Aim for plots that quickly tell you what you need to get out of your data
🧩🚀 Figures should stand on their own (standalone)
For inspiration look at the figure below from the paper
I have used arrows to guide the user (the arrows represent a subset of patients who are at high risk)
🤔 Tell the entire story. Do not assume that the reader will be an expert and will know everything
e.g. Diuretics appear to be associated with lower mortality in a group of patients with cardiovascular disease (shown in the blue region in the lower right-hand corner of the heatmap)
Divergent colour palette
🤔 A figure caption that explains everything the user needs to know and the interpretation
Ideally the reader should not have to read the main text/report at all!
🤔 Nature paper on to create plots for effective communication
Clarify the main message before designing a figure (this is the most important point).
Identify the audience and context, and adjust the level of detail.