Effective Graphics Guide

Creating Effective Displays for Models and Maps

Technical Service Center Manuals and Standards

U.S. Department of the Interior June 2020

 Mission Statements
The Department of the Interior (DOI) conserves and manages the
Nation’s natural resources and cultural heritage for the benefit and
enjoyment of the American people, provides scientific and other
information about natural resources and natural hazards to address
societal challenges and create opportunities for the American
people, and honors the Nation’s trust responsibilities or special
commitments to American Indians, Alaska Natives, and affiliated
island communities to help them prosper.

The mission of the Bureau of Reclamation is to manage, develop,

and protect water and related resources in an environmentally and
economically sound manner in the interest of the American public.

Disclaimer
Links to other websites, trademarks, and notes about products are inserted for convenience and to
provide examples. These mentions do not constitute endorsement, recommendation, or favoring of
material at those sites, or any organization, product, or service. Information about commercial products
or firms may not be used for advertising or promotional purposes. Not listing firms, brands, or products
does not imply they are unsatisfactory.

Cover image: Use your imagination to visualize your audience and find the right display to convey your results
(Reclamation/Gray).

2
Effective Graphics Guide
Technical Service Center Manuals and Standards
prepared by

Technical Service Center

Deena Larsen, Technical Writer/Editor, Water, Environmental, and Ecosystems Division
Cindy Gray, Graphics Specialist, Water, Environmental, and Ecosystems Division

Acknowledgements
Technical Service Center
Thank you to the Bureau of Reclamation’s Technical Service Center staff who contributed to the
content in this guide and reviewed this guide for accuracy, including:

• Merlynn Bender, Civil Engineer, Water Resources Engineering and Management

• Ian Ferguson, Civil Engineer, Water Resources Engineering and Management
• Todd Gaston, Economist, Economics and Planning
• Teri Manross, Technical Writer/Editor, Civil Engineering Services Division
• Sharon Leffel, Technical Writer/Editor, Geotechnical Services Division
• Kristin Mikkelson, Civil Engineer, Water Resources Engineering and Management
• Marketa McGuire, Civil Engineer, Water Resources Engineering and Management
• Tyna Petersen, Technical Writer/Editor, Engineering and Laboratory Services Division
• Jake Prickett, Physical Scientist, Geographic Applications and Analysis
• Connie Svoboda, Hydraulic Engineer, Hydraulic Investigations and Laboratory Services
• Bruce Whitesell, Group Manager, Geographic Applications and Analysis
• Patrick Wright, Physical Scientist, Geographic Applications and Analysis

External Reviewers
Thank you to the external reviewers who reviewed this guide to ensure its usefulness and
applications for technical displays for a wide range of audiences, including:

• Brit Atkins, Technical Communication Specialist, CDC

• Sally Rege Carroll, Senior Analyst, Environmental Quality, Massachusetts Water
Resources Authority
• Eleni Giannakopoulos, Visual Information Specialist, U.S. Food and Drug Administration
• Mary Jane Nirdlinger, Assistant Town Manager, Chapel Hill North Carolina
• Lara Van Nostrand, Senior Associate, Avyance, LLC
• J.S. Parker, Technical Communication Specialist, Freelance

iii
 Effective Graphics Guide

Acronyms and Abbreviations

BMP Bitmap
DOI Department of the Interior
dpi dots per inch
GIF Graphics Interchange Format
GIS Geographic Information System
JPG or JPEG Joint Photographic Experts Group
IT information technology
MB megabyte
pdf Portable Document files
PNG Portable Network Graphics
PRMS Precipitation Runoff Modeling System
ppi pixels per inch
Reclamation Bureau of Reclamation
RISE Reclamation’s Information Sharing Environment
SVG Scalable Vector Graphics
TIFF Tag Image File Formats
TSC Technical Service Center
VI Visual Identity
VIC Variable Inflow Capacity
WCAG Web Content Accessibility Guidelines

iii
 Effective Graphics Guide

Executive Summary
You have collected and analyzed the data and you have the results—the trends, the issues, the
spatial locations for data and engineering designs, etc. Now how do you communicate those
results to the people who will use them? To ensure that all your hard work matters, you need
clear, consistent displays that show your data and results in ways decisionmakers, other analysts,
and stakeholders can understand. Use this manual a thought process, tips, and guides for
developing effective displays for data, particularly geographic and model data.

When determining how to display your data results, begin with the end in mind:

• Who is the audience?

• What is the purpose?
• What information will these displays provide?
• What is the format for the end product (e.g., print, online, conference poster)?
• How will the display be used (e.g., compare alternatives, make decisions, further analyze)?
Work with the client and team to ensure graphics are consistent across disciplines. Consult with
TSC’s graphic specialists. Coordinate your displays with the other analyses needed for the end
product to ensure consistency and usability, considering Visual Identity requirements, color,
scale, order, and labels. Develop draft graphics and discuss and review them with your end
audience, if possible, as well as the team and client. Ask how they interpret the graphics and
clear up any confusion (Use Section 2. Plan Your Process and Displays).

Use a display type that will convey your data in a compelling and
practical format tailored to your audience and purpose. Your data “Excellence in statistical
could be displayed in many different ways (e.g., a bar chart, scatter graphics consists of complex
plot, Sankey diagram) but you need to determine which display type ideas communicated with
ensures that your message is clear and accurate. Explore Section 3. clarity, precision, and
Types of Displays to see possible ways to display your data. efficiency" Tufte 2001.

• What is important to show and compare?

• Are you showing relative proportions of elements?
• Does the data change over time? By location?
Sound decisions and further analysis depend on others being able to understand and interpret
your data and analysis. Therefore, design all displays so that the least technical readers can
understand and interpret them accurately and easily. Plan your displays up front to meet these
needs as simply as possible. Be consistent and simple. Use colors wisely and effectively. Get tips
to ensure your chosen display effectively communicates key results in Section 4. Create Effective
Displays.

Remember that some readers may not be able to distinguish colors or see the display. Always
have another way to get the information across. Refer to Section 5. Accessibility for ways to
reach these audiences. It’s not just a good idea, it is 508 compliance.

