Figure Preparation

This page defines the lab’s baseline expectations for manuscript-ready figure drafts. It is intended to make figure review more objective, more efficient, and easier to standardize across projects.

Core Principle

When a target journal has explicit artwork or submission specifications, draft figures should be prepared to those specifications before they are circulated for manuscript review whenever practical.

Lab Non-Negotiables

These rules are intended to be simple and objective:

  • Use one font family across all panels in a figure, for example Helvetica or Arial.

  • Keep labels readable at the final figure size. As a rule of thumb, labels should typically be about 7-9 pt at final size; nothing should look tiny.

  • Use consistent line weights and a consistent panel-label style throughout the figure, for example A, B, C.

  • Do not rasterize text. Export vector PDF or SVG when possible and keep annotations editable until final export.

  • Do not use generative or AI-created images unless they are explicitly approved in advance and are clearly non-data, illustrative elements.

  • Every figure must pass the two-second test: at final size, can a reader find the main labels and read them instantly?

Journal Specifications

The target journal’s figure guidance controls submission-specific details such as maximum dimensions, color mode, bitmap resolution, accepted file types, and panel packaging. Lab members are expected to check those instructions early rather than reformatting figures at the end of manuscript preparation.

Working Standard When Journal Guidance Is Unclear

If a target journal has not yet been chosen or its artwork guidance is not yet available, use the following default standard:

  • Prefer vector exports for graphs, charts, schematics, and annotation-heavy figures.

  • Keep text, scale bars, and labels editable until the final export.

  • Use a clean left-to-right or top-to-bottom information flow.

  • Avoid overcrowding; if a figure is hard to parse quickly, reduce panels or simplify the content.

  • Keep photographic or raster image panels at high resolution and avoid flattening text into them.

Notes from the Nature Guide

The attached Nature Reviews artwork guide is a useful generic reference for a few points that transfer well across journals:

  • design figures so the information flow is obvious immediately

  • remove decorative or redundant elements that do not help the figure read faster

  • save data-focused figures in vector/editable formats whenever possible

  • keep overlaid text, annotations, and scale bars separate and editable

  • judge readability at the intended final size rather than only on a zoomed-in screen

Review Standard

For figures shown in one-on-one meetings or prepared for manuscript drafting, the default expectation is that they are already close to journal-ready in format. If a figure fails the two-second test or violates the non-negotiables above, it is not ready for circulation as a manuscript figure draft.