After spending numerous hours doing research, it is important to have well-presented figures that communicate the quality of your work. By adding color to your figures in a way that complements your data, you can achieve excellent visuals to include in your manuscript. To view the article and video about using color in figures, visit http://arc.aje.com/using-color-in-figures/. To access 200+ free resources for researchers, visit arc.aje.com.

1. The chances of your
research getting
published by using
color in figures
HOW TO INCREASE

2. journals only published
figures in black and white
Before the internet,

3. online publications
publish figures in COLOR
Now,

4. easier to understand
Using color appropriately
makes your data
look better

5. Which increases your
chance of
getting published

6. 3 things to consider
when adding color
to your figures

7. 1 Color schemes
2 Ways not to use color
3 Colorblindness

8. Analogous
Color schemes:
Complementary
Triad

9. Analogous
3 colors beside
each other on the
color wheel

10. Analogous
Good for showing
similarities in data

11. Complementary
2 colors opposite
each other on the
color wheel

12. Complementary
Good for showing
differences in data

13. Triad
3 colors that are
equidistant on the
color wheel

14. Triad
Provides variety when
showing differences

15. Too many
colors
Don’t use:
Neon
colors

16. Also, consider
colorblindness

17. People who are
colorblind
have a hard time seeing
the differences between
red and green

18. So avoid using
red and green
together

19. Instead use
Analogous,
complementary, or
triad color schemes
with red or green

20. W r i t i n g a n e f f e c t i v e f i g u re le g e n d
More resources for making great
figures: (click on titles below)
2 0 0 + r e s o u r c e s f o r r e s e a r c h e r s
V i s i t A r c . A j e . c o m
F i g u re a n d f i le t y p e b a s i c s
4 re a s o n s t o o m i t a f i g u re o r t a b le