v
 Effective Graphics Guide

Contents
Page
1. Introduction ................................................................................................................................1
1.1. Manual Purpose and Need ..................................................................................................1
1.2. About this Manual...............................................................................................................1
2. Plan Your Process and Displays ...............................................................................................3
2.1. Purpose and Message ..........................................................................................................3
2.2. Audience .............................................................................................................................4
2.3. Level of Detail ....................................................................................................................4
2.4. Final Product .......................................................................................................................5
2.4.1. What Will the Final Product Look Like? ...................................................................5
2.4.2. How Will the Final Product be Used? .......................................................................6
2.4.3. What Will the Final Size and Format(s) Be? .............................................................6
2.4.4. Group All Elements .................................................................................................10
2.4.5. Where and How Will the Final Products Be Stored? ..............................................10
2.5. Coordination and Documentation .....................................................................................11
2.5.1. Comply with Reclamation’s Visual Identity............................................................11
2.5.2. Coordinate with Other Disciplines...........................................................................11
2.5.3. Work with Graphics and Writing Specialists...........................................................12
2.5.4. Document Your Plan................................................................................................12
2.6. Test Displays and Reviewers ............................................................................................13
2.6.1. Storyboards and Draft Displays ...............................................................................13
2.6.2. Reviewers .................................................................................................................13
2.6.3. Usability Testing ......................................................................................................14
3. Types of Displays......................................................................................................................15
3.1. Infographics, Schematics, and Flow Charts ......................................................................15
3.2. Bar Charts .........................................................................................................................17
3.3. Pie Charts and Treemaps ..................................................................................................18
3.4. Scatter Plots ......................................................................................................................19
3.5. Boxplots ............................................................................................................................20
3.6. Teacup Diagrams ..............................................................................................................21
3.7. Line Graphs .......................................................................................................................22
3.8. Sankey Diagrams ..............................................................................................................23
3.9. Geographical Maps ...........................................................................................................23
3.10. Heatmaps.........................................................................................................................25
4. Create Effective Displays ........................................................................................................27
4.1. Explain Your Model Process ............................................................................................27
4.2. Show Positive and Negative Elements Clearly .................................................................29
4.3. Compare Relationships .....................................................................................................30
4.4. Label Clearly .....................................................................................................................32
4.5. Use Texts and Captions ....................................................................................................32

vii
 Effective Graphics Guide

4.6. Keep Graphic Elements Consistent ..................................................................................33

4.6.1. Develop and Use Team Crosswalks ........................................................................33
4.6.2. Use Consistent Language .........................................................................................33
4.6.3. Keep Consistent Scales ............................................................................................34
4.6.4. Use the Same Names in the Same Order .................................................................35
4.6.5. Carry Consistency across Projects ...........................................................................35
4.7. Be as Simple as Possible ...................................................................................................35
4.8. Consider Colors Carefully ................................................................................................36
4.8.1. Don’t Depend on Color Alone .................................................................................36
4.8.2. Use Distinguishable Color Scales ............................................................................37
4.8.3. Consider Contrast.....................................................................................................38
4.9. Cite Sources and Get Permissions ....................................................................................39
4.9.1. Citations ...................................................................................................................39
4.9.2. Permissions ..............................................................................................................40
5. Accessibility ..............................................................................................................................41
5.1. Alternative Text (Alt Tag) ................................................................................................41
5.2. Color Blindness.................................................................................................................41
6. Example for Improving a Figure ............................................................................................43
7. References .................................................................................................................................47
8. Glossary ....................................................................................................................................51
Appendix A: Programming Tips and Examples .......................................................................53
Appendix B: Guidance for Development of Maps for Briefing, Presentation,
and External Outreach Materials...................................................................................59
Introduction ..............................................................................................................................59
1. Communication Process.......................................................................................................59
2. Mapping Guidance for Briefing, Presentation, and External Outreach Materials ...............60
3. Review of Maps ...................................................................................................................61
4. Technical Mapping Support .................................................................................................61
5. Existing Symbology .............................................................................................................61
Appendix C. Color Scales for Reclamation’s VI Colors ..........................................................65
Dark Blue (PMS 3035) ............................................................................................................66
Light Blue (PMS 633)..............................................................................................................67
Mustard (PMS 1245)................................................................................................................68
Tan (PMS 468).........................................................................................................................69
Orange (PMS 165) ...................................................................................................................70
Green (PMS 357) .....................................................................................................................71
Red (PMS 484) ........................................................................................................................72
Purple (PMS 2091) ..................................................................................................................73

viii
 Effective Graphics Guide

1. Introduction
1.1. Manual Purpose and Need
As the saying goes, a picture is worth a thousand words. Yet
pictures are priceless and irreplaceable when it comes to Take time to plan your displays and
displaying complex information such as monitoring data, work with graphics and writing
model results, and maps. Effective displays 1 (charts, maps, specialists from the outset of your
figures, etc.) convey complex processes, data or model results, project. This will save you time and
important trends and issues, and other concepts to a wide range money in the long run. Make sure
of audiences. The Bureau of Reclamation’s (Reclamation) your displays convey your
analyses produce information that can be shared using graphics information correctly and easily to
and maps. Reclamation subject matter experts work in multi- your audiences—so your readers
disciplinary teams, so displays need to be coordinated between can carry your ideas forward
disciplines so that we can present unified, consistent
communication products that our audiences can understand
and use.
Effective graphics can help audiences:
• Quickly gain the information they need
• Compare results consistently to evaluate alternatives
• Accurately use information for further analyses or to create engineering solutions
• Avoid misinterpretations that could lead to errors in future analyses or decisions.

1.2. About this Manual

Reclamation’s Technical Service Center (TSC) developed this manual to help guide thought
processes to effectively convey analyses assumptions, results, and data in a clear and consistent
manner. We also wanted to share effective techniques for programmers, modelers, engineers,
cartographers, and other data analysts to in model and Geographic Information System (GIS) to
output consistent graphs and maps. This manual is discretionary and provides only a general
overview for programmers and data analysts. Each display process is different and will use
different techniques to produce and use effective displays. The principles, tips, and examples in
this manual will help you effectively communicate the results of your work to audiences who
will act on your analyses.

1
See the Glossary for terms in this manual. The term “displays” is used as the most generic word possible, including
maps, graphs, charts, posters, tables, etc. “Figure” refers to any type of map, chart, or other image, and “table”
refers to any form of information with rows and columns.

1
 Effective Graphics Guide

2. Plan Your Process and Displays

Planning early and often will save time and effort by making it
easier to produce consistent displays and avoid revising figures Overall Goal:
for presentation or publication. Plan how you will prepare and Readers will be able to get
convey your data and information at the beginning of the analysis the information they need
and make the output (i.e., the display) an integral part of the quickly and easily.
overall analysis and reporting process.

2.1. Purpose and Message

To ensure that every graph, figure, and map conveys the analysis results to the reader clearly and
correctly, the team should work with the client to answer these questions at the beginning of the
project:

• Why are we creating these displays? For example:

o To compare the impacts of a set of water management alternatives under a set of

hydrological and meteorological scenarios

o To show the potential impacts of a particular flood scenario

o To demonstrate how a reservoir’s capacity has changed over time due to

sedimentation

• What is the message? Often, we won’t know this until the analysis is complete, but you
can ask the client—what questions do you want your displays to answer? Incorporate
these answers as program requirements for the level of detail and presentation in the
displays. For example, if analysis is examining what areas contain invasive species, then
maps should include details about these areas.

• What do you want these displays to accomplish? What do you want the readers to
understand or do with your information? For example:

o Determine whether developing alternatives to address an issue is warranted

o Make a balanced decision about which alternative to pursue

o Evaluate whether an action is meeting the objectives

3
 Effective Graphics Guide

2.2. Audience
Before starting any project, work with the client to determine who the audiences are and what
display’s purpose is. If your audience is comprised mostly of subject matter experts in your
analytical field and has the technical knowledge, then displays can be more complex and
specialized. Technical experts in other fields may need to have information clarified, as they may
make assumptions based on their specialty that may not be accurate. Stakeholders,
decisionmakers, and other lay audiences may need cues on charts, simplified information
displays, infographics etc. to grasp the main concepts effectively. Ask:

• Who will read our report and how will they use the information we present? Reports have
a wide range of audiences and uses. Ask what do x need to know to do y?

