Graphic narrative in science: Illustration as the visual language of botany

Since ancient times, people, who have been trying to know and learn about the world with science, look for ways to transfer and communicate what they have learned. Visual narrative goes beyond the boundaries of language and fills this communication gap. Visual communication and scientific illustration have great benefits in making science understandable through images. The confusion that arises in the verbal expression of scientific knowledge is minimized with scientific illustrations. In this thesis, scientific illustration and visual language were examined in terms of botany and applied in a botanical illustration project for Kültürpark. In the first chapter of the research, the connection in between science, art and design was examined. The contribution of art in science and the collaboration within were tried to be exposed. And the collaboration of design, in particular graphic design, with science was exhibited in the frame of historical developments. The definition of scientific illustration as a collective discipline is explained and the historical timeline explained in the main frame. As the historical progress of scientific illustration is very large, only milestones were given. In the seond chapter, as the visual narrative of botanical llustration, the defini-tion, historical overview, purposes and techniques of scientific herbal illustration were examined and the development of botanical illustration in Turkey was explained. After the explanation of the botanical illustration in historical development of scientific illus-tration; the functions and techniques of botanical illustration were given. In the third chapter, Kültürpark which has been chosen for the illustration pro-ject, was explained in the means of cultural and urban importance for İzmir city. The species choosen for the illustration project were explained and the application of botani-cal illustration is shown with the examples. Key Words: Scientific Illustration, Botabical Illustration, Graphic Design, Illustration