Dec 31, 2008

Starting at the beginning...

Hello, and welcome to my blog! I am a graduate student working on my M.S. in Biomedical Visualization. For my research project, I am making an interactive website that will help medical illustrators, and anyone else who is interested, to understand size relationships between microscopic structures. This is a multi-faceted project that will involve Flash design, Flash code-writing, illustration, and human subjects research (to make sure that it is really helping).

Where did I get this idea? Last year, while working on a project for one of my classes, I noticed that it was fairly difficult to find information about the actual sizes of cells, organelles, proteins, etc., and that I was spending a great deal of time searching for this information. It was worth it to me to be sure that I was planning out an accurate drawing. But what if there were a resource that could show the information visually? It would be a great time-saver, and add to my peace of mind. After the project was finished, I looked to see if there was any such resource, either online or a book. I could find none. So I decided to make one.

This blog has several purposes. It will open up a line of communication between myself and my audience, allowing them to observe my process, and to comment if they wish. Also, if there is a particular cell or structure that you wish to see, feel free to ask for it! The website and the blog will continue to grow for long after I graduate.