• What background information will audiences need? What does my audience already
know about the subject? Someone can have a very high level of education or
reading/analytical skills but still not understand a graphic if their education/skills are not
in the relevant subject matter.

• What is the simplest way to convey the data? If data require more complicated
explanations for a specialized subset of your audience, put the detailed graphics and
explanations in an appendix.

2.3. Level of Detail

Armed with a good understanding of the purpose of the report/map/figure and the audience,
determine what level of detail will be needed. Technical audiences may require more data and
information, while lay audiences need to focus on the most important information related to their
purpose. For example, focus on detail by putting the “noise” (the other less important
information) in as a grayscale (Figure 1).

Figure 1. Prominently
display important
information. In this
example, it is important
to show the range of all
runs, but the text focuses
on just two runs
(Reclamation/Gray).

4
 Effective Graphics Guide

To determine a consistent level of detail for multi-disciplinary displays, ask questions in a team
planning meeting to:

• Match the level of detail to the purpose. What level of detail is needed to ensure that
the audience can effectively interpret and use the analysis results?

• Be specific. What specific information does your audience need so they can quickly
understand your main point? For example, if roads are needed, what type of road should
be included (e.g., highways only, all dirt roads, service roads to the facility)?

• Be simple. What is the minimal data density needed to convey your results. Delete extra
information. See Section 4.7. Be as Simple as Possible. For example:

o A map may need to only show roads that cross a river or pipeline.

o An overall pipeline drawing showing a general alignment may only need to show
stationing at 1,000 feet rather than 10 feet.

o Model runs could show an average range as a gray background shape or as

grayscale and use thicker or colored lines for the most important runs.

2.4. Final Product

From the very start of a service agreement or project management plan, plan and program your
analysis, modeling, and mapping with the end product in mind. Include the client in all of these
decisions and make sure all of these decisions are approved and understood. If possible, ask a
representative audience member for input (this could be someone who would read the final
report or anyone with a similar background as the target audience). Drafting a figure ahead of
time can help focus the discussion.

Work together. Remember that your professional understanding of how to portray the data
should take precedence for technical decisions, and bear in mind who will use the display and
how they may perceive the display.

2.4.1. What Will the Final Product Look Like?

Data displays should be as simple as possible, without unnecessary elements cluttering and
blurring a viewer’s understanding. Ask:

• Will this display be used on screen for presentations only? Or will it be printed? This will
help determine the resolution and format needed.

• How will it be presented (e.g., poster, report, banner, physical display?) This will help
determine the level of detail you need.

5
 Effective Graphics Guide

2.4.2. How Will the Final Product be Used?

• Will this display be used in a future analysis, in other words, will others base their
analysis and technical solutions on this display? If so, then displays may need to be
complex and complete enough to provide the needed data. Decisionmakers, analysts from
other fields, and stakeholders will use the display to draw conclusions about trends and
may make recommendations based on these figures. (Note that your data as an end
product could have many uses, from satisfying open data requirements in a database such
as Reclamation’s Information Sharing Environment (RISE) to further analysis of the raw
data.

• Will this be used to analyze similar situations, compare potential actions and make
decisions? Make comparisons should be as consistent as possible to the level of detail
possible—compare Honeycrisp apples to Honeycrisp apples, rather than Macintosh
apples to Honeycrisp apples. For example, if the figure will be used to compare annual
water deliveries to a given irrigation district under two management alternatives, compare
flows at the same gage and under the same conditions.

• Will audiences use the displays to explore relationships between different conditions or
criterial (e.g., compare flood inundation area to the location of critical habitat)? Work
with all subject matter experts involved to determine what relationships need to be
compared and how to best display relationships.

• Will results be presented at a conference as a poster or PowerPoint presentation, online as

an explanation, or in a report that is both printed and online? Different venues and
mediums will require different resolutions, file formats, and planning. For example, you
may need a simple graph for a PowerPoint display, a more complex graph showing more
details in a paper.

• Will this product be used for social media? If so, then using infographics or very
simplified summaries of the data may be needed. You may find it easier to develop these
infographics outside of your map or model program. For example, it might be easier to
export your figure and modify it in PowerPoint.
TSC’s graphic specialists can take your ideas and analysis results and make effective and
interesting infographics for you.

2.4.3. What Will the Final Size and Format(s) Be?

When planning, also note what file formats the figures need to be exported to from your original
program. Files need to be exported in the correct file format to be able to be used in the final
publication software (e.g., Word, InDesign, and PowerPoint).

6
 Effective Graphics Guide

2.4.3.1 Size Your Display

The final size of the display and corresponding caption must fit within the page margins,
including headers and footers. Note that for figures that span for a full page, the longer the
caption, the less space is available for the figure. For example, a figure to be printed on an 8½ by
11-inch page (the usual U.S. report page) can be a maximum of 6 1/2 inches wide and 8 inches
high for portrait—or 9 inches wide and 6 inches high for landscape). When developing displays,
minimize any unnecessary white space and borders around them. Set the size of your graphics in
your template or your script. For example, most scripting languages will allow you to specify
height and width of your figures (see Appendix A).

2.4.3.2 Use the Correct File Format

Always export your figures into an accepted file format
from your original program so they can be easily inserted Bottom line for data displays:
into a final document program (Microsoft Word, save graphics in TIFF format
PowerPoint, InDesign, etc.). Saving in graphic formats whenever possible to retain
will help export graphics consistently and will make original data. PNG format can
updating them much easier. Save at as high a resolution (as be used if you need to reduce file
sharp and as clear) as possible. How the image looks on sizes. JPG format is least ideal
screen may not be the way that image will show up on a because of the loss of clarity.
hard copy print or on other software. Plan to export and
test the image in its final published format (both on screen
and in print).

• Files to retain clarity and data points (TIFF). Tag Image File Formats (TIFF) retain all
the original data and colors, and they can be resized easily, increasing the number of dots
per inch (dpi) without any loss of quality. You can transfer TIFFs from one application to
another without loss of quality or any compatibility issues. Save as the raw version of
TIFF whenever possible because this preserves the most data in your file and provides the
most flexibility for Photoshop or other image softwares. This is the best practice. Note
that the file sizes in TIFF can become very large. If needed, export the original figure,
save the TIFFs on an archive drive (like the T: drive) and then resave as a smaller file
size to use in reports.

• Files to display online (PNG). Portable Network Graphics (PNG) files support millions
of colors, plus varying degrees of transparency and work well for image files, such as
logos, charts, and infographics. These files are usually smaller sizes than TIFF files.
However, PNGs can lose data and visual clarity and should not be used for subsequent
analyses. This is an acceptable practice if you are concerned with file size and also have
the original display in another format.

