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How to create a graphical abstract

Graphical abstracts are becoming more and more important. Journal publishers such as Elsevier encourage you to create a concise visual summary of the main findings of your research.

But where to start? What steps should you follow to create the perfect graphical abstract for your article? What tools can you use?

On this page, you’ll find an overview of tips, tools and inspiration to create your own graphical abstract for your next article. Let’s show the world what your research is all about!

Presentation

Workshop VUB LSM PhD Day (March 30, 2021):

Digital tools to create graphical abstracts

You can use almost any graphical tool you want to create a graphical abstract. You could even use just pen and paper, if you like – the story is the most important part of the visual, not the artistic quality. Use the tool you know best, or feel the most comfortable with!

Here is a list of tools to get you started:

Illustrations and icons to use in infographics

Photos to use in graphical abstracts

Color schemes for graphical abstracts

Creating graphs and maps for graphical abstracts

Books that can help you create better visuals

  • Infographic designers’ sketchbooks, Steven Heller & Rick Landers
  • Storytelling with data, Cole Nussbaumer Knaflic
  • Trees, maps and theorems, Jean-Luc Doumont
  • Visual thinking, Willemien Brand

People on Twitter talking about information design

Blogs about information design

Wrapping up

Did we miss something? Which indispensable resource did we miss? Make sure to let us know at koen@baryon.be!

Also, feel free to check out our other resource guides:

Books on a bookshelf - infographics resources

Read more:

Side-by-side comparison of two bar chart versions showing the number of inhabitants per paid political mandate across EU27 countries, ranked from lowest to highest. The left version labels countries with two-letter abbreviations (FR, CZ, SI, etc.), while the right version uses full country names (France, Czechia, Slovenia, etc.). Both show identical data: France has the lowest ratio at 134 inhabitants per mandate, rising through the EU27 average of 385 (highlighted in dark blue), up to Latvia with the highest ratio at 2,570. Source: European Committee of the Regions and VRT NWS.

Avoiding abbreviations

People are lazy. Make it as easy as possible for them to see what you are trying to show. There are tons of ways to reduce mental noise in your charts, but one of the easiest is avoiding abbreviations.

Read More

6 September 2026

Three-panel spread: the Nature magazine cover for 23 July 2026, featuring a detailed pencil-and-ink illustration of a rhinoceros beetle alongside drafting tools; a magazine page for the article 'Three Tips to Avoid AI Image Mistakes in Science' with an abstract red-and-blue line illustration of a hand and pencil; and a painted illustration of a hornbill's head with two circular inset diagrams showing colorful cross-sections of its skull anatomy.

The uncomfortable relationship between scientific illustrations and AI

Scientific journal Nature devoted the headline of its 23 July 2026 issue to “the human art of scientific illustration in the age of artificial intelligence”. Of course, that sparked my attention.

Read More

27 August 2026

Review: Info We Trust

Info We Trust is an ambitious, visually stunning book that sits somewhere between philosophy, information design, and a collection of visual essays.

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28 January 2026

Gridlines are better than axes

Almost always, gridlines are better than axes. Vertical axes are the default option, and they have been around for centuries, so they are very well known. But they also have downsides. My biggest problem with vertical axes is that they’re often so far away from where the action is really happening.

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24 September 2025

Review: A History of Data Visualization and Graphic Communication

Michael Friendly and Howard Wainer clearly love graphs. But A History of Data Visualization and Graphic Communication isn’t just about graphs — it’s about the stories behind them: the context, the people, the new measurements that made them necessary, and the discoveries they enabled.

Read More

18 September 2025

Report visuals don’t have to suck

Discover how CREG, Belgium’s electricity regulator, turns complex data into clear and engaging visuals. From smart annotations to small multiples and uncommon chart types, their Monitoring Report shows how thoughtful data visualization makes technical reports easier to read and understand.

Read More

1 September 2025

We are really into visual communication!

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