We have clients as small as a single researcher for whom we’re making a single figure, to clients as large as a multi-billion dollar philanthropic trust that we are the external communication partner for. Our business – no, our mission – dictates that each of these extremes, and a whole lot of in-betweens, are core to how we operate.

So, welcome! You’re in the right place.

Thanks for considering SciStories as your first art partner. We’ve been the “first” for over 100 scientists and, if you choose us, we want to make it a great experience.

The first thing to keep in mind is that the more prepared you are, the faster and cheaper the work will be. What that means is, the more clearly you can explain your unique science, the more complete the information you share in our first meeting, the less time that will be required for conceptualization. Now, if you have trouble communicating your science clearly, or don’t have time to figure out how, that’s OK too. Our artist has education in your field and can find their way there independently. It just takes them more time.

So, the first phase of our work is conceptualization: what are we going to show, and how? You may already know that, sketched on the back of a proverbial napkin. If so, great! Or, you may want us to propose some ways of visually telling the story. That works too. But, regardless of the genesis of the ideas, together we settle on the structure of the approach.

The second phase is drawing, where we make a detailed, precise, black-and-white drawing of your piece. At this point it is important that every little detail is complete and correct.

The third phase is colour comps, where we add colour to your piece. We will provide some options, including requests you make, for you to choose from.

The last phase is the final rendering, where we prepare and send you the final files in the sizes and formats you need, as requested by a journal if applicable or just appropriate for your own needs.

And that’s it; voila! Your science story is told!

Congratulations on getting published!

Now, we understand that the cover art you submit is just one factor in a journal deciding which article to feature. Still, SciStories has won the cover more than 100 times. Given our familiarity with many journals, and understanding editorially what different journals favor in cover art, we will give you a competitive advantage to actually make it.

Yet, in a garden variety case, you should assume you have worse than a coin flip chance to make the cover. What we’ve found with our clients is that, whether they win the cover or not, the art that we made together ultimately becomes a showcase piece for the work their lab does for years to come. It can be used on your website, in your grant proposals, in your lecture slides, printed in large format on a wall in your lab…there are a lot of good opportunities to leverage our art in order to increase the trajectory of your lab. So, if you can afford it, go for it! You’ll probably be glad you did.

Software like BioRender is a terrific part of the ecosystem for visualizing science. It enables researchers with little or no budget, and the will to learn new software, to make simple, professional figures. SciStories is the right fit when:

• Your opportunity is significant. There are crucial milestones in the career of every researcher: starting a new lab, getting published, winning a grant, achieving tenure. We have extensive experience using our communication services to help researchers around the world succeed in these situations. A modest investment to give yourself the best chance to succeed is the least that you or your science deserve.
• Your voice matters. Simple figures are part of the science story you have to tell, and software you operate may be all that you need. But if you aspire to have your own lab, to attract the best talent, to secure significant funding, and to give your research prominence and visibility in the scientific community, figures are only the beginning. Working with SciStories is a shift from visuals as a necessary evil to visuals as an accelerator to the future of your lab and research.
• Your time is valuable. Most likely, you did not get into research to make figures. You got into research to, well, do research! Yes, strictly in dollars, you can spend less making your own figures. But is that really how you want to be spending your time?

Thanks for considering us to make your website. This is an important decision, as your website is the primary communication portal that your lab will have with everyone: potential hires, grantors, other scientists, and the general public.

SciStories makes fully custom websites, designed and coded specially for you. Other than giving direction for and feedback to the work that we do, all you need to provide is the written content for the site, text that explains your science, introduces your team, and shares the work and philosophy of your lab. We do the rest.

While our work blends your ideas with our value-added expertise, during the process you get to make a lot of choices about things like the structure/architecture, overall site design and aesthetic, and the design of pages and their internal components.

Almost all SciStories website clients also opt to include science graphics as part of the project, where we make lovely visual representations of your science that make the website more attractive and can also be leveraged in other places. A majority of clients also request a custom logo for their lab, too. These are all affordable – but optional! – additions that not only enhance your website but give you a suite of art and design resources to use in all of your communication activities.