• Photos to display online (JPG). Joint Photographic Experts Group (JPG or JPEG) files
are not ideal practice for data displays. Note JPEGs are “lossy” formats, so resaving a
JPEG can compress the file and degrade the image. JPEGs are not suitable for images
with sharp lines, large blocks of color, or text (Chastain, 2020).

7
 Effective Graphics Guide

Other file formats are usually not used:

• Portable Document files (pdf) will retain data and reduce file size. However, pdfs will
need to be exported as an image to be incorporated into a Word file or PowerPoint.

• Bitmap (BMP) is the native file format for Windows. However, this format does not
allow for image compression or scaling.

• Graphics Interchange Format (GIF) are sometimes used for flat and single tone color
images or animations, as they are limited to 256 colors. GIF files are mostly used for
buttons or banners on websites. (Fisher 2020 [GIF]).

• Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) are file extensions for a vector 2 image file format to
describe images created from mathematical equations. MicroSoft Word and other
publishing programs do not recognize any file with an SVG extension. If your program
will not export into a TIFF file, you can try to copy the SVG in your program, paste it to
PowerPoint, save as a TIFF file, and then save into Word. You can also use a graphics
program like Adobe Photoshop (Fisher 2020 [SVG]).

2.4.3.3 Save at the Right Resolution

Print resolution is measured in round dots per inch (dpi) for printed raster 3 images or square
pixels per inch (ppi) for digital (on screen) raster images. The larger the dpi or ppi number, the
sharper and clearer the image will be and the better it will be for printing or viewing. Save the
original figure from the original program in the highest resolution that you will ever need—you
can compress and save at lower resolutions more easily, but you may lose data if you try to save
at higher resolutions. If the graphic will ever be enlarged for printing, then save at a minimum of
600 dpi—and preferably 1200 dpi. Then in Word or other publishing programs, save that larger
image with the smallest file size resolution that will still convey your figure’s complexity, allow
for enlargement, and preserve data.

• Small Web graphic: 72 dpi is usually used for websites to keep file sizes smaller, so
pages load faster. However, this same image will vary in detail on different monitor
resolutions. Most monitors have a native resolution of 72 or 96 ppi, and this changes as
technology changes.

• Printing: 300 dpi at the original size is the standard resolution required for printing.

• Detailed printing: 600 dpi ensures that the figure retains a high level of detail; however,
600 dpi file sizes are larger.

2
Vector images use equations to calculate the lines and shapes.
3
Raster images use pixels to show the image on screen or paper.

8
 Effective Graphics Guide

• Data displays and maps: 1200 dpi is best for figures that may be enlarged or contain a
great amount of detail

• Slide conversion: 3200 dpi is best for converting slide images to enlarge them.
Higher resolutions create larger files. This may be an issue in larger reports with multiple
figures, as many document programs or platforms such as SharePoint or Microsoft Teams do not
handle files larger than 30 MB well.

2.4.3.4 Do Not Link to Program Files in Word

Linking a figure from an original program such as Excel
into a Word document may be tempting, but do not Export your image to a TIFF to create
succumb to temptation—this is not good practice. The files a static image for the Word document.
can easily be moved, leading to broken hyperlinks and error If there are changes to the data or
messages (Figure 2). Moreover, after subsequent saves and figure, then update the figure in the
moves to different drives, so the linked file may not be the original program, re-export, and
current and correct version. Linking files use the entire data reinsert into the Word document. This
file rather than the one image can quickly increase may be a pain—but avoiding
document sizes (for example, one linked display can entanglements and wrong data
increase the size of a Word document from a 10 megabyte versions is well worth the effort!
(MB) document to a 30 MB document) (Figure 3).

Figure 2. Example of potential errors from a linked file (Reclamation/Gray).

9
 Effective Graphics Guide

Figure 3. Linking images from programs like Excel into Word can make the file size unmanageable
(Reclamation/Gray).

2.4.4. Group All Elements

Group your graphic elements and layers (e.g., arrows, text boxes, legends) in the original
program and import one single display in a Word document. If you pull in separate elements,
they can get lost as more content moves the display from its original position. If this is not
possible, pull the elements into PowerPoint and export the graphic from PowerPoint.

2.4.5. Where and How Will the Final Products Be Stored?

Have a record retention filing and naming convention for each project and use the TSC file
conventions as much as possible. Naming figures consistently minimizes errors and helps find
figures again, as teams have learned through bitter experience:

• Name your figures so someone can quickly identify what the figure portrays. For
example, Project acronym, type of plot, frequency, variable. This would be
ND_timeseries_yearly_swe.tiff.

• Do not name these as figure 1, figure 2 in the file name. Figure numbers will change as
the report progresses and the file names will be wrong.

• Do not use hyphens, periods, or other symbols in the file name. Use underscores rather
than spaces in a file name, as this helps prevent breaking links when sharing files.

10
 Effective Graphics Guide

2.5. Coordination and Documentation

Readers will compare display series, such as a series of alternatives compared to a baseline or
maps showing different scenarios. Therefore, consistency between all display series in an overall
analysis and report is critical to:

• Be able to quickly scan for a particular item (e.g., scenario, alternative, region)
• Show relationships more easily.
Not only should your displays be internally consistent, they should be consistent with every other
team members’ displays. See Section 2.5.4.1. Consistency Document for more information.

2.5.1. Comply with Reclamation’s Visual Identity

Follow Reclamation’s Visual Identity (VI) Program requirements at https://intra.usbr.gov/
vip/. At this time (2020), fonts are Segoe UI for labels in graphics and Garamond or Times New
Roman for text. Table 1 lists Reclamation’s colors. Appendix C provides color scales for
Reclamation’s VI colors to use in maps or in color bars to show scales of intensity.

Table 1. Reclamation’s Color Conversion Table

Color CMYK RGB HEX

*Dark Blue PMS 3035 C: 97% M: 67% Y: 48% K: 38% R: 0 G: 62 B: 81 #003E51

*Light Blue PMS 633 C: 89% M: 46% Y: 27% K: 4% R: 0 G: 115 B: 150 #007396

*Mustard PMS 1245 C: 21% M: 43% Y: 100% K: 2% R: 202 G: 145 B: 23 #CA9117

*Tan PMS 468 C: 13% M: 17% Y: 38% K: 0% R: 221 G: 203 B: 164 #DDCBA4

**Orange PMS 165 C: 0% M: 74% Y: 96% K: 0% R: 255 G: 103 B: 32 #FF6720

**Green PMS 357 C: 84% M: 40% Y: 91% K:38% R: 33 G: 87 B: 50 #215732

**Purple PMS 2091 C: 85% M: 100% Y: 0% K: 1% R: 76 G: 18 B: 161 #4C12A1

**Red PMS 484 C: 26% M: 90% Y: 96% K: 23% R: 154 G: 51 B: 36 #9A3324

*Primary colors can be used throughout reports for backgrounds and font colors,
** Secondary colors are to be used sparingly and never as a font color.

