Workshops (2024/25/26)

Following on from successful introduction of the Visual Communication Training Pathway during the 2023/24 academic year, the pathway ran twice during the 2024/25, once in the autumn/winter term 2024 and again in the spring term of 2025. The details and dates of the workshops – and whether they were delivered online or in-person – are shown below . The practical workshops were repeated to allow more people to attend and in-person workshops were held at both the Waterloo and Denmark Hill campuses.

Gill delivered the following workshops as part of the pathway:

  • Workshop 1 – Good Graphic Design Practice for Scientific Visual Communication (HSDTC80). A 1.5 hour online presentation that covers the basics of good graphic design practice when creating figures, presentations, papers and posters. As the workshop is online and theory-based, participant numbers are unlimited. Workshop 1 was run on 29th October 2024 and again on 21st January 2025.
  • Workshop 2a – Creating Research Posters in MS PowerPoint (HSDTC133). A 2 hour in-person, hands-on workshop that puts into practice the graphic design theory discussed during Workshop 1. As this is a practical workshop, with Gill providing 1-2-1 guidance, participant numbers are limited to a maximum of 12. Due to the nature of the workshop, it can only be run in-person and was not available online. Workshop 2a was run in-person on 31st October 2024, at the KCL Waterloo campus, and ran again, also in-person, on 29th January 2025, at the KCL Waterloo campus.
  • Workshop 2b – Creating Research Posters in MS PowerPoint (HSDTC133). A repeat of Workshop 2a. Workshop 2b was run in-person on 20th November 2024, at the KCL Denmark Hill campus, and ran in-person again on 5th February 2025, at the KCL Waterloo campus.
  • Workshop 3a – Creating Adaptable Figures Using Adobe Illustrator (HSDTC81). A 2-hour hands-on workshop that introduces a methodology for creating adaptable and editable figures using Adobe Illustrator and provides instruction in the basic functionality of the software via two hands-on exercises. The plan was to provide some of these workshops in-person (during the autumn term) and some online (during the spring term), to give an opportunity to participants who may not be able to attend on campus. As this is a practical workshop, with Gill providing 1-2-1 guidance, participant numbers are limited to a maximum of 12. This limitation applies for both in-person and online workshops. Workshop 3a was run in-person on 7th November 2024, at the KCL Waterloo campus, and ran again online on 25th February 2025.
  • Workshop 3b – Creating Adaptable Figures Using Adobe Illustrator (HSDTC81). A repeat of Workshop 3a. Workshop 3b was run in-person on 27th November, at the KCL Denmark Hill campus, and ran again online on 11th March 2025.
  • Workshop 3c – Creating Adaptable Figures Using Adobe Illustrator (HSDTC81). A repeat of Workshop 3a. Workshop 3c was run in-person on 4th December 2024, at the KCL Waterloo campus, and ran again online on 20th March 2025.

The KEATS webpage that accompanies these workshops has been updated to reflect some revisions to the training pathway. For the 2024/25 academic year, participants will have the chance to obtain the following digital badges when they complete Workshop 1 and either one, or both, of the two practical workshops.

  • Scientific Visual Communicator Bronze badge: awarded for completing Workshop 1 (HSDTC80).
  • Scientific Visual Communicator Silver badge – Poster Design: awarded for completing both Workshop 1 (HSDTC80) and Workshop 2 (HSDTC133).
  • Scientific Visual Communicator Silver badge – Adobe Illustrator: awarded for completing both Workshop 1 (HSDTC80) and Workshop 3 (HSDTC81).
  • Scientific Visual Communicator Gold badge – awarded for completing all three workshops.

A reminder that video recordings of the 2023 iterations of Workshops 1 and 3 are available to view on the KEATS webpage, together with downloadable training materials to help your scientific visual communication. You can also gain your Bronze digital badge by watching the video recording of Workshop 1 (HSDTC80) and then completing a short online quiz, to test your graphic design knowledge.

Staff and students of KCL Health Faculties can access the KEATS webpage here.

One-day communication ‘bootcamp’

In addition to the visual communication training pathway, KCL Health Faculties also held a one-day communication ‘bootcamp’ on 14th February 2025, covering written, visual and verbal communication for scientists. As part of the day, Gill presented a 1.5 hour visual communication workshop that covered the basics of visual communication, how to design research posters and how to create an illustrated information sheet for non-scientists. Other sessions during the day covered written communication and presentation skills, and the feedback from attendees on the day was very positive.

The 2025/26 academic year

The series of workshops are running again during the autumn/winter term of 2025 and will be repeated again in the spring term of 2026. The one-day communication bootcamp will run again on 4th February 2026, and Gill aims to revise the visual communication content slightly to better highlight the similarities / differences of communicating with scientists and the general public.

The details and dates of the workshops – and whether they are delivered online or in-person – are shown below . The practical workshops are repeated to allow more people to attend and in-person workshops are held at both the Waterloo and Denmark Hill campuses.

Gill is delivering the following workshops as part of the visual communication pathway:

  • Workshop 1 – Good Graphic Design Practice for Scientific Visual Communication (HSDTC80). A 1.5 hour online presentation that covers the basics of good graphic design practice when creating figures, presentations, papers and posters. As the workshop is online and theory-based, participant numbers are unlimited. Workshop 1 was run on 22nd October 2025 and will run again on 20th January 2026.
  • Workshop 2a – Creating Research Posters in MS PowerPoint (HSDTC133). A 2 hour in-person, hands-on workshop that puts into practice the graphic design theory discussed during Workshop 1. As this is a practical workshop, with Gill providing 1-2-1 guidance, participant numbers are limited to a maximum of 12. Due to the nature of the workshop, it can only be run in-person and is not available online. Workshop 2a was run in-person on 5th November 2025, at the KCL Denmark Hill campus, and will run again, also in-person, on 10th February 2026, at the KCL Waterloo campus.
  • Workshop 2b – Creating Research Posters in MS PowerPoint (HSDTC133). A repeat of Workshop 2a. Workshop 2b will run in-person on 25th November 2025, at the KCL Waterloo campus, and will run in-person again on 10th March 2026, at the KCL Denmark Hill campus.
  • Workshop 3a – Creating Adaptable Figures Using Adobe Illustrator (HSDTC81). A 2-hour hands-on workshop that introduces a methodology for creating adaptable and editable figures using Adobe Illustrator and provides instruction in the basic functionality of the software via two hands-on exercises. The plan was to provide some of these workshops in-person (during the autumn term) and some online (during the spring term), to give an opportunity to participants who may not be able to attend on campus. As this is a practical workshop, with Gill providing 1-2-1 guidance, participant numbers are limited to a maximum of 12. This limitation applies for both in-person and online workshops. Workshop 3a was run in-person on 20th November 2025, at the KCL Waterloo campus, and will run again in-person on 28th January 2026, at the KCL Waterloo campus.
  • Workshop 3b – Creating Adaptable Figures Using Adobe Illustrator (HSDTC81). A repeat of Workshop 3a. Workshop 3b will run in-person on 27th November, at the KCL Denmark Hill campus, and will run again in-person on 24th February 2026, at KCL Denmark Hill campus.
  • Workshop 3c – Creating Adaptable Figures Using Adobe Illustrator (HSDTC81). A repeat of Workshop 3a. Workshop 3c will run online on 4th December 2025 and will run again online on 18th March 2026.