What is figures and graphical abstracts?
A graphical abstract is a single, concise visual summary of a paper’s main findings, now requested or encouraged by many journals and widely shared on social media. Figure formatting makes a manuscript’s charts and images meet the journal’s artwork rules for resolution, dimensions, file type, fonts and labelling. Frontier Publishers’ science designers create graphical abstracts and editable vector illustrations and format figures so they pass technical checks at submission.
Service overview
Publishers and journals increasingly emphasise accurate, high-quality graphics in research. A good graphical abstract is simple, visually appealing and conveys the main message of your study without excessive text or complex graphics.
Our designers create graphical abstracts from your manuscript, draw vector artwork from a hand-drawn sketch or reference image, and reformat existing figures to your journal’s specifications. AI-generated images are avoided, because many journals restrict their use.
What is included
- Graphical and visual abstract design
- Scientific illustrations from sketches or references
- Figure resizing, cropping and alignment
- Resolution and colour mode (DPI, RGB, CMYK) to journal rules
- Consistent fonts, labels and panel lettering
- File formats: TIFF, EPS, PDF, PNG and editable sources
- Charts and graphs redrawn for clarity
- Conference poster design
Who this service is for
Authors submitting to visual-first journals
Researchers targeting journals that require or encourage a graphical abstract.
Researchers without design tools
Authors who lack the software, expertise or time to produce professional graphics.
Conference presenters
Researchers who need a clear poster or presentation visuals for a meeting.
Our process
How our figures and graphical abstracts works
Why choose us
Why researchers choose Frontier Publishers
Built by science designers
Designers with backgrounds in medicine, biology, molecular sciences and engineering.
Journal compliance
Every figure meets the artwork requirements that commonly trigger technical rejection.
Free reformatting for 60 days
If format adjustments are required again for the same journal within 60 days, we reformat free of charge.
Greater visibility
Graphical abstracts help readers grasp your findings quickly and are shared widely online.
Questions
Figures and graphical abstracts questions
Yes. Most journals specify dimensions, file type, resolution and how much text is allowed. We follow your target journal’s guidelines, and where none exist we apply common best practice: one clear message, minimal text and a left-to-right or top-to-bottom reading order.
Only with the right permissions. To avoid copyright problems our designers create original artwork or use properly licensed scientific illustrations.
Yes. Axis labels, units, symbols and panel lettering are made consistent with the manuscript and the journal’s style.
Yes. Along with journal-ready TIFF, EPS or PDF files, you receive editable vector sources so you can reuse the artwork.
Free assessment
Send your manuscript and target journal. An expert reviews it and replies with a recommended approach and a fixed quote, with no obligation.
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A journal-style review report from an expert in your field, identifying weaknesses in methods, results and argument before real reviewers do.