2.5.2. Coordinate with Other Disciplines

Your displays will usually be a part of an overall analysis effort involving several disciplines.
Therefore, team coordination is vital from the beginning. Determine:

• Who will do what analyses and what displays will be produced?

• What color scheme will be used? (See Section 4.8. Consider Colors Carefully)

11
 Effective Graphics Guide

2.5.3. Work with Graphics and Writing Specialists

When beginning a project, contact the writing and graphic specialists to determine the most
effective way to set up and plan your displays. Working with graphics and writing specialists
from the outset of your project will save you time and money in the long run. They can:

• Suggest ways to set up your project to create effective displays (e.g., setting up lines,
colors, and contrast)

• Guide you on the latest VI and accessibility requirements

• Suggest ways to make your displays convey your message more effectively

• Help you develop and maintain consistency guidelines

• Improve graphic outputs at the end of the process (e.g., adding labels and images,
removing grid lines, creating color contrasts, and combining graphs into a single display)

2.5.4. Document Your Plan

2.5.4.1 Consistency Document

Study teams should prepare, regularly update, and use a consistency document so all team
members and the client can refer back to these report and display guidelines during the analysis.
This document should include:

• Audience Agree on specific details up front to avoid

changing these details later—and save time
• Purpose and money.

• Consistent styles and terms

o Order (determine the order for alternatives, scenarios, places, criteria, etc.)

o Color assigned to each element (e.g., criteria, alternatives, scenarios) (See how to
use colors in Section 4.8. Consider Colors Carefully)

o Symbol or line type assigned to each element (see Section 4.6. Keep Graphic
Elements Consistent)

o Labels (see labels in Section 4.4. Label Clearly)

o Legend terms and layout (use Reclamation’s VI for font)

• Scales and frequencies (See Section 4.6.3. Keep Consistent Scales)

• Level of detail (See Section 4.7. Be as Simple as Possible)

12
 Effective Graphics Guide

2.5.4.2 Checklist
Agree on what needs to be included in each figure and create a checklist to ensure all figures
have everything they need so the readers can quickly understand them. Considerations include:

• Signatures. Determine whether each figure needs its own signature for peer review or
whether a single signature sheet will suffice for the entire document. Note that the digital
signature on an Adobe Acrobat will lock a file and should be done as the final step of the
report process.

• Axes labels. Keep these consistent and use the same terms and acronyms as in the text
(e.g., decide on cubic feet per second as cfs or ft3/s). Start from a consistent point for each
display series. Label your start and end points and keep them as consistent as possible
throughout the series. See Section 4.6.3. Keep Consistent Scales.

• Captions. See Section 4.5. Use Text and Captions.

• Legends. Determine if a legend is needed. If the line widths or colors used to denote an
element are not defined in the text or caption, then they should be defined in a legend in
the figure itself (e.g., brown is baseline, orange is alternative 1). Although the same color
is used to denote the same element throughout the report, use a legend on each figure in
case the figure is used independently.

2.6. Test Displays and Reviewers Don’t worry about actual

data at this point as the idea
2.6.1. Storyboards and Draft Displays
is to ensure that the
Changing an entire series of displays after they are developed presentation can be
is costly and time consuming, so it is much better to test a understood easily. You can
display before committing to the entire series. To test, you note that this sample is not
could create a wire frame or a sample graphic output as a correct and is only a test to
“storyboard”—a quick visual outline, a test graphic to show determine if your display will
how a series of graphs or maps will look. These are effective meet its goals.
tools to determine what elements will be contained in the
display and how the display series will tell the overall story.

2.6.2. Reviewers
After a while, your displays will be too familiar to you, and you will know what you want to
convey too well. Get fresh perspectives from others:

• Team members. Show your test displays to others on the team to ensure that they are
compatible with the displays that the other team members are producing.

• Peer reviewers. Peer reviewers can spot mistakes more easily since they are not as
familiar with the display. You need an outside perspective to make sure that others can

13
 Effective Graphics Guide

see what you have in mind. Peer reviewers can help determine if a display is scientifically
correct, conforms to policy, and is as error-free as possible.

• Test audiences. A test audience are reviewers who

represent the type of audience that your report is prepared You are not the user. You
for. Work with clients to identify stakeholders who may need different perspectives to
volunteer to look at storyboards or sample displays. If these ensure your display is
stakeholders are not available, then ask others who may effective. Pick someone who
have that same perspective. Administrative assistants, represents your intended
information technology (IT) professionals, etc. may be good audience and check your ego
substitutes for the intended audience. at the door!

• Graphics specialists. Consult with graphic specialists to

ensure displays effectively convey their message and comply with graphic requirements
(e.g., VI, accessibility, and consistency).

2.6.3. Usability Testing

Usability testing helps ensure your display is properly understood and
used.
You have to see it to change
it. So see it early to avoid
Create a best-guess draft and consult with the client, other team
changing it later!
members, decisionmakers, and representatives of your audience to
discuss possible revisions (e.g., lines every 1,000 feet versus 500 feet,
different shading, different elements prioritized). Once a client and a
test audience have something to look at, it is easier to show exactly what should change and why.

If possible, provide a couple of alternative presentations and ask the client and team what option
they prefer and why. Asking open-ended questions, such as:

• What insights could you glean from this display? This will elicit answers that may
point to potential areas of confusion or may point out strengths.

• How would you use this display? This will provide insights on possible interpretations
of the data and results.

• How readable is the display? Will the presentation, size, and font work at the scale for
the final product?

14
 Effective Graphics Guide

3. Types of Displays
You can display data, information, and results from models and maps in various charts and
graphs as described in this section. You can also use tables, text, videos, etc., to display
information. Each type of presentation has its own strengths and weaknesses. Determine your
main point and use a presentation that will convey that point.

3.1. Infographics, Schematics, and Flow Charts

You can use pictures and symbols to convey information and stories. There are various types ofr
drawings that show processes, and terms are used interchangeably. In general:

• Infographics are visual representations of information, usually using pictures to

emphasize a point. Use infographics to help readers understand physical processes or
related concepts (Figure 4). Pictures spark visual interest and help organize presentations
and Figure 5). Laying information on a stylized river (Figure 6) or an actual map can help
orient readers and provide a better sense of where activities or analyses are.

• Schematics show how a system works using symbols. These are often used to show
engineering systems such as a water treatment process or electrical circuit.

• Flow charts help guide a reader through a process or make decisions, which can also
provide a larger context to show how to use your model and map results. Figure 7 shows
an analysis and a decision flowchart to explain how to monitor and use sediment
analyses.

Figure 4. Use
infographics to help
readers understand
processes and
concepts
(Reclamation/Larsen).

15
 Effective Graphics Guide

Figure 5. Use text and pictures

too organize information.
(Reclamation/Larsen).

Figure 6. Use maps or images to direct your story and add details of the images in the text
(Reclamation/Gray).

16
 Effective Graphics Guide

Figure 7. Use flow charts or diagrams to direct your analysis story and then explain each important
section in the text (Reclamation/Gray).

