Spread the Nerd is an independent agency for science communication and format development. Our clients include universities, research institutes, and academics who value the use of innovative communication formats.
We will work with you to develop a longterm science communication strategy for your project. By identifying the most appropriate actions and interventions to achieve your goals, we will set your project up for success.
We will advise you on integrating science communication into your grant applications in a meaningful way. It’s important to us to identify strategies that are both suitable and feasible for your project. We work nationally (e.g. DFG, Excellence Strategies) and internationally (e.g. “dissemination and communication” packages for Horizon Europe) in this area.
We will advise you on different ways that artists, scientists, and artist-scientists can work together. We will design a bespoke plan and support you throughout the project, drawing on our extensive experience of international collaborations.
We will work with you to discover your project’s identity and to create a fitting visual concept. Our focus is a graphical sophistication that can capture the essence of your project and give it character.
We will design and program your project’s websites and web apps. Here, we can implement your project’s existing visual identity or the visual identity that we have developed together. If needed, we can prepare all your content in multimedia formats. We work with the latest technology and care about using open-source solutions.
We will create your multimedia content. Our focus is an imaginative mix that suits your project. Whether that means GIFs, scrollytelling, photo galleries, or word art quotes for social media, we’ll find the right formats for your project.
We will design and produce videos and animation to suit your project and your institute. Our portfolio includes explanatory films, infographics, and promotional films.
We will design and produce interactive exhibits to make your research come alive. Our focus is to stimulate an imaginative engagement with research results and to create new ways of engaging.
We will develop and produce podcast formats for your projects. We draw on the expertise of established radio journalists to deliver a captivating listening experience.
We’re more than experts in existing formats – we also develop entirely new formats. With creativity and methodology, we will use approaches such as Design Thinking to develop novel formats tailored to your needs and wishes.
Johanna Barnbeck is an expert in science communication and format development. Having trained as a culture analyst and artistic researcher, she produces creative concepts and oversees the production process. She has served as a jury member for the Fast Forward Science film prize, and she delivers seminars on visual science communication at Germany’s National Institute for Science Communication (NaWik). She’s passionate about using modern communication to work in the areas of tension between theory and praxis.
Wim Dijksterhuis is an expert in motion design and visualization. Having trained in film studies and creative direction, he distils complex information into succinct and expressive visual formats. Wim’s clients in this area include the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, the Van Abbe Museum Eindhoven, and DutchCulture. He’s passionate about using visual aids to make research easy to understand.
Max Dorando is an expert in organizational consulting, strategy, and change processes. Having trained in economics and business education, he specializes in consulting for universities. Max is a cofounder of ConsultContor, and a trainer, coach, and supervisor (DGSv). He’s passionate about working with clients to develop and implement longterm strategies.
Juri Hiensch is an expert in design and web development. Having trained in photography, he offers a wide range of creative skills. In addition to programming, he is involved in design and visual language. He’s passionate about the idea that life involves both learning and failure, and that you can always create and learn something new from both.
Grace Fox is an expert in grant applications and translation. She has worked in science publishing since 2005, both on the editorial side (J Med Chem, Anal Bioanal Chem, Biosens Bioelectron) and with authors worldwide. She also offers support with grant applications (NIH, ERC). She’s passionate about finding simple language for complex research, and about applying cognitive principles to science communication.
Dr. Petra Krimphove is an expert in editorial work and presenting scientific topics to a broad readership. Having trained in literary studies, she has worked for many years as a freelance journalist in Germany (and occasionally in the US) for media organizations, grant foundations, and other science organizations. In addition, she produces, edits, proofreads, and translates texts from English to German (e.g. Wissenschaft im Dialog, Forschungsfelder (BMEL-Magazin), Teilchenphysik.ch, swissinfo.ch, Aktive Bürgerschaft). She’s passionate about finding the answers to those research questions that one should always find at the start of a good text.
Filip Mertens is an expert in a variety of programming languages, and in linking technologies with concepts. A born tinkerer, he gets excited about any kind of technical challenge for which there are no existing solutions. He’s passionate about the way that research can gradually make the world a better place, and how communication and understanding are at the forefront of this process.
Rolf Schulten is an expert in visual science communication. Having trained in photography, he produces portraits and event photos, and uses his camera to document people at work and in their world. He’s passionate about capturing complex processes with clear pictures.
André Wunstorf is an expert in photography. Having trained in literary studies and photography, he’s always on the lookout for compelling photos, whether that’s symbolic still lifes in the studio or on-location portraits of the people behind the research. André’s clients in this area include the TAZ newspaper, the Fraunhofer Institute, Berliner Festspiele, VW, and Humboldt University. He’s passionate about finding concrete images for abstract content.
Gabi Wuttke is an expert in podcasts. Having trained in German language and literary studies and journalism, she’s always on the lookout for exciting stories. Whether in podcasts or during her regular appearances on national radio station Deutschlandfunk Kultur, she makes complex science easy for radio listeners to understand. She’s passionate about getting down to the deepest layers of a great story.
The fusion plants at the Max Planck Institute of Plasma Physics aren’t actually open to the general public. But they can be visited via a virtual 360° panorama, which offers a unique glimpse into the research. We designed and produced a trailer for the Institute’s YouTube channel, and social media posts for their Twitter and […]
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The theme of environmental justice tackles important global changes, such as climate change as a driver of migration, and the problem of waste management between the global north and global south. But, until recently, no organization in the German-speaking world was seeking to network, activate, and raise awareness among the various actors. That changed with […]
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Spread the Nerd
Agency for Science Communication
and Format Development
Ohlauer Str. 5-11
10999 Berlin
Germany
+49 (0)172 712 66 25
hello@spreadthenerd.net
