The Siggener Circle is a think tank for the further development of science communication in Germany. The members meet once a year to discuss central topics and trends, opportunities and challenges in science communication.
In 2021, the topic "Images in Science Communication" was chosen as the focus. Gesine Born, a communication designer and member of the working group, explains in an interview with wissenschaftskommunikation.de why this topic was chosen: "Images have become incredibly relevant. Social media like Instagram and also most other channels function almost exclusively through images. That's why you have to increasingly deal with this topic in science communication, also in terms of the effect of images and how to deal with them."
Over the course of two days, the members of the Siggen Circle developed recommendations for the creation and selection of images. The impulse paper contains, among other things, numerous guiding questions that can be reflected on when using images, e.g. "Are images helpful and useful for achieving the communication goals?", "Does the image come sufficiently close to the desired, scientific content?" and "Do the images (in terms of type, format, design, handling) fit the target groups and communication channels and do they convey the intended messages?".
The working group also created a practical tool as a conceptual aid in the selection and assessment of image material, the image reflector. It can be found in the documentation and provides reflection impulses for responsible decisions.