3.2. Bar Charts

Bar charts can compare categories of data. A bar graph will always have two axes. One axis will
generally have numerical values, and the other will describe the types of categories being
compared. For example, the bar chart shown in Figure 8 compares potential actions to improve
water supply reliability by overlaying cost with potential water yield and estimates the timing
needed to implement the action. Proportions are shown by bar length and numbers are provided,
making comparisons easier.

17
 Effective Graphics Guide

Figure 8. Estimated median cost, quantity, and timing for each of the actions. Costs are in dollars
per acre foot, yields in acre feet, and timing in days (Reclamation 2016 [SSJ Basin study]).

3.3. Pie Charts and Treemaps

Pie charts and treemaps are useful for quickly showing relative proportions and work best if
actual numbers are not as important as the percentages shown. If there are more than four slices
or categories and numbers matter, use a bar chart or a line graph. If proportions change over
time, locations, or processes, use a Sankey Diagram (see Section 3.8. Sankey Diagrams).
Portions can also be broken down further to quickly show subportions within a particular
category. For example, Figure 9 uses subportions to illustrate the source and uses for water in the
Pecos River Basin in New Mexico. Use colors and labels consistently to represent different
factors (see Section 4.8. Consider Colors Carefully).

Figure 9. Water supply

and use (Reclamation,
2020 [Pecos]).

18
 Effective Graphics Guide

If there are more than four elements to compare, or if you want to show proportions for several
alternatives or scenarios at once, consider using a tree map (Figure 10).

Figure 10. Amount of water used by each irrigation district. (Data from Tully and Young, 2016)
(Reclamation/Larsen).

3.4. Scatter Plots

Scatter plots are two-dimensional charts that use dots to represent values plotted on two axes
(e.g., temperature and precipitation). Scatter plots can compare selected model runs to all model
runs (Figure 11).

Figure 11. Total change in modeled average temperatures and precipitation in the study area from
2010-2099 (Reclamation, 2020 [Pecos]).

19
 Effective Graphics Guide

Scatter plots often show relationships and trends. Scatter plots can also show groupings, such as
climate ensemble scenarios (Figure 12).

Figure 12. Scatter plot showing various global climate model projections. Each quadrant is then
grouped together and analyzed as a scenario.

3.5. Boxplots
Boxplots emphasize the probability distribution of a given metric,
including the median, interquartile range, and outliers. Boxplots
display metrics, along with outlier values, to provide a quick visual
summary of key characteristics of the dataset. These plots are
especially useful for indicating whether a distribution is skewed and
whether there are potential unusual observations (outliers) in the data
set. A boxplot is a graphical method for displaying summary statistics
of a group of numeric values. The distribution of values is
summarized based on five metrics, listed in order from least to
greatest (Figure 13):
• Lower inner fence. The lowest point excluding outliers

• First quartile. The middle value between the dataset

minimum value and the median (25% of the values in the
dataset are less than the first quartile and 75% of the values
are greater than the first quartile)
Figure 13: Schematic illustration
• Median. The middle value in the dataset of a boxplot.

20
 Effective Graphics Guide

• Third quartile. The middle value between the dataset maximum value and the median

• Upper inner fence. The largest data point excluding any outliers
Side-by-side boxplots are an effective way to highlight and summarize the essential
characteristics of each dataset and the differences between them supplies compared with demand
such as historical values compared with projected values as shown in Figure 14.

Figure 14: Agricultural applied water demand, defined as the volume of irrigation water required to
meet crop water demands (Reclamation/Ferguson).

3.6. Teacup Diagrams

Reclamation commonly uses teacup diagrams to show reservoir surface elevations (Figure 15).
These diagrams are useful for showing the status of reservoir storage relative to reservoir storage
capacity in one or more reservoirs at a given time. Teacup illustrations show a schematic water
level, but this may not accurately represent the actual reservoir storage capacity due to potential
sedimentation issues and unknown bathymetry. Moreover, teacup diagrams can be cumbersome
if you are comparing two or more time periods or other variables.

21
 Effective Graphics Guide

Figure 15. Teacup diagram examples (Reclamation 2020 [RISE]).

3.7. Line Graphs

Line graphs, such as time plots, can compare metrics over time, such as changing reservoir levels
(Figure 16). Line graphs can also show relationships over distance, elevation (e.g., changes in
elevation along a transect, seepage loss rates along a series of river reaches, and tree density as a
function of elevation). For clarity and easier reading, use various types of lines along with color.

Figure 16. Roswell Artesian Basin groundwater levels: Estimated water footprint at the LFD
observation well in the five storylines, in feet of additional drawdown. Lightly shaded areas
indicate seasonal variations in groundwater levels (Reclamation, 2020 [Pecos]).

22
 Effective Graphics Guide

3.8. Sankey Diagrams

Sankey diagrams are a type of flow diagram in which the width of the arrows is proportional to
the flow rate. These could be useful for showing the proportions of flows from tributaries into a
watershed, proportional canal flows from a reservoir, or water flows through a wastewater
treatment process. These can also be used for operations to show proportional amounts of water
in a system. Figure 17 shows the relationships between flows and outflows, and readers can
gather that about three times as much water in Lake Tahoe is lost to evaporation than flows out
of the lake. Arrow directions and proportional shapes help convey this message. Figure 18 shows
the flows for the Rio Grande from Colorado to Mexico. The black line indicating that flows to
Mexico come through the system visually emphasizes the importance of meeting international
treaty obligations.

Figure 17. Sankey diagram for the average relationship between inflow, evaporative losses, and
outflow at Lake Tahoe for the Reference Scenario (Reclamation 2015 [Truckee]).

3.9. Geographical Maps

Maps show physical features on a landscape. These can include engineering features
(e.g., pipeline alignments), risk analyses (e.g. flood inundation maps, populations at risk),
measurement locations (e.g., streamgages, weather stations), model extents, gridlines, and other
geospatial features. Appendix B provides Reclamation guidance for developing maps.

Be aware of color contrasts in maps. Tools such as ColorBrewer 2 (http://colorbrewer2.org/

#type=sequential&scheme=Blues&n=3) can help select maps that are colorblind safe. Use
Reclamation colors whenever possible. See Section 5.2. Color Blindness and Appendix C for a
color scale for Reclamation’s VI colors.

Make sure labels are readable and that the text is not obscured by a map feature.

Consider lowering the opacity on regions or features that hold background or less important
information (e.g., watershed boundaries, state boundaries, topographical details) to make these
more transparent. The information priorities will depend on the map purpose. For example,
topography and elevations may be critical in a pipeline alignment but secondary in a habitat map.

23
 Effective Graphics Guide

Figure 18. Sankey diagram to show the distribution of flows from the Rio Grande (Reclamation 1995).

