Dr Karel van der Waarde (The Netherlands, 1963) studied graphic design in the Netherlands (Eindhoven [BA]) and in the UK (Leicester [MA] and Reading [PhD]). He received his doctorate in 1994 for: ‘An investigation into the suitability of the graphic presentation of patient package inserts’. In 1995, he started a design - research consultancy in Belgium specializing in the testing of information design. The company develops package leaflets, instructions, forms, protocols, and the information architecture for websites. The main focus is on information about medicines for patients, prescribing doctors and pharmacists. Karel van der Waarde frequently publishes and lectures about visual information. He is moderator of the InfoDesign and InfoDesign-Café discussion lists. The Avans Hogeschool (Breda, The Netherlands) has recently appointed him as a scholar in visual rhetoric. It is a research post to investigate the development and use of visual communication with a longer term aim to support the relations between practice, research and education.