Hi Noble, there are many ways how you can create a graphical abstract, even the "good and old" power point. However, from my perspective, all of them stop on the fact that we don't have the right illustrations to show what we need.

Grabbing pictures on Google Images is bad, it violates authorship rights and yield poor results, since the artwork styles are often not harmonic.

I recommend trying one online software dedicated to scientists. Have you heard of Mind the Graph? I tried and liked it a lot, see whether it works for you too.

mindthegraph.com

First of all - what is the title and text abstract?

Šarolta, it is graphic abstract, not geographic

Hi Linas and Sarolta

It is graphical abstract ..Most of the Bio journal now require graphical abstract..But these journal don't have a format for gAbstract..Some authors give their results..some may give  a flow chart of the work..Is there any common pattern which can followed by beginners like me.Suggestions needed from the experienced :)

Hi Noble,

First, thanks for this question. I did not know this until now.

However, so far, I have not seen many Journals (in Plant Science) which ask for graphical abstract yet. But, I think it will be a future trend according to the announcement from the ELSEVIER/Cell Press [ http://www.kaizo.net/releases/article-of-the-future/ ]. They called it the 'Article of the future' project. The prototypes were launched in mid-July of 2009.

One of the features among 'the Article of the future' is the Graphical Abstract. They stated that "The graphical abstract encourages browsing, promotes interdisciplinary scholarship and helps readers identify more quickly which papers are most relevant to their research interests".

I am just curious that have you seen one of these journals which asks for Graphic Abstract? If yes, could you tell me?

Best,

Hi Noble,

I found out the detailed instructions of how to make a good Graphical Abstract from ELSEVIER website; they give us 16 examples of Graphical Abstracts from already published papers: http://www.elsevier.com/journal-authors/graphical-abstract

They also have a service of polishing up authors' Graphical Abstract. Very commercialize.

Dear all,

I want to suggest you to check this blog with many tips and tricks about graphical abstracts

http://www.somersault1824.com/blog/

Best

Dear Noble, so what is your paper about?  In most cases person outside may help to identify and solve problem, if there is information. Your question is good, but I have no idea what it is about.

Dear All

Since I am trying to draw one(I mean graphical abstract) at the moment, I would like to share my little knowledge

 1- A simple and raid search in Elsevier or ACS or even Taylor and Fransis, would show you that most abstract is along side with a informative graphical abstract

2- I personally believe in this interactive image, this image are exactly in accordance with this saying: A picture is worth a thousand words

3- More creativity and  IT knowledge, better image: I saw very professional image that are just created by paint, I created some graphical abstract for my Poster in an international seminar , and for my Thesis presentation by PowerPoint

4- Currently I fount this software very interesting and applicable for this purpose:Photoshop,GIMP, Inkscape, 

5- For someone like me, in the field of chemistry and polymer this software might play a good role in the process of drawing a good sheme: Chemdoodle, Chem draw. Chem Sketch, 

Please excuse typos 

What is th best software I can use to prepare a graphical Abstract ?

Idea is most important, not the software

I'm agree with you Pr.Linas : but we suppose that I have the idea , can you I advise me about the software 

corel draw

Hi Lazhar,

I think any 'drawing' software will do (such as Power Point, ....) if you are familiar with it. See the graphical abstract sample from the attached paper. I think I can easily use Power Point tool to draw all of them.

But as Linas has mentioned the idea is the most important thing, and how do you summarize the whole experiment goal/results into a simple and straight-to-the-point diagram for readers to understand can be a hard one.

Oh, it is quite different situation, depending on the journal (research type). Even MS Paint can work, or paper, pencil and scanner :)

If you just recall how to create a poster you are well on the way. You may also consider the software Diagram Anything (Dia) https://wiki.gnome.org/Apps/Dia  You may also combine more than one software to get a good design

Thank you everbody :)

I also agree that developing the idea is the most important step in graphical abstract production. These days some journals offer the service of improving the abstract. What is important is the novelty in the graphical abstract that can easily attract journal efforts

Inkscape for 2D and Blender for 3D pictures.

