Science Friction - Is there a place for design in science?

The visual language of practical bench science is well developed and understood, and recognised widely in the public sphere from press releases, and the interaction of the scientific world with the media world. Test tubes, glassware, and laboratory interiors have their own visual language with symbolic and narrative depth, which is usually utilised in films and by the wider community to try and interpret what 'science' means and what it does. However this is a rather involuntary visual language, and not one that is actually familiar to scientists themselves, or useful for the communication of scientific ideas to the general public. In an era of advanced scientific achievement it seems that the role of scientists as communicators of ideas has been overlooked. Modern design and the practice of efficient and aesthetically pleasing communication has become a vital part of any international organisation or business in the private sector, and in the age of branding and marketing it seems that those working at the cutting edge of human knowledge have not made the best use of the advances in visual communication made over the last 50 years. This blog aims to explore the role of design and visual communication in science, and how it can be used or misused to aid or hinder the advancement of science.
 Anyone wondering whether this is really an issue should consider why science, which accounts for the same percentage of the British GDP as banking, is still not seen as a first choice career option for science graduates, why the number of science graduates is falling, and why the higher eduation budget has been slashed by the government while the failing banking sector has been supported financially. The debate about whether banking is more or less important than scientific progress is something to think about, especially in relation to how much money, and how much prestige is bestowed on each career respectively. On Sunday afternoon as I walked past a flashy Deutchbank office in the city, I found myself wondering why my own research department are sitting in a portacabin, and how much smoother and more effient our own research could be if resourses were allocated differently, or if as scientists we could employ designers and architects to create our working environment.