Students in my lab requested a video tutorial on how to make high quality figures for our scientific publications, so I figured why not make the tutorial available to everyone.
Figures that are polished and well-designed can communicate complex ideas more quickly and efficiently. In this video, I go through the process of making a high quality publication-ready figure and narrate my general process, also summarized below:
Step 0: Make a mockup https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L9qo2XZiQ4Y&t=70s
Step 1: Create vectorized versions of all figure panels https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L9qo2XZiQ4Y&t=84s
Step 2: Combine your figure panels in a vector graphics software https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L9qo2XZiQ4Y&t=139s
Step 3: Make sure everything is labeled and legible https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L9qo2XZiQ4Y&t=217s
Step 4: Use visual similarity, proximity, and other Gestalt principles to enhance salience https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L9qo2XZiQ4Y&t=334s
Step 5: Minimize distractions like multiple fonts or stroke weights https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L9qo2XZiQ4Y&t=582s
Step 6: Balance use of white space and iterate as needed https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L9qo2XZiQ4Y&t=662s
Try it out for yourself!
Links to software, programs, resources, and papers referenced in the video:
- Data visualization theory: https://jef.works/genomic-data-visualization-2024/course/1-data-visualization-theory/
- Figure style guide: https://jef.works/blog/2019/07/19/figure-style-faux-pas/
- STdeconvolve R package: https://github.com/JEFworks-Lab/stdeconvolve
- Scatterbar R package: https://github.com/JEFworks-Lab/scatterbar
- Affinity Designer Software: https://affinity.serif.com/en-us/designer/
- Inkscape Software: https://inkscape.org/
- Gestalt Principles: https://sketchplanations.com/gestalt-principles
- Example shown from our Miller et al paper: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-022-30033-z
- Example shown from our Clifton, Anant, et al paper: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-023-43915-7
- Example shown from our Aihara et al paper: https://academic.oup.com/bioinformatics/article/40/7/btae412/7696710