Cellular processes are wide and varied: feedback loops, signaling and metabolic pathways, cell cycle progressions, to name a few. In this sixth installment of the Special series: Scientific figure development, recent TIBS authors share how they craft these complex processes as informative, yet accessible, figures. In doing so, they consider the questions: what aspects do you consider when generating such a figure? How do you decide how to represent the cellular process being described (i.e., shapes of proteins, cellular content, arrows, etc.)? What program(s) do you prefer for generating such figures and why? Contributing to this article are Szymon W. Kmiecik, first author of ‘Molecular mechanisms of heat shock factor 1 regulation’ [1] (Figure 5, for example); Qiaoni Shi and Ye-Guang Chen, authors of ‘Regulation of Dishevelled protein activity and stability by post-translational modifications and autophagy’ [2] (Figure 1); Jannis Moormann and Tatjana M. Hildebrandt, the first and corresponding authors of ‘News about amino acid metabolism in plant–microbe interactions’ [3] (Figure 1 and others); Amy Schade and Martin Fischer, the first authors and co-corresponding author of ‘Coordinating gene expression during the cell cycle’ [4] (Figures 3 and 4); and Kyusik Kim, first author of ‘Canary in a coal mine: collided ribosomes as sensors of cellular conditions’ [5] (Figure 1 and others). Szymon W. Kmiecik Communicating research discoveries to other researchers and to the public is an important objective for scientists, in my opinion. Key to effectively sharing research findings are clear and attractive figures. In general, figures should be simple (but not trivial), self-explanatory, and only include necessary information to not distract the reader. While preparing a figure, aspects like type of representation (linear or cyclic), possible feedback loops, and cellular localization and connectivity of components could be considered. Also, it is important to pay attention to the color code that should help to guide the reader through the figure and draw attention to important aspects of the process. The impaired color vision of some of the readers should be taken into account. When representing proteins, the question is: what are the important aspects within the cellular process? If proteins appear as static objects, geometric shapes suffice as representation. If individual domains of a protein or different conformations are to be emphasized, more complex representations are needed. Often, for clarity reasons, the size ratios of different cellular components and compartments cannot be kept, but should always be considered. Arrows should have the right proportion as compared with the components they connect and the figure as an entity. But arrows could transport additional information, like quantitative or conditional aspects of the process. Vector graphics software like Adobe Illustrator or Inkscape can help to take your figures to the next level. In summary, a scientist does not have to be an artist, but well-prepared figures are crucial to effective science communication. Qiaoni Shi and Ye-Guang Chen An intuitive and clear illustration helps readers to acquire the background and concepts quickly. A figure is usually designed based on the key point elucidated in the paper, referring to experimental results and published relevant work. For example, we described how Wnt ligands trigger distinct canonical and non-canonical signaling pathways, which engage some common components, as well as different proteins or protein complexes, to achieve distinct functions on various biological events. When generating such a figure, several important issues should be considered. In our case, we felt the essential signaling mediators, including ligands, receptors, intracellular signal transducer, regulatory proteins, and downstream transcriptional factors, should be included. The physiological outcomes of the pathways were also described. Further, we paid attention to other information, including protein localization (plasma membrane, cytoplasm, or nucleus), interactions/complexes, polymerization state, and post-translational modifications (phosphorylation, ubiquitination, etc.). To illustrate the signal transduction process, upstream and downstream relations were depicted. In drawing protein complexes, we believe protein interactions should reflect their spatial positions, where the various shapes and colors can be used for different proteins without bogging the reader down in structural detail. In our figure, we used piled ellipses to indicate protein polymerization and twisting arrows to illustrate protein phosphorylation by kinases. Finally, though often minor aspects of figures, we feel attention should be paid to the thickness and shape of arrows, as they can be used to indicate different relations, and the solid or dotted lines can show known or predicted connections. We also used dotted circles to indicate that the exact components constituting both complexes are still not defined. Further, in the non-canonical Wnt signaling, we used arrows to illustrate the signaling relationship of the known components in various pathways to yield different biological outputs. Jannis Moormann and Tatjana M. Hildebrandt First, we agree on the main message of the figure, as this should also be immediately recognizable to the reader. Next, we decide which level of detail is necessary and appropriate for the purpose of the figure. The content needs to be scientifically correct but easy