I like the idea of a general research proposal image, a little more involved than a question mark.
Sounds cool. I thought of a similar thing myself. I could come up with a pre-research image showing a lab and scientists at work.
The only thing that I need atm is some reliable info on the size of the UFOpaedia images and their exact on-screen placement (like: image 120x120 pixels, located in the center of the bracket in the right lower corner of the email window). Also, it's important for me to know what sort of background is the image going to be displayed on.
I realize that it depends heavily on the current user interface which, IMO could use some improvement. If it was up to me I'd redesign the whole thing - the layout, the artwork etc. (actually I think that's where we should start. If there is a chance for a change of the UI of course. Yeah, I'm aware of the fact that it would create extra work for the coders and that it's not a priority).
BTW Is there an easy way to change the artwork of the tactical UI (using all the current nodes and stuff)? I'd like to give it a shot.