24
 Effective Graphics Guide

3.10. Heatmaps
Heat maps (sometimes called datamaps) are a simple and concise Color variations give obvious
way to compare average conditions for a given metric across visual cues to the reader
multiple scenarios. A heatmap shows the magnitude of a metric about how the phenomenon
(e.g., precipitation, temperature, groundwater levels, groundwater is clustered or varies over
rate of withdrawals, etc.) as color. Heatmaps can be: space. Use color scales
(Appendix C) that have
• Spatial (overlaid on a map). Heat maps can illustrate enough contrast for color
values in space, such as gridded datasets of precipitation blindness (Section 5.2).
or temperature. Spatial heatmaps are widely used to plot
raster data, (e.g., digital elevation models, gridded
climate data, and gridded model results).

• Non-spatial (either a table or grid). Color or shading can be added to each cell in the
table to better visualize the data. Color/shading can be added either in lieu of values or as
background behind values.
Heat maps can show relationships between complex processes, both physical and analytical. For
example, Figure 19 not only compares the grid scale of various models, but also shows the
precipitation and topography of the area. Readers can tell at a glance that the finer-resolution
Precipitation Runoff Modeling System (PRMS) model takes into account more variations in
local precipitation than the Variable Inflow Capacity (VIC) model does. Without adding the
climatic and topographic variability, readers may not have understood the need to use finer
model resolutions.

Figure 19. Comparison of Spatial Scale of VIC and PRMS for the Truckee Basin above Farad, Using
Average Precipitation to Demonstrate Resolution in Modeled Subbasins (Reclamation 2015
[Truckee]).

25
 Effective Graphics Guide

4. Create Effective Displays

4.1. Explain Your Model Process
Show inputs and outputs for your model and explain how the model works. Lay audiences may
not need the details but need to know what inputs, boundary conditions, and physical processes
the model considered. Schematic illustrations of process interactions help explain complex
modeling. For example, Figure 20 shows variables and the relationships between variables in a
climate model.

Figure 20. Schematic illustration of a global climate model (GCM). (Reclamation 2016
[Projections]).

Graphics can grab a reader’s attention, quickly show types of actions, and can also provide a
context for your data or explanation of a physical process.

Flowcharts can use icons or smaller pictures to convey meaning. The imagery is simple and
helps a lay audience to understand the relationships and the types of models. How much level of
detail to provide depends on the type of audience. Figure 21 works to show the types of models
that were a part of analysis, but it is too simplistic for an analyst as it does not detail which inputs
go into which models. Figure 22 is a good overall picture of an analytic process, but may be
going into too much detail for a lay reader.

27
 Effective Graphics Guide

Figure 21. Modeling and analytical steps involved in the development of local hydrologic
projections (Reclamation 2013 [URGIA] figure 8).

Figure 22. Schematic overview of steps required to develop projections of future climate and to
incorporate climate projection information into modeling and analysis in support of water
resources and environmental planning, management, and decision making (Reclamation 2016
[Projections]).

28
 Effective Graphics Guide

4.2. Show Positive and Negative Elements Clearly

Carefully consider how an audience will view negative values. Saying that there will be fewer
days when boat docks are available or that there will be more shortages can be confusing,
especially if the value is shown as a positive value in a bar graph or scatter diagram. For
example, showing negative impacts as a bar chart with positive bars can be misunderstood. Most
people will understand downward bars as a negative (the higher the bar, the better) (Chartblocks,
2020). To address these potential misunderstandings, try to format every criterion as a positive.
For example:

• Use metrics where targets are met (e.g., months of water deliveries, days of river
temperatures, or years of successful cottonwood seeding) rather than metrics where
targets are not met (e.g., shortages or critically dry days)

• Count units of availability (e.g., days of boat ramp availability) rather than
unavailability.

If this is not possible, then use a 0 line to show the extent of the negative impacts.

You can also show both positive and negative on a horizontal line (Figure 23).

Figure 23. Graph with both negative and positive impacts divided with a center 0 line. Summary
comparisons of adaptation portfolios to the No Action Alternative. Green = performance improved
more than 10%, yellow = performance is within -10 to +10%, Red = performance declined more
than 10%. (Reclamation 2016 [SSJ Basins Study]).

29
 Effective Graphics Guide

Figure 24. Projected shift in annual runoff, monthly runoff, and peak runoff date relative to the
1990s for the 2020s, 2050s, and 2070s in the major Reclamation river basins (Reclamation 2016
[SECURE Report]).

4.3. Compare Relationships

Pictures can show before and after conditions to explain complex relationships. The infograph in
Figure 25 helps readers see habitat changes from a downstream channel before and after a dam
or mine.

Figure 25. Schematic of a pre-dam channel and a restored post dam channel (Reclamation 2019
[TRRP]).

Time series and mean can be shown on the same graph, which can contrast year-to-year
fluctuations with decadal or long-term average conditions. For example, Figure 26 contrasts two
time series: annual values (solid red) and the 25-year moving average (dashed blue).

30
 Effective Graphics Guide

Figure 26. Observed annual precipitation, averaged over the Upper Rio Grande Basin.
Red line indicates annual time series for the given geographic region. Blue line indicates 25-year
moving annual mean (Reclamation 2013 [URGIA]).

Provide context using lines or scales for readers understand the context of the information. For
example, Figure 27 has a black dashed line to show the top of the conservation pool and a yellow
dotted line to show the top of the flood pool so readers can note when the water surface
elevations have reached those levels.

Figure 27. Historic Lake Altus water surface elevations (project datum) (Reclamation 2020 [Altus]).

31
 Effective Graphics Guide

4.4. Label Clearly

Make sure that your readers understand every element of your figure by labelling clearly and
consistently.

Include a title on each figure. This will help ensure that figures are placed in the correct order in
the report.

Label your horizontal and vertical axes with what is measured and the units used.

Use a large enough font to read (no smaller than 8 point) and use a sans serif font. See . 2.5.1
Comply with Reclamation’s Visual Identity.

4.5. Use Texts and Captions

In Reclamation reports and some professional journals, captions are very basic and any
explanation should be in the text. Ensure that the text explains the display so that the reader is
able to understand the display. Your captions will depend on the display’s context:

• By itself. If the display is presented on its own, then include sufficient information in the
caption to fully understand the display.

• Journal publication. In academic and some professional journals, captions are used to
explain the figure in detail and to draw conclusions. Check with the journal’s style.

• In a Reclamation report. In most government reports and some professional journals,

captions are very basic and explanations are included in the text. Moreover, the table of
contents for figures should be shortened and exclude any extraneous information.
Reclamation follows a few conventions for table and figure captions:

• Table captions are treated like headings. Use Initial Capitalization (where each major
word starts with an upper case letter) and no ending punctuation (just like a title). For
example: Table 1. Initialized Parameters from Named Dam Study.

• Figure captions are treated like a sentence. Use lower case letters and end in a period. .
For example: Locations of initial parameters from Named Dam study.

32
 Effective Graphics Guide

4.6. Keep Graphic Elements Consistent

Keep your readers focused on the content by keeping all
elements consistent. Try to understand how each graphic Although Ralph Waldo
element will work together (color, font, order, icons, text, Emerson said, “a foolish
etc.) to convey your meaning. Be as consistent as possible consistency is the hobgoblin
among sets of displays as well. of little minds,” well
consistency is vital to help
If anything is not consistent, note that in the captions for all your reader quickly
similar figures. Otherwise, your readers could make incorrect understand the report and
assumptions about the scale, alternatives, impacts etc. display.

