Our 6 Favourite Images of Research

As you may already know, here at Pixelshrink we’re on a mission to demystify academic research. We know that research has an even bigger and better impact on the real world when it’s understood not only by other researchers and academics, but by everyone it can affect.

Images of Research projects, such as that run by the University of Strathclyde, share this same mission.

We love this image because it shows the human side of academic research.

Offering academics the opportunity to share complex ideas in easy-to-digest ways, these projects are incredibly exciting to us. But we know they’re not always simple. Choosing just a single image to represent your entire research? It’s tricky. So we want to take a moment here to appreciate and celebrate those that have embraced the challenge – and succeeded. While there are many, many amazing images out there, we’ve selected just a few of our favourite images of research to share with you…

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With offshore wind turbines being both difficult and costly to maintain, Jade McMorland’s research examines ways to adapt turbine design and form to address the issue. We love this image as it’s a perfect visualisation of ‘out of the box’ thinking. It demonstrates how, when you approach something in a different way and try unusual methods, you can create something entirely new and unexpected.

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Hand prosthetics have the potential to be life-changing. Yet for many, the prosthetics are too heavy and unreliable, making them difficult to use. Dr Nicola Bailey designed a new type of artificial hand using pseudo-joints to improve the experience. We love this image because it directly connects the research to everyday life, showing how such a design can make a difference in real-world situations.

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Franz Bauer, in collaboration with Sydney University and the Reef Design Lab in Melbourne, set out to show how textured tiles could help build safe, natural habitats to support a variety of marine organisms. We love this image because of its stark ‘before/after’ contrast. It’s a very powerful way of showing just how big an impact something so simple can have on our environment.

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During the pandemic, many essential healthcare employees were overburdened while working in environments that placed them at risk. Nicola Cogan’s research aims to explore the impact of this on mental health and wellbeing. We love this image because of the emotion it conveys. It gives us a unique glimpse into the inner feelings of those who often need to hide how they really feel.

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Dr Christof Baumgaertal researched and developed a new sensor that would have a major impact – yet being housed away within the inner workings of the technology, no one would ever see it. We love this image because it shines a light on the essential pillars holding up our society that we may never see, and will often take for granted. The image represents advances that help, yet may feel invisible.

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PhD student Sally Bashford-Squires examined how social enterprise projects impact women’s health in rural Uganda. We love this image because it shows the human side of academic research. When working in labs or offices, it’s often so easy to forget about the bigger picture, and how it all relates to the real world. This picture of Rose gives research a human face, making it more accessible.

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Communication is key

At Pixelshrink, we believe communication is key. For research to make waves beyond the four walls of the lab, we need to be sharing what we’re doing with everyone, not just with other researchers. We can achieve this by communicating in different, unusual ways, making our message more accessible.

Showing images of research is one way to achieve this. You can also use infographics, data visualisation and animation to maximise the impact of your research.

We’re thrilled to be working with the University of Strathclyde on presenting their Images of Research project in an innovative way, and we’re always happy to discuss new ways to boost communication in research, so chat to us!