"We are thrilled to receive the Saarland State Prize for Design. It is our mission to make complex research content comprehensible and accessible. It's an honor that our daily work has now received this recognition," says Annabelle Theobald, science editor at CISPA. The research center is known worldwide for its groundbreaking foundational research. Communication designer Lea Mosbach explains the challenges for communication work in the collaboration between science and communication: "Researchers think far into the future and delve deep into their subject matters. Communicating complex content to the general public is therefore no easy task. A lot of translation work has to be done to get people interested in the work of our researchers. Graphics are very effective at this." This is particularly evident in the award-winning sub-project "CISPA Research Paper Graphics". Here, scientific papers are prepared for the CISPA homepage in such a way that the content can no longer only be understood by scientists. Each article is accompanied by a graphic. These pique curiosity, help to introduce the piece, summarize the content in an image and, in the best case, expand the original article. Collaboration between editors and communication designers in corporate communications plays a crucial role in this. "With expertise from different areas, i.e. graphics and editing, we try to build a bridge between science and society," says communication designer Janine Wichmann-Paulus.
From research to society
This bridge-building and thus the transfer from research to society is also at the heart of the two other award-winning projects. The podcast "CISPA TL;DR" offers monthly discussions with researchers. The abbreviation TL;DR stands for "too long, didn't read", a well-known expression from internet culture. "The aim is for listeners to engage with complicated research despite the length and complexity of a paper and for the podcast hosts to ask exactly the questions that listeners are asking themselves. This eliminates the need to read research papers because the podcast provides the answers that interested listeners are hoping for," explains Tobias Ebelshäuser, podcast host. He is also responsible for all things video and photo at CISPA. Many of his photos can be found in the award-winning "CISPA Zine" project.
Complex topics in an accessible way
The award to Corporate Communications shows how successful the symbiosis of science, editing and communication design is. The combination of profound research, accessible writing and appealing design makes it possible to present complex topics in an accessible way. "A big thank you to everyone who has accompanied and supported us on this journey. This award motivates us to continue to pursue innovative paths in science communication," emphasizes Sebastian Klöckner, Head of Corporate Communications.
The jury's reasoning:
It is rare that an application so consistently exceeds expectations. From the aesthetic quality to the impact and scope, this entry really stands out as an ideal project. The well-designed interventions and impeccably packaged documentation definitely stood out to the judges. The scope described in this entry, along with the beautifully articulated visual language and visual hierarchy, make this entry a wonderful example of what the Saarland State Prize for Design aims to recognize. Although they were submitted independently, the coherence and clear relationship between the entries was so strong that the jurors felt it was right to combine these submissions and award the collection the Saarland State Prize for Design. What an honor!
