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| When you make a figure, you need to aim at a good balance point between formal and casual. Not too casual, not too formal, and be neat. The image is from here. |
Here is a question: What makes a good figure?
I would say there are three factors: (1) informative; (2)
intuitively understandable; (3) slick design. They are intermingled. When
crafting your figures, if you put too much information without caring about the balance, factors (2) and (3) may be lost. Just
like, even though you know that broccoli is good for your health, if you only
eat broccoli without caring for nutrient balance, such a diet may end up
jeopardizing your health and beauty. “Balance” is the keyword here.
I was poor at creating balanced figures. I once believed
that figure-making was something you need a sense or talent for—and I had
neither. I knew my figures did not look good, but I did not how to improve them.
I read books of design methodology or color coordination, but none of them
improved my figure-making skills.
I read an article about fashion that talked about the
balance between being casual and being formal. It struck my mind, and I realized
that, when one designs a figure, a similar method can be applied.
Here, I introduced the concept of balance using “casualty factor”
and “classy factor.” If you think there is too much classy factor in your
figure, you can balance that out by adding components of casualty factor.
Examples
of Casualty and Classy Factors
Casualty factor: Colorful, bold, asymmetry, rectangular,
round, vivid, space
Classy factor: Black and white, thin, symmetry, square,
sharp, much information
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| Tune the casualty/classy parameter to hit the sweet point. But be always neat. |
An easy example is a TEM image, which is a black and white
result. When I use a TEM image, I trim the image into a rectangular shape not a
square because “black and white” + “square” is going to be a little too formal,
possibly boring. This is an easy example, but this is my thought process when
crafting figures. Similarly, when making big figures (see below), it usually involves
big information. Conveying a good amount of information is good, but if you
make it only black and white with a sharp shape, your reader might tire from
attempts to understand what’s going on. Then, you probably want to add more color
into your figures.
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| The left one is clearly clearer than the right one. Color contrast is important. |
Good luck on having a nice balance point!
