Information Sharing

Official Account Introduction

The CAFA-Beijing iGEM official WeChat account has been running since the early days of our team’s formation, dedicated to exploring the interdisciplinary convergence of BioArt and Synthetic Biology. As a platform maintained by artists, designers, and researchers, it carries our vision of creating a two-way dialogue with the public — making life sciences accessible beyond professional circles, and allowing art to become another form of scientific narrative.

Since its launch, we have published over 30 articles, covering a diverse range of topics from technical interpretations to theoretical analyses, gradually shaping the following core sections:

• Frontier Research Sharing
  Continuous tracking of global synthetic biology frontiers, such as the SynMoss synthetic chromosome, Organoid Intelligence bio-computing platforms, and MenstruAI, helping the public understand the technological background and potential applications of these innovations.
• BioArt Case Studies
  optimized primer concentration and annealing-temperature gradient; electrophoresis bands at expected sizes; junctions and reading frames verified.
• iGEM Team Features
  Highlighting the work of domestic and international iGEM teams, presenting their scientific concepts, research processes, and societal impact. Beyond sharing results, we emphasize the ideas and actions of young scientists within the global collaboration network.
• Interdisciplinary Commentary and Theoretical Discussions
  Translating complex scientific issues into language that is accessible to the public, while incorporating perspectives from philosophy, media theory, and sociology — from the ethical challenges of gene editing to the broad societal implications of emerging technologies.

Our content design emphasizes clarity, readability, and aesthetic consistency. Clean layouts, intuitive visual design, scientific illustrations, and photography make the content both professional and engaging. At the same time, we maintain an open and inclusive voice, encouraging contributions and discussions from scholars, artists, and readers of diverse backgrounds.

Our audience includes art students, researchers, designers, and members of the public who are curious about the intersection of life sciences and art. Through consistent output and interaction, we have gradually built a small yet precise interdisciplinary community, allowing more people to enter scientific discourse through art, or to reflect on artistic practice from a scientific perspective.

Looking ahead, we plan to further expand and diversify our content ecosystem

• Develop short videos and podcasts to transform complex scientific knowledge into more engaging multimedia experiences;
• Launch bilingual content to build an international communication matrix;
• Establish closer collaborations with universities, research institutions, and art spaces to integrate online and offline engagement through exhibitions, workshops, and public education events.

The platform is not only a window to showcase our project outcomes, but also a long-term space for education, dialogue, and experimentation. It enables the mutual integration of scientific knowledge and artistic creativity, while prompting continuous reflection on the complex relationships between technology, culture, and society.

Content Overview

• Frontier Research Sharing
  Continuously tracking global advances in synthetic biology, helping the public quickly understand the technical background and potential applications.

• BioArt Case Studies
  In-depth analyses of iconic BioArt projects, integrating perspectives from media theory, art history, and bioethics to provide multi-layered interpretations.

• iGEM Team Features
  Focusing on the practices of domestic and international iGEM teams, we not only showcase their research outcomes but also highlight the reflections and actions of young scientists within the global collaborative network.

Impact & Audience

Since its launch, the CAFA-Beijing iGEM WeChat account has steadily built a stable and high-quality audience community. As of August 2025, the account has accumulated over 2,600 total interactions, with a steady growth in followers — rising from 235 to over 255 in the past two months — demonstrating the professional quality of our content and the lasting appeal of our consistent output.

In terms of traffic sources, direct shares in chat conversations (48.53%) and WeChat Moments (33.73%) are the primary drivers, indicating strong word-of-mouth communication and social amplification within our audience network. Additionally, direct visits from the account homepage account for more than 10%, reflecting a core group of highly engaged readers.

Our audience profile shows a clear interdisciplinary character: the majority are 18–25-year-old students (over 50%), alongside researchers and university faculty. Female readers make up around 60%, showing strong engagement with interdisciplinary science and art content. While about 86% of our audience reads in Chinese, a notable 10% consumes English content, reflecting the platform’s potential for both local relevance and international expansion.

Analysis of reading trends reveals significant engagement peaks following in-depth feature releases. For example, at the end of 2024 and early 2025, multiple articles surpassed 300 reads per post, with peak daily views nearing 500, demonstrating the platform’s high resonance when bridging scientific frontiers and artistic narratives.

These metrics indicate that our account has successfully evolved from a niche academic channel to a platform capable of connecting professional discourse with public conversation. Over time, it has formed a small yet highly focused interdisciplinary community, encompassing art, life sciences, design, and technology — laying a solid foundation for developing more interactive and globally connected science communication models in the future.

Visuals and Interaction

Overall Style

The WeChat account presents a modern, minimalist, and tech-inspired visual identity. Generous white space and a clean, structured layout create a crisp and smooth reading experience. The use of bilingual titles in both Chinese and English enhances its international perspective, while a cool, rational color palette reinforces its professional tone.

Color System

The primary colors — green, blue, and purple — are used to distinguish different content categories: green for team features, blue for event updates, and purple for frontier research sharing. A clean white background ties the palette together, making the color coding clear and consistent while maintaining a sense of logic and futurism.

Typography & Layout

Modern sans-serif fonts are used consistently for a clean and refined appearance. Chinese titles are bold and stable, while English text uses lighter, more futuristic lettering. The layout is modular, with larger titles contrasted against smaller body text, creating clear visual hierarchy and an effortless reading flow.

Imagery Style

Imagery is high-quality and professional. Science-focused content uses cool-toned, technology-inspired visuals such as DNA helices or microscopic images, conveying a sense of rationality and cutting-edge innovation. Posts with artistic themes incorporate softer or experimental visuals, highlighting the interdisciplinary fusion of art and science.

Brand Consistency

Each post features a uniform CAFA-Beijing iGEM logo and QR code at the bottom, with consistent use of the color palette across sections. This creates a strong, recognizable visual identity and ensures visual continuity and professionalism across science features, project analyses, and team updates.

Future Plan

Looking ahead, the CAFA-Beijing iGEM WeChat platform will continue to deepen its focus on integrating synthetic biology with art communication, while exploring richer and more interactive forms of engagement. Our plans include:

• Multimedia Expansion: Introducing short videos, data visualizations, and podcasts to transform complex scientific content into more intuitive and engaging multimedia formats.
• International Outreach: Launching bilingual posts and dedicated English sections, fostering collaborations with international iGEM teams, artists, and research communities to broaden global reach.
• Content Ecosystem Upgrade: Refining the green, blue, and purple color-coded content system to make knowledge sharing, event reporting, and theoretical discussions more structured and coherent.
• Interactive and Offline Activities: Hosting lectures, exhibitions, and public workshops to bridge online content with offline dialogue, encouraging active participation and interdisciplinary discussions.
• Knowledge Archive Development: Consolidating high-quality articles and visual materials into a comprehensive knowledge base for long-term reference by team members, the public, and future iGEM teams.

These initiatives will not only enhance our science communication and outreach capabilities but also foster deeper dialogues between science, art, and the public.