Virginia Facciotto: Medical visual communication

During my over 8 years long collaboration with Houston Methodist Research Institute (Texas), I produced over 100 infographics and 12 covers for leading medical journals, simplifying complex scientific information into clear and engaging visuals. For creating these images, I combine Rhinoceros 3D and Blender for 3D models and renders, and Illustrator and Photoshop for illustration and image post-production.

Cover artworks

Cover artworks need to be engaging, visually attractive, and technically accurate. To realize them, I work closely with medical researchers, making sure the visuals are not only beautiful and engaging but also technically accurate.

Cover of the journal Advanced Healthcare Materials, featuring a 3D scientific illustration of layered material structures with red spherical cells and flowing red blood vessels, surrounded by small blue molecules.

Cover of the scientific journal Lab on a Chip, showing a 3D illustration of a channel with red and blue particles flowing through it, controlled by an electrical field.

Cover of the journal Aging Cell. The illustration features a cracked gold pocket watch surrounded by blue, glowing mitochondria linked by a rope, all set against a dark background with blue lightning strikes.

Cover of the journal Advanced Healthcare Materials featuring a 3D scientific illustration of a cross-section of a white device filled with cellular components. Red capillary and small yellow particles surround the structure.

Cover of the journal Advanced Science depicting a cluster of red spherical cells being targeted by light blue antibodies. Several large, purple spiked virus-like particles and a glowing blue cylindrical capsule containing more antibodies are also visible in the scene.

Cover of the journal Advanced Therapeutics. The illustration shows a cross-section of a blood vessel with red blood cells and green pill-shaped particles flowing through the center. Along the inner vessel walls, clusters of blue and green complex molecules are embedded in a textured yellow layer, representing a targeted therapeutic delivery system.

Infographics

The infographics I design are used to illustrate complex medical information in research papers. These images need to be extremely clear, technically accurate, and cohesive within each paper.

Conceptual diagram illustrating the evolution of pancreatic islet encapsulation, showing smaller capsule designs over time and how oxygen and nutrients reach the cells while immune components are blocked.

A scientific infographic showing a central cell engineered with various genetic modifications interacting with nearby immune cells, using a clean, vector-style design with a soft color palette.

A clean, flat-style vector infographic illustrating an encapsulated cell therapy device. The diagram uses a soft pastel color palette to show the diffusion of cells and signaling molecules through a protective membrane.

A three-part scientific diagram detailing cell sources, encapsulation methods, and human transplant sites using simple icons and a clear, organized layout.

Overview diagram of implantable drug delivery concepts, comparing different release mechanisms through simplified, labeled schematics.

Soft, color-coded schematic illustrating immune modulation strategies, using simplified shapes and icons to show how different signals affect T cell activity, immune tolerance, and graft survival.