People attending multi-day scientific and business conferences often face time-pressured schedules filled with presentations, one-to-one meetings, and poster sessions. In addition, mobile phones demanding constant attention further contribute to unnecessary distraction (Skowronek et al., 2023). Although the human brain can selectively focus on relevant information and flexibly shift attention in dynamic environments (Belledonne et al., 2025), cognitive overload experienced during such events may limit the effective uptake and retention of scientific content (Bawden and Robinson, 2008; Roetzel, 2019). Effective visual representations and information graphics can alleviate cognitive constraints by distilling intricate scientific concepts into accessible, salient formats that facilitate rapid intuitive understanding, enhance memorability, and distinguish key information from surrounding content (Ware, 2008; Healey and Enns, 2012).

When creating scientific visuals for presentation, it is essential to analyze the composition of the audience, as this strongly influences the structure and complexity of the visuals. Conference audiences are typically composed of individuals with varying levels of expertise, commonly falling into three categories (Dingwall et al., 2025).

The primary audience consists of domain experts, mainly scientists in the presenter’s field, who constitute a small minority. These individuals are likely familiar with the presenter’s work and share a common conceptual framework. They can be very helpful with further deepening and specifying the topic that is presented.

Presenters generally aim to persuade, inform, or entertain their audience, to capture attention and foster engagement, curiosity, and inspiration (Dingwall et al., 2025). However, during preparation many presenters struggle to consider the needs of their audience. In the pursuit of credibility (MacIntosh-Murray, 2007), it may be tempting to fill the presentation with technical depth, publications, or experimental complexity, but neglecting broader accessibility (Pedwell et al., 2017). Such presentations risk alienating all three types of audience, reducing engagement and comprehension. Consequently, much of the communicated information is missed by most, and this is an outcome that should not be acceptable in any presentation. We believe that with careful preparation, presentations can be designed to enhance comprehension across all three types of audiences, fostering dialogue, collaboration, and mutual insight (Corwin et al., 2018; Hutchins, 2020). While refining the design and interpretability of infographics (Guo et al., 2023) undoubtedly enhances understanding, such improvements alone may fall short of actively promoting dialogue and collaborative exchange. We align with Pedwell et al. (2017) in recognizing that audience comprehension is a fundamental objective of poster development. However, we advocate for a broader perspective: presentations should function not merely as vessels for information, but as dynamic platforms for two-way engagement, tools that invite and sustain dialogue rather than simply display. Interestingly, David Bohm, a renowned physicist and philosopher, believed that the strength of dialogue lies in its ability to reveal the hidden assumptions and collective thought patterns that shape our perceptions and interactions. In On Dialogue (Bohm and Nichol, 1996) he defines true dialogue as a collective inquiry into ideas, where the focus shifts from persuasion to shared exploration and learning. According to Bohm, this approach encourages collective knowing and reveals deeper patterns of thought, enabling participants to move beyond individual perspectives. For all types of audience visual design can be a strong entry point to enhance the quality of conversation and hence knowledge building.

Scientific visuals and information graphics that capture the essence of the message while omitting extraneous details that merely showcase expertise can truly have a huge effect on understanding and insight. Interestingly, infographics originally developed to help experts communicate with management also improved experts’ own insight (personal observation). In collaborative design processes, abstract representations such as diagrams or models are often used to integrate distributed knowledge and reveal interdependencies (Alexiou and Zamenopoulos, 2008). This approach is central to managing complexity in collaborative design and is a cornerstone of design thinking, where visual tools help stakeholders articulate and share their understanding of complex systems (Pira et al., 2024). For instance, in a Master course ‘Communication design for innovation’ developed at Delft University of Technology, students were taught to create abstract visuals and logos as part of real-life organizational projects. Through abstraction, they learned to distill the essence of complex problems, facilitating shared understanding among various stakeholders and leading to effective implementation of new strategies through dialogue instead of persuasion (personal observation).

Graphic design is a powerful discipline for visual communication, combining aesthetics and meaning to convey ideas effectively. By arranging visual elements such as typography, color, imagery, layout, and iconography, designers create meaningful structures that guide interpretation. Renowned graphic designers, including Saul Bass, Alan Fletcher, Karel Martens, Malika Favre, and Noma Bar, skillfully apply Gestalt principles (e.g., proximity, similarity, closure, and common region), which describe how humans naturally perceive and group visual elements (reviewed by Wagemans et al., 2012). These principles are grounded in pre-attentive processing, the brain’s ability to rapidly and automatically detect visual features such as color, shape, and position within a few hundred milliseconds (Treisman, 1985; Treisman and Gormican, 1988). This process enables efficient perception and comprehension in complex visual environments and is extensively described in Colin Ware’s Visual Thinking for Design (Ware, 2008).

Leveraging pre-attentive attributes is crucial for effective information visualization. In full agreement with Ware (2008), we propose three fundamental design principles for constructing infographics: A.

Minimize visual clutter by using clear, distinct patterns and a limited color palette.

The design process typically proceeds in three phases (see also Pettersson, 2010):

Colors are also conventionally used to represent specific elements, for example, red for blood, green for vegetation, and blue for water. Furthermore, its interpretation might vary across cultural and personal contexts (Kawai et al., 2022) and relate to both positive and negative emotions (Wilson, 1966; Mehta and Zhu, 2009; Chang et al., 2018; Jonauskaitė and Mohr, 2025), thereby further complicating their interpretative use in design.

However, adhering too rigidly to symbolic or cultural associations may detract from the clarity and focus of the intended message. For example, a bright red blood vessel depicted among mostly grey cells will immediately attract the viewer’s attention (Figure 2A). If the focus should not be on the blood vessel but instead be directed toward the green cell (the target cell in our example), the red blood vessel may distract the viewer. In such cases, assigning a more subdued tone to the blood vessel (or grey in our example) and even using a saturated red to highlight the target cell is more effective (Figure 2B). We believe viewers are well able to analyze colors in relation to their context, and in our example will understand the target cell was made red solely for the purpose of attention. Furthermore, the number of colors employed should be kept to a minimum, as excessive color variation can introduce visual clutter and reduce the overall clarity of the message (Figure 2C). Also, make sure to use colorblind friendly color schemes (Crameri et al., 2020). In agreement with the design principles, color contrast can be used effectively to guide attention, while allowing creative judgment to determine the optimal color scheme for conveying the intended information.

When scientific visuals are created and constructed to clearly express the essence of complex ideas, they become tools for dialogue rather than mere displays of information. By prioritizing clarity, coherence, and inclusivity over detail and technical sophistication, presenters can bridge gaps between experts and non-specialists alike, enabling diverse audiences to contribute meaningfully to ongoing discussions. They allow participants to grasp relationships, patterns, and processes more intuitively, which in turn foster more informed questions, novel insights, and collaboration between different disciplines. Ultimately, effective visual design in scientific communication helps to transform the presentation from a unidirectional transfer of information into a collective process of gaining insight through comprehension and dialogue. By consciously using design principles grounded in cognitive science and visual perception, presenters can add surplus value to attending scientific conferences.