Blender for animations

For instance: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RasemoYzsFA

you can use adobe illustrator, or even Photoshop. all you need to do is to create a clear image that actually reflects our work, for the dimensions (hxw) i think each journal has different standards. if you wanna illustrate a professional image and you are not a designer, you can still find some sites providing such service but you will pay them money maybe something like 30 usd     

Hi Noble, there are many ways how you can create a graphical abstract, even the "good and old" power point. However, from my perspective, all of them stop on the fact that we don't have the right illustrations to show what we need.

Grabbing pictures on Google Images is bad, it violates authorship rights and yield poor results, since the artwork styles are often not harmonic.

I recommend trying one online software dedicated to scientists. Have you heard of Mind the Graph? I tried and liked it a lot, see whether it works for you too.

mindthegraph.com

thank you, this one may be of use.

Have you tried? It work well for some areas like Biochemistry, Pharmacology, Genetics Health and Biology in general. 

Thanks for the information. Seems quite useful.Shall refer to it when in need.

Thanks

Hello there!

I'm a doctorate student in Linguistics and my research is on Graphical Abstracts.  I would to know how do you planning your graphical abstracts in terms of informations, colours, display of informations.

If you could exchange informations about it with me, I'm going to be very thankful.

Corel Draw is a good option! It is easy to use and the result can be a professional image,

https://www.elsevier.com/authors/journal-authors/graphical-abstract

I had several friends suggest Adobe Photoshop or Illustrator. Check to see if you have free access through your university or if you are able to purchase it at a discounted price through the IT department.

Illustrator or the open source counterpart - Inkscape

I guess that you would like to read this cool guide on how to create scientific infographics. Pretty useful for graphical abstracts http://content.mindthegraph.com/learn-how-to-make-science-infographics

Well , 3D max is very good software, you can try it.

Hi, Sabeena,

I am telling you simple methods.

1. first make image file format (jpeg or png, tiff) of your interested pictures.

2. go to power point compile all in one slide

3. make it work space size (with and height)

4. save it for journal image file format

(or)

if you know well in photoshop software...you can do whatever you want..

Enjoy..............

Ms PowerPoint is best with photoshop.

Have you guys already seen MindtheGraph.com? It's a platform specific for scientific figures. I think you're gonna like it.

One figure is for free and subscribers can request new illustrations. I use it a lot for presentations, article figures and graphical abtracts.

Cheers

https://www.elsevier.com/authors/journal-authors/graphical-abstract

Power Pint and Photoshop, above link includes various samples

Good luck

@Fabrício A Pamplona [[Have you guys already seen MindtheGraph.com?]] Expired or hacking link]] Dear friends dont click it.

Dear Noble;

@ Ramachandran Muthaiyan , explained it simply. Power point as others have been referred, is a good tool.

You may try another easy Apps, (PicArt) very simple to use, related for Photoshop software, better to be used by a tablet device as more comfort for design or could be installed in your phone.

If youre not much familiar with MS Powerpoint design tools, just spend few 10s min on Youtube to enhance your skills.

Recommended to read this article, https://www.seyens.com/7-graphical-abstracts-powerpoint/

Good luck

It is my thinking that we need to be innovative. As Fabrício A Pamplona pointed out

, you need to have original pictures/photos or even smart drawings, all representing precisely your research work. Do not rush, take time. I think this also helps first timers into graphical abstracts development . Further, it provides experience and confidence in powerpoint mastery. As you think of graphical abstract, look at journals provide as examples-look at the art, content, orientations and styles

@

It is my thinking that we need to be innovative.

