About
Dr. Hans Westerbeek serves as an Assistant Professor in the Language and Communication group within the Department of Languages, Literature and Communication at Utrecht University's Faculty of Humanities. His academic work bridges cognitive psychology, communication studies, and visual design with a particular focus on data visualization and visual communication.
Westerbeek completed his PhD at Tilburg University in 2016 with a dissertation titled 'Visual realism: Exploring effects on memory, language production, comprehension, and preference.' His research career demonstrates a consistent trajectory from cognitive aspects of visual perception toward practical applications in information design and data communication.
His research interests encompass cognitive psychology, communication studies, visual perception, visual design, and information visualization. Westerbeek's work particularly examines how visual elements affect comprehension, memory, and decision-making processes. His current research includes a Netspar Topicality project on visual communication of expected pension benefits and supervision of a PhD project addressing challenges in communicating about changes in the Dutch pension system.
Analysis of his publication history reveals a strong focus on the intersection of visual design principles and cognitive processing. His work spans from fundamental research on visual perception and language production to applied studies on data visualization in domains including sports statistics, urban tourism, and financial communication. The recent shift toward pension communication demonstrates his ability to apply visualization principles to complex real-world communication challenges.
As an educator, Westerbeek teaches CIS bachelor-level courses including CIW-lab and Rhetorics of Data Visualization, as well as the master-level Data Analysis and Visualization course. He also supervises theses and internships, mentoring students in the practical application of visualization principles.
His technical expertise includes quantitative and qualitative research methods, statistical analysis, and programming skills in Bash, JavaScript, HTML, and Python. These technical capabilities support his research in creating and evaluating visual communication solutions across various domains.
