Professional Skills - Graphic Communication and Facilitation

1.5 EC

Semester 1 & 2, period 3, 6

5224PSGC2Y

Owner Master Biological Sciences
Coordinator dr. Eleni Spyropoulou
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Course manual 2024/2025

Course content

This course is part of the Professional Skills learning trajectory and focuses on graphic communication and facilitation. 

It is not only fun to draw, it can also be very useful to use drawings to communicate your message better. Only words are not always attractive and long pieces of text can sometimes be more confusing than enlightening. “A picture is worth a thousand words”; in one image it can be clear what your story or message is about. Moreover, your listeners will also remember your story better when you use illustrations, because they create a mental picture of your drawings.

In this course you will overcome potential fear of drawing, learn how to convey best your story and learn about design principles (composition, colors, hierarchy text, etc.) that can be used when communicating through visuals. You will not only draw on paper, but also use graphical software to produce professionally-looking graphics and animations.

Throughout this course, you will work on a personal end project (graphical abstract, poster or short animation) allowing you to bring learned skill into practice.

Study materials

Software

  • (free) graphical software Gimp, Figma and LottieFiles

Other

  • further materials will be available on the course Canvas page

Objectives

  • The student can apply basic rules of composition to produce professionally-looking graphics
  • The student can use graphical software to produce professionally-looking graphics and videos
  • The student can apply the theory behind graphic facilitation to create visual stories (e.g. to guide a meeting towards a goal).

Teaching methods

  • Seminar
  • Working independently on e.g. a project or thesis
  • Supervision/feedback meeting
  • Self-study
  • Presentation/symposium

Learning activities

Activity

Hours

  

workgroups

18

  

Self study

24

  

Total

42

(1.5 EC x 28 uur)

Attendance

Requirements of the programme concerning attendance (OER-B):

  1. Attendance during practical components exercises is mandatory.

Additional requirements for this course:

To meet the course objectives, completion of assignments, participation in the workgroups, group discussions, peer feedback and student interaction is essential. Active participation during all sessions is therefore mandatory. If you are unable to attend a session, contact the course coordinator prior to the session to discuss your options for passing the course. Missing more than two sessions will result in a negative assessment (fail; “NAV”) of the course.

Assessment

Item and weight Details

Final grade

In this course you are assessed for your final assignment with a pass or fail based on a rubric.

Fraud and plagiarism

The 'Regulations governing fraud and plagiarism for UvA students' applies to this course. This will be monitored carefully. Upon suspicion of fraud or plagiarism the Examinations Board of the programme will be informed. For the 'Regulations governing fraud and plagiarism for UvA students' see: www.student.uva.nl

Course structure

The course consists of 6 3-hour sessions. During (part of) the last hour in every session, there will be a Q&A where you are welcome to ask any questions.

session 1 - Introduction and Visual thinking

session 2 - What is graphic design?

session 3 - Visual elements

session 4 - Digital graphics

session 5 - Animations

session 6 - Presentations (feedback session and final questions)

Honours information

The Professional Skills- Graphic communication and facilitation credits do not count towards a cum laude degree

Contact information

Coordinator

  • dr. Eleni Spyropoulou