As Fabrício A Pamplona pointed out

, you need to have original pictures/photos or even smart drawings, all representing precisely your research work. Do not rush, take time. I think this also helps first timers into graphical abstracts development . Further, it provides experience and confidence in powerpoint mastery. As you think of graphical abstract, look at journals provide as examples-look at the art, content, orientations and styles

https://smart.servier.com/ and MS Powerpoint.

Very useful and free, but most important is the idea.

Hi hayder_sadir didn't understand your mention above. What happened in your experience?

Mindthegraph.com is total legit! It's not hacked or anything. Actually we have over 30K people using it everyday...

Here is one example of figure created by a scientist in the field of Alzheimer's disease: https://blog.mindthegraph.com/scientific-presentations-2/#.W7T0_5NKjq0

Fabricio, it looks really nice. That OB got a bit crunched on the process, but it´s a good use of your tool no doubt about it :D

I strongly recommend Mindthegraph.com

mindthegraph.com is a good way to create abstract graphs.

Thanks Bryan, Theo and Gil. We are always willing to evolve.

So, if you have suggestions for improvements, feel free to send us!

Regards, FP

I think Microsoft Powerpoint is a good tools for creating Graphical Abstract...!

BioRender! (https://biorender.io/)

Basically an online app that contains a library of pre-made cells, proteins, membrane shapes, organs, lab equipment, etc. that you can drag-and-drop so you don't have to spend time drawing each element of the figure out yourself. Saves a lot of time for creating schematic figures, and the icons are all created by scientific illustrators so they're both beautiful and accurate!

I checked-out mindthegraph and it only makes sense to use if you go for the paid version which is 9 USD per month; quite expensive I would say in particular seen that you can do almost the same stuff with PowerPoint. Free Icons can be found throughout the web.

Is it possible to use the images of paint3d to make the final figure of the graphical abstract?

BioRender is great. Also Mindthegraph and Servier Medical Art are great sources!

I agree on the Powerpoint as a tool, especially 2018 version provided by your institute, has handy and unique features with the aid of online library.

And here is some examples and guidances by Elsevier and crossTalk:

- http://crosstalk.cell.com/blog/attract-readers-at-a-glance-with-your-graphical-abstract

- https://www.elsevier.com/authors/journal-authors/graphical-abstract

Follow

Follow

Thanks very much for this information. Also, the following links has some useful resources:

https://www.seyens.com/graphical-abstract-software/

https://www.wikihow.com/Make-a-Graphical-Abstract-for-Scientific-Publication

http://users.eecs.northwestern.edu/~jhullman/graphical_abstracts.pdf

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D8b-_ahy2EE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AK7bH7Yq2gI

CorelDraw which is a vector based graphic tool.

for designing graphical abstract science slide can be used.

The most important is the concept to make an eye-catching image that clearly presents the essence of the manuscript. For most thing powerpoint is enough. If you have an element of artist inside, than maybe you need some more sophisticated programs.

regards,

GB

This is a comprehensive infographic on how to make graphical abstracts! https://biorender.com/blog/creating-a-winning-graphical-abstract-the-comprehensive-guide/

Hi

Do you know if it is allowed to use the icons or stencils available in MS Visio, Power Point or Excel [from the option insert icons] in our graphical abstracts? I was wondering if there is a copyright or to request a permission to Microsoft. I searched about it but I did not find any information. Thanks!

IMS http://inmotionscience.com/#services

Thanks,

Hi Noble ,

you can see this video about

Graphic design tutorial for beginners | How to learn Graphic design

the link is

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bGJX9qT9hmk

Instructions for authors from elsevier:

https://www.elsevier.com/authors/journal-authors/graphical-abstract

Thanks Mr Miroslav S.

Your guide is as easy as eating Banana

So any one that want to learn graphic abstract please just click below website

https://www.elsevier.com/authors/journal-authors/graphical-abstract

According to me, use PowerPoint or Coral Draw... Guidelines and Tips shared by dear scientists are usefull but at the end all we need is content.

I tried "[email protected]" and the email did not go through....