Eric Pesanelli: Utilizing Tools and Resources to Ensure Image Integrity in Scholarly Publishing

Abstract

Graphic arts cover an ever-expanding range of options, and those who major in it in college might expect their job titles to be graphic designer or perhaps professor of graphic design. The field plays an intriguing role in scholarly publishing, and ideally the results display information effectively and meaningfully to readers. As Publisher, Art at the American Physiological Society (APS), Eric Pesanelli is responsible for the production and quality control of all artwork published in APS journals, from developing policy and procedures for journal artwork production to supervising art department staff and independent contract artists and managing the process for addressing image integrity. Science Editor’s Anna Jester recently spoke with Eric about how he came to his position at APS and how he approaches his role in ensuring image quality and integrity. Science Editor: Please tell us about your job and whether your position historically existed at your organization. Eric Pesanelli: I am not the first to be in this position, and titles evolve over time, but I am the first person with this job title at my organization who has had to address image integrity as a major component of the department’s responsibilities. Previously, as the Editorial Art Manager for APS, I was managing production art editing for all the APS journals. Neither myself nor my staff have any scientific training beyond a few college level courses—we are all graphic arts majors. We do understand how images and graphics are created and published and began seeing and questioning irregularities […]