Popular Science Images: Reflections on Visual Practices in Science Communication

Abstract Images play a considerable role in the communication of scientific knowledge. This article deals with the recontextualization of originally scientific images in multimodal popular science articles. The focus is on the visual editing of these images, and thus on an aspect of visual design in science communication. I present different types of multimodal transcriptive procedures that are related to the recontextualization and readdressing of images in popular science contexts. Since these procedures may be accompanied by a change in the legibility of visualizations, I will conclude by suggesting possible implications for the evidence potential of popular science images.