FENS Cast episode 13: From PhD to Science Graphic Design with Gil Costa

Moving from the lab life to a career in graphic design is an intriguing twist in the life of a neuroscientist. Take for example the career evolution of Gil Costa, who obtained his PhD at the University of Coimbra to later become a Scientific Designer and Illustrator who helps neuroscientists translate their research into images.

In this episode, Dr Richard Roche guides the audience through Gil’s remarkable journey: from his start in academia to his first encounter with graphic design for a university theatre project, culminating in his present role as freelancer collaborating with numerous international journals and research centres. There is also a bit of FENS in this story, since Gil participated at the European Neuroscience Conference by Doctoral Students (ENCODS) meeting in 2015, where he held a workshop on graphic design for scientific projects, but most importantly where he first met the neuroscientist who would later become his wife!

While pointing out the differences between a career in graphic design and one in science, he also describes how a scientific background adds value to his work as an illustrator, and offers some helpful advice for those considering a similar jump from the academic career to the world of art and design.