ABSTRACT
This chapter describes a visual representation of the pneumococcal biology that is meant to be accessible to a lay audience. It shows how molecular data is integrated into a watercolor painting showing a 2,000,000x magnified section of the cell that will attract the attention of the viewer and stimulate curiosity and involvement. The chapter discusses design choices and communication strategies during the process of transferring highly complex scientific data into an intentional aesthetically pleasing visual representation. It also describes the making of a test painting. The chapter illustrates intracellular narratives shown as snapshots of small portions of the cell, showing the location, size, and shape of all the macromolecules. The species Streptococcus pneumoniae encompasses many thousands of strains. Each strain represents a genetic variation of the pneumococcus. Visual representation is to increase public awareness of the pneumococcus bacterium by making the vast molecular scientific knowledge more accessible to a lay audience in the form of watercolor paintings.
