory panel on immunization

The story below immediately brings to mind an epic pre-Instagram & TikTok project from designer Stefanie Posavec. In case there’s a wave of folks that missed it the first time around, behold her classic Writing Without Words series 📊 www.stefanieposavec.com/archive/writ...

I’m honestly surprised that I don’t hear more people reference it. And now that I’m thinking about it, I think I’ll read it again this weekend. 📊 #informationdesign #infodesign