Lisa Kiltz
lis.strations
visual science communication
portfolio
some of my recent work
- Hey there -
I'm Lis, a psychologist and illustrator passionate about bridging the gap between academic research and the public through creative, accessible illustrations and cartoons.
About me:
Lisa Kiltz
psychologist, illustrator, counselor
PhD | educational sciences, with a focus on educational and health psychology
MSc | (applied) psychology
Counselor | systemic and sexual counseling (in training)
Born and raised in Germany, now located in beautiful Groningen in the Netherlands.
Why visual science communication?
(Psychological) science often stays trapped behind paywalls, written in unaccessible academic English, so much so that it rarely reaches either the general public or practicing professionals. This issue leads to various issues, such as "kitchen-table psychology", where everyone has an opinion on mental health, yet none are reliably grounded in research. Moreover, psychological practitioners struggle to stay in a consistent dialogue with psychological science (a phenomenon referred to as the science-practitioner gap, Drabick & Goldfried, 2000, Schwarzbach et al., 2025), let alone communicating the science behind their practice to their clients.
Asked about potential solutions to bridging such gaps, practitioners also mention visual aids, such as inforgraphics or visual summaries (Schwarzbach et al, under review). Visuals are easier to remember and faster to process compared to words (as stated according to the picture-superiority effect, e.g. Defeyter et al., 2009, see also this infographic). So: visual science communication isn't just a nice idea - it's a powerful solution. Infographics, story telling, and figures can help translate science for the general public and clients more effectively, making psychological ideas accessible, engaging, and lasting.
The vision behind lis.strations
Accessible
Awareness-raising
Adorable
Visual and creative science communication
At lis.strations, my goal is to make psychology and social science accessible to everyone. Through playful and thoughtful cartoons, I aim to raise awareness of important psychological and societal issues in a way that’s easy to understand. We process visual information faster and retain more compared to plain text; therefore, research visuals are a powerful tool. As both an academic and a creative, I bring an insider’s perspective on the complexities of research, combining that expertise with a love for visual storytelling to communicate science in an engaging and meaningful way.
