Graphical abstracts are explanatory visual summaries that integrate new insights with existing bodies of knowledge. Increasingly required by scientific journals, they serve to attract audiences online and across social media platforms. Acting as a visual complement to the textual abstract, graphical abstracts are typically displayed on journal websites.
Their primary purposes are to capture attention, stimulate interdisciplinary curiosity, and enable rapid screening of articles. However, studies have shown that graphical abstracts alone are insufficient for conveying the full core message of a paper.
Before beginning the design process, clearly define the main message. Without a well-defined central idea, creating a coherent graphical abstract is impossible.
The process of defining the message may involve drafting rough sketches or condensing the textual abstract into one or two strong, impactful sentences.
Icons and pictograms form the backbone of every graphical abstract.
Ensure that all symbols used share a coherent visual style, including line thickness, color palette, and level of detail.
Specialized (e.g., Bioicons, Reactome) and general-purpose (e.g., FontAwesome, The Noun Project) repositories are available as icon resources.
When icons alone are insufficient to convey the main message, include charts or data visualizations within the graphical abstract.
Choose chart types that can be quickly interpreted at a glance (e.g., bar, pie, or line charts).
The primary takeaway of the chart (e.g., increase, decrease, or maximum value) should be recognizable without the need for detailed axes, labels, or legends.
Graphical abstracts for journal websites are typically square in format, with final display sizes comparable to a large postage stamp.
The design should make optimal use of the limited available space.
The layout must provide a clear entry point for the viewer. Audiences generally read from left to right and top to bottom.
Arrange all elements in accordance with the chosen reading flow (row or column).
For linear processes (e.g., disease progression or experimental workflows), a left-to-right layout works best; for cyclic events (e.g., metabolic pathways), a circular layout is more suitable.
Arrows are key components of explanatory diagrams and graphical abstracts, connecting visual elements into a coherent narrative.
The meaning of arrows must be explicit, as similar arrow types can imply different relationships across academic disciplines.
To reduce cognitive load, apply Gestalt principles to group related elements. For example:
Proximity: Group related elements by minimizing spatial distance.
Similarity: Group elements sharing visual properties (e.g., color, shape).
Text should be seamlessly integrated with visuals to ensure comprehension of complex concepts.
Use text to clarify ambiguous symbols or represent specific technical terms (e.g., acetylcholine).
Titles and annotations should be concise, jargon-free, and sparing in abbreviation use to maximize readability.
Color enhances appeal, highlights key information, creates contrast, and encodes quantities. For quantitative data, use different saturations of a single hue.
Maintain color consistency: a color change should signify a change in meaning, both within the graphical abstract and between the abstract and the manuscript.
Ensure accessibility for color-blind audiences. Avoid using color as the sole means of conveying information, and maintain adequate contrast between foreground and background (e.g., WCAG recommends a minimum contrast ratio of 4.5:1).
Graphical abstracts are commonly prepared with vector-based software, such as commercial tools (Adobe Illustrator) or open-source alternatives (Inkscape), which allow for infinite scaling without loss of quality.
Presentation tools (e.g., PowerPoint) can produce satisfactory results if exported in a vector format (e.g., PDF).
Online tools such as BioRender or Canva can also be used effectively.
Visual design is an iterative and dynamic process; graphical abstracts should undergo multiple stages of evaluation and refinement.
Actively seek and incorporate feedback at various stages (message definition, initial draft, and final version).
Asking viewers what they perceive at first glance can help assess whether the visual weight aligns with the intended message.
Designing a graphical abstract is a valuable exercise to evaluate whether a paper’s key message is sufficiently clear and concise.