Scientific communication issues are pervasive. Not only are researchers having trouble explaining their work to their communities, but we are facing the greater issue of a public growing increasingly incapable of distinguishing credible scientific data. While Universities and specialists offer a selection of resources that attempt to combat poor scientific communication in STEM fields, the results are often short-term and limited. Intervening at the laboratory level presents the opportunity to create and customize insular, intuitive resources to promote continuous self-learning in visual design. Directed by personal observation and documentation of current visual design culture in multiple laboratory groups, this thesis proposes the creation of tailored self-sustainable resources covering visual design basics and visual critique practice as they relate to researcher’s needs. Encouraging researchers to participate in consistent visual design practice and critique will not only improve their overall skills but will also begin to increase the communicative ability of their work. This will be assisted through a visual design toolkit that provides researchers with a variety of portable visual design and critique-centric resources and guides.