to understand also for non-experts. In that sense, we try to keep abbreviations to a minimum; random combinations of letters may seem clear during figure production but tend to be confusing for the reader. Another important aspect is to optimize the use of space. The figure should not be too crowded or unbalanced. We try to avoid intersecting lines or arrows and to use consistent shapes and sizes for text boxes with coherent levels of detail. It might be hard but is certainly useful to keep an open mind about swapping elements even at a late stage if necessary instead of sticking to the general structure of the first draft. Generally, we intend to keep the design of all the figures in a manuscript uniform and consistent. In doing so, we create visual redundancy that allows for an intuitive understanding of all figures while simultaneously enabling the reader to pay attention to particular cellular processes or pathways. For this purpose, we choose a color scheme that fits our needs (using coolors.co) and keep recurring structures and patterns such as representations of amino acids and transporters identical. In addition, we try to make these representations look distinct and distinguishable, as the reader should not mistake an enzyme (green ellipse) for an amino acid (red box with cut corners). Bright colors draw attention to the major aspects whereas background information is displayed in different shades of grey. We generally start with sketches on paper or a whiteboard, since these are quick to draw and easy to edit. After some discussion, when a consensus on the general design is achieved, we move to Affinity designer/publisher, which is easy to learn, not too expensive, and produces high-quality vector graphics. Amy Schade and Martin Fischer Our main challenge (for Figures 3 and 4 of [4]) was to display how the regulation of cell cycle gene expression is achieved by both transcriptional and post-transcriptional means during cell cycle progression. Another consideration was how we wanted to represent cell cycle transcription factor complexes in a cartoon format. The factors are regulated with post-translational modifications that drive their recruitment into (or release from) repressor and activator complexes. Because of these dynamics, it was important to visualize the temporal nature of these events. The figure is broken up vertically to display the regulatory mechanisms and horizontally to visualize the temporal cell cycle progression, allowing readers to think phase-by-phase. We displayed expression levels at the top and regulation by transcription factors in the middle, allowing an assessment by type of molecular regulation. We used the bottom to include a summary box of characteristics held by the group of cell cycle genes the figure was focused on. Taking protein visualization into account, we found that the known structural data about these proteins were useful to guide how we represented the complexes. For example, p130 and RB, two key regulators in the G1/S cell cycle stage (Figure 3), have a molecular pocket that fits only specific partners that contain a particular motif (LxCxE). Since this molecular pocket has an important role in cell cycle gene regulation, we illustrated it with the binding partners containing shapes that perfectly fit within, mimicking the well-described molecular interaction. We chose to use BioRender, which is a great tool for producing high-quality biological science-related figures as it has built-in shapes and symbols to represent proteins, cellular processes, organelles, etc. The easy-to-use interface allows for the production of figures that have a streamlined and professional look. BioRender also provides great tutorials. Kyusik Q. Kim Figures that are easy to follow can guide readers through complex cellular processes and highlight important relationships between pathways. When designing my own figures, I like to pay attention to three things: shape, text and arrow placement, and color. For shape, I try to make sure that shapes representing biomolecules have rounded edges. Crystal structures of these molecules have few, if any, sharp edges. As such, it seems more consistent to depict their cartoon versions with curves rather than points. I also keep shapes consistent across figures. For text and arrow placement, I like to write names inside the relevant element whenever possible. This avoids ambiguity and makes figure elements easier to track if they appear in multiple places. For arrows, I try to avoid overlapping arrows or crossing arrows over figure elements. That way, arrows don’t get lost in darker colored elements and are easy to follow from start to end. Speaking of color, I find that primary colors tend to be too bright and can make the embodied text difficult to read. For this reason, I prefer to use muted tones. Using muted tones also lets me add borders to figure elements using darker colors. This helps make each element visually distinct, particularly if multiple elements are interacting with one another. Color is also useful when grouping related elements, such as proteins that are all in the same signaling pathway. In addition, I also like to keep element colors consistent across figures. By keeping element shape and color consistent, readers can center themselves on what are likely key players in the depicted processes or pathways. I hope that gives you some insight into my thought process when designing figures. Just like with science, I’m always striving to improve my figure making as well!