Metastasis from the
Tumor Necrotic Core

The Problem.

This was an illustration created for Dr. Ami Yamamoto in Prof. Kevin Cheung's lab at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center. They had completed a study demonstrating a new role for tumor necrosis (a type of tissue death) in metastasis, the process by which cancer cells spread to other parts of the body (such as the lungs). Ami wanted an illustration that would embody the essential discovery of the work in a visually arresting and creative way to use in presentations and promotions of the work. Read below for the design case study, written by BK SciViz owner, Brad Krajina.

Contrasting Life and Death.

My core design idea centered around the idea of creating contrast between death and destruction-embodied by the tumor necrosis- and life and vitality, represented by a common site for breast cancer metastasis: the lungs. The branching and budding structure of the lungs lended itself to a natural transformation into blossoming flowers, a familiar and iconic visual message of vitality.

Creating Variations.

To help Ami find the right design, I put together multiple different design solutions intended to explore different moods, color designs, and compositions. Ultimately, this helped her identify a design that conveyed the core aspects of the research that she wanted to convey.