An interview with Alex Vent, Medical / Scientific Illustrator
How did you land at AMBOSS?
I came to AMBOSS 2016 via my Masters program in Scientific Illustration at the Academy of Fine Arts in Maastricht. Our head of the department distributed information about the job, and it sounded so interesting that I just had to apply (even though I was about to start writing my Master thesis and had not finished my studies yet).
The whole company gave me the impression of an innovative startup with engaged people and fascinating projects to work on. When I got accepted after my interview, I was very happy to have found a workplace like this.
What has been your favorite project at AMBOSS?
My favorite project has been creating a style guide with my team in order to unify AMBOSS’ illustrations and create a look-and-feel for our imagery.
We are constantly developing our style further and in respect to different content, such as surgical series, disease factsheets and so on. This is a challenging task which keeps the work interesting and fun.
What is the biggest challenge you have encountered in your role?
The biggest (and ongoing) challenge is to find space for creativity and innovation within the guidelines we’ve created, without viewing them as limitations to my work.
With every new illustration, I try to improve my skills in storytelling and illustrating and therefore make our product as useful for our students as possible, in order to provide the most extensive medical knowledge and educate current and future physicians in the best possible way.
