Ribbon diagrams and the art and graphic design used in them. First drawn by Jane Richardson.

2. http://mgl.scripps.edu/people/goodsell/mgs_art/richardson.html This was one of Jane Richardson’s first hand-drawn and colored diagrams of a protein.

3. The earlier drawings showed arrows indicating the direction of the protein ribbons. Today color and shading also show direction. http://www.nature.com/nsmb/journal/v7/n8/fig_tab/nsb0800_624_F1.html

4. In this sequence of pictures you can see Richardson attempting to portray the folding process as it might apply to four main protein structures. http://kinemage.biochem.duke.edu/teaching/anatax/html/anatax.4c.html

5. Shading and color add dimension to the diagram. Colors can show different strands or can be used to highlight an area of interest. http://sciencewomen.blogspot.com/2008/05/where-is-she-now-jane-richardson.html

6. http://www.chem.ubc.ca/personnel/facultly/scotty/qproj.html All these properties and artistic additions to protein diagrams can be useful with something like this. This complicated protein contains an enzymatic center, two MGD molecules, an Iron and Sulfur cluster and more. Scientists are currently using this image and other research to explain the mechanism of this enzyme.