Hi, I'm Fiona Martin, an award-winning communication designer and science illustrator. I specialize in news graphics, explanatory illustrations, infographics, data visualizations, and maps that translate complex concepts into engaging visuals for broad audiences. Through my studio, Visualizing Science LLC, I offer premium design and illustration services to clients who need to communicate their ideas and findings in more accessible, engaging formats. I’m an expert in digital illustration (whether in Adobe Illustrator or Procreate) and also love designing publications cover-to-cover. Clients include NOAA Climate Program Office, the National Park Service, Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, Princeton University Press, High Country News magazine, Immunity Journal, Harvard Medical School, Australian Institute of Marine Science, Electronic Publishing Services, Inc., Bay Nature Magazine, and Painted Lady Vineyard.…

Fiona Martin

Hi, I'm Fiona Martin, an award-winning communication designer and science illustrator. I specialize in news graphics, explanatory illustrations, infographics, data visualizations, and maps that translate complex concepts into engaging visuals for broad audiences. Through my studio, Visualizing Science LLC, I offer premium design and illustration services to clients who need to communicate their ideas and findings in more accessible, engaging formats. I’m an expert in digital illustration (whether in Adobe Illustrator or Procreate) and also love designing publications cover-to-cover. Clients include NOAA Climate Program Office, the National Park Service, Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, Princeton University Press, High Country News magazine, Immunity Journal, Harvard Medical School, Australian Institute of Marine Science, Electronic Publishing Services, Inc., Bay Nature Magazine, and Painted Lady Vineyard.…

Available to hire

Hi, I’m Fiona Martin, an award-winning communication designer and science illustrator.

I specialize in news graphics, explanatory illustrations, infographics, data visualizations, and maps that translate complex concepts into engaging visuals for broad audiences.

Through my studio, Visualizing Science LLC, I offer premium design and illustration services to clients who need to communicate their ideas and findings in more accessible, engaging formats. I’m an expert in digital illustration (whether in Adobe Illustrator or Procreate) and also love designing publications cover-to-cover. Clients include NOAA Climate Program Office, the National Park Service, Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, Princeton University Press, High Country News magazine, Immunity Journal, Harvard Medical School, Australian Institute of Marine Science, Electronic Publishing Services, Inc., Bay Nature Magazine, and Painted Lady Vineyard.

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Language

English
Fluent

Work Experience

Climatebase Fellow at Climatebase
September 1, 2025 - Present
Climatebase Fellow leading a capstone project team creating climate-themed comics; collaborating with mission-driven professionals to translate climate science into accessible, graphic storytelling.
Graphic Artist + Science Illustrator at Seattle Times
January 1, 2022 - Present
Develop engaging visual storytelling—from sketches to final art. Create explanatory illustrations for climate, health and other technical reporting. Produce quick-turn data visualizations and ArcGIS maps. Design responsive/interactive/scrolling presentations. Format art for mobile and print. Write/edit stories and short copy. Fact-check with expert sources. Manage graphics production across multidisciplinary teams of reporters, photographers, designers and editors.
Freelance Science Illustrator at Visualizing Science LLC
January 1, 2005 - Present
Create explanatory illustrations, infographics, maps, and charts for government agencies, academics, and educational publications. Develop branding and marketing campaigns. Design reports, journals, and ebooks with 508 compliance for accessibility. Major clients: NOAA's Climate Program Office, NPS, High Country News, Immunity, Princeton University Press, and scientific authors.
Managing Editor at Journal of Natural Science Illustration
January 1, 2018 - January 1, 2025
Managed a team of volunteers, set up online workspace, vetted submissions, copy edited text, designed layouts, and supervised print/digital workflows.
Senior Illustration Editor at Annual Reviews
December 1, 2006 - December 31, 2021
Edited ~600 figures/year—primarily in Adobe Illustrator—for review journals in 26 scientific disciplines. Worked with senior researchers to prepare graphics for publication. Developed department style guides, supervised freelancers and trained new hires. Copy edited text and captions. Advised management regarding production quality, efficiency and emerging technologies.
Store Artist at Whole Foods Market
December 31, 2004 - December 31, 2005
Designed branding and marketing displays for stores in Silicon Valley.

Education

Graduate Certificate in Scientific Illustration at UC Santa Cruz
January 1, 2004 - January 1, 2005
B.S. Marine Biology at UC Santa Cruz
January 1, 2000 - January 1, 2004

Qualifications

2025 Pulitzer Finalist in Local Reporting
May 10, 2025 - May 10, 2025
Seattle Times investigative series revealing how the Washington state government spent $1 million per day on construction that failed to safeguard either the salmon or the tribal treaty rights it was meant to protect.

Industry Experience

Media & Entertainment, Education, Government, Professional Services, Non-Profit Organization
    paper Growth and Decay of Coral Reefs: 50 Years of Learning
    During the pandemic, I created illustrations, charts, and maps for a book by renowned marine biologist and author, Dr. Peter J. Vine. The book, *Growth and Decay of Coral Reefs: Fifty Years of Learning*, was published as a hardcover and an ebook by CRC Press on September 15, 2023. It was a great honor to work with Vine, who in the 1970s, led a group of British scientists who studied Red Sea reefs off the coast of Sudan, including corals growing on Cousteau’s abandoned underwater garage. He also studied the many fish and other creatures that inhabited the reefs, and the dynamics between coral, CCA (crustose coralline algae), sponges, and macroalgae. His observations are an important part of the historical record, documenting how coral reefs flourished or declined 50 years ago compared to today. I helped to redraw 30 dive transects in a publishable format. I drew maps of the region, diagrams of experiments and Cousteau’s garage, and over 50 illustrations of Red Sea fish. https://www.twine.net/signin…
    uniE621 NOAA Climate Program Office 2024–2028 Strategic Plan
    The NOAA Climate Program Office, known as CPO, aims to advance climate research, make the science accessible and transparent, strengthen partnerships across government and private sectors, and support diversity, equity, and inclusion in the workplace. I designed and illustrated this solutions-oriented report over a period of approximately 9 months. ✍️ Writing and fact-checking by some of NOAA’s top scientists. 💻 Editing and oversight by CPO communications team. illustrator designer branding pdf datavisualization…
    uniE621 How big trees store carbon
    In the summer of 2024, I worked with environmental reporter Lynda Mapes to produce a novel, conceptual illustration of evergreen photosynthesis—from trees to cells to chloroplasts. Mature and old-growth forests play a crucial role in combating climate change by acting as significant carbon sinks, absorbing carbon dioxide and storing more carbon per unit area than young trees. The Seattle Times published this illustrated infographic in the main story, “Forest Feud,” on Sunday, Oct. 13, 2024, and on the following Monday in a science sidebar. Alternate formats were created for print, online, and mobile. “Forest Feud” is a Topical Reporting: Climate Change winner in the 2025 Online Journalism Awards. The illustration was also awarded 2nd Place Graphic in the 2024 SPJ NW Excellence in Journalism Contest, and accepted into the juried 2025 GNSI Annual Exhibit. illustrator designer graphicdesigner…