4.6.1. Develop and Use Team Crosswalks

Using the same colors, line widths, and symbols for the same elements and metrics (e.g.,
alternatives, scenarios, parameters, or historical periods) to help readers track and compare
consistently. At the outset of a project, use a consistency table (termed a crosswalk) 4 so that all
team members can use the same colors for the same scenarios/alternatives (Table 2).

Table 2. Sample Crosswalk

Report Element Color Line Width/ Symbol Notes
Shape
Alternative 1: Water Dark Blue PMS 3035 ½ point dashed
Conservation R: 0 G: 70 B: 88
Alternative 2: Pipeline Light Blue PMS 633 ½ point long dash
Conversion R: 0 G: 115 B: 150
Scenario 1: Average year Mustard PMS 1245 1 point solid
R: 202 G: 145 B: 23
Scenario 2: Wet year Orange PMS 165 1 point solid
R: 255 G: 103 B: 32
Parameter 1: Reservoir Green PMS 357 1 point solid
storage R: 33 G: 87 B: 50
Parameter 2: Water Purple PMS 2091 1 point solid
delivery target R: 76 G: 18 B: 161

Parameter 3: River flows Red PMS 484 1 point solid

at USGS gage. R: 154 G: 51 B: 36

4.6.2. Use Consistent Language

When labelling titles, x and y axes, and legends, be as consistent as possible. Use consistent
language for all displays and text. For example, use one term in both the text and graphs to
describe whether a factor increases or decreases and how substantial or rapid that increase is.
Agree on these relative terms within the team and try to quantify as much as possible (Figure
28).

4
Crosswalk. A table making comparisons between elements, mapping one schema (e.g., color of element) to
another schema (e.g., map shape for element).
.

33
 Effective Graphics Guide

Figure 28. Determine terminology with

the team so you can use consistent
language in the text and images (e.g.,
what do you mean by “gradual” or
“rapid”?) (Reclamation/Gray).

4.6.3. Keep Consistent Scales

Try to agree on scales with other team members, so every discipline’s scales can
be consistent throughout a document. At the same time, select a scale that will Always include a
accurately and appropriately convey the information. Too small a scale will scale—either in the
cause small variations to appear large and too large a scale will lose important legend or on the
variations. If it is not possible to keep the same scale for every similar chart axes.
(e.g., timeframes differ, one scenario doubles or triples the impact, one area is a
quarter of the size of another, or one element represents 90 percent of the issue),
be sure to include a note on the display itself about the scale so readers know that they are not
comparing the same things. For example, Figure 29 and Figure 30 both show the relative impacts
of actions under two different future storylines; however, the red line and text on Figure 30 show
that the scale of the impact in the Dry Storyline is over twice as much as in Moderate Storyline
in Figure 29.

Figure 29. Average annual FSID shortages under Figure 30. Average annual FSID shortages under the Dry
the Moderate Storyline for the Water Storyline for the Water Management Strategies. Note that
Management Strategies. Note that scales are to scales are to 7,000 acre-feet. (Reclamation 2020 [Pecos]).
3,000 acre-feet. (Reclamation 2020 [Pecos]).

34
 Effective Graphics Guide

Note that in this example, the strategies have the same colors, but as they are being compared to
different future climate scenarios, the climate scenario baseline is a different color.

Another approach is to include a small chart at the top of each figure and size it proportionally to
the scale.

4.6.4. Use the Same Names in the Same Order

Readers can find things more efficiently if they are in the same order each time they are
mentioned in the text and in the displays. Before writing your text or developing your display,
agree on the names and order. Document this in your consistency document and make sure that
every label, line, and text explanation uses that order.

4.6.5. Carry Consistency across Projects

You do not have to reinvent the displays for every project. Rather, keep libraries and stylesheets
wherever possible. Keep a list of common elements and then develop a library or style for each
of these common elements. With a library, you can use the same code, legend, or other snippet
and “plug and play.” This will:

• Save time and work by avoiding duplication

• Make it easier to adjust to any changes as the change would only need to be made once,
and all elements using that library or style would change

• Help create consistent documents

If you make a template, share it with others who need a similar template. Put templates, styles,
and libraries into an accessible location such as SharePoint. Create a process with other analysts
that use the same program, code, or mapping processes to ensure you are working with the most
recent libraries and stylesheets.

4.7. Be as Simple as Possible

The less cluttered your display is, the easier it is to understand.
Provide the data needed for your purpose—and no more. For every graphic element, ask:
is this needed to convey the
Don’t include unnecessary information. For example, you may information at the appropriate
not need background gridlines or background topography on the level of detail to the audience to
map. Ask “what information needs to be here to convey the main serve the overall purpose?
point of the display” then delete all other information.

Not everything has to be on one display. Consider creating a series of maps or charts for different
audiences or to convey different messages. These should show the same information as
consistently as possible, but they can highlight different aspects. This may be easier than putting
a variety of information on the same display for a range of differing audiences.

35
 Effective Graphics Guide

Use white space (blank areas) to help readers focus in on what is important. Delete everything
that does not relate to conveying data (e.g., gridlines, decorative items, shadows, extra text)
(Figure 31).

Figure 31. Declutter your tables. Make it easier for the reader to follow.

4.8. Consider Colors Carefully

4.8.1. Don’t Depend on Color Alone
Don’t depend solely on color to distinguish among data elements. Use various symbols, dotted
lines, dashed lines, and lines of different thickness. Figure 32 shows various levels of area
capacity over the years. Different lines and symbols make it easier to compare changes.

Figure 32. Plot of Lake Altus surface area and storage capacity versus elevation. The gray horizontal
line represents the top of the 2018 bathymetric data. Area-Capacity values above this elevation
were obtained using LiDAR data. (Reclamation 2020 [Altus ACAP]).

36
 Effective Graphics Guide

Figure 33 uses shapes to distinguish between elements on a scatter diagram.

Figure 33. Projection membership diagram to define climate change scenarios (Reclamation 2015
[Irrigation Demand]).

See Section 5.2. Color Blindness for more tips on color contrasts.

4.8.2. Use Distinguishable Color Scales

Heatmaps and other graphics can use sequential color scales (sometimes called color bars) to
denote ranges of values (see Section 3.10. Heatmaps). Tables can also use color bars, as shown
in Table 3.

37
 Effective Graphics Guide

Table 3. Drying Days at Acme Gage for each Water Management Strategy (Reclamation 2020,
[Pecos])
Storyline BaU Moderate BaU Dry BaU HMLS RE Increased RE Median
Monsoon
1950-2009 Modeled 11
Historic
2070-2099 Baseline 44 117 40 10 21

More Days 11 Fewer Days

Water Management 2070-2099 Change from Baseline under each Water Management Strategy
Strategy
20% Reduction to -16 -17 -17 -8 -10
Districts
25% Reduction to -19 -21 -19 -9 -13
Districts
25% Reduction to -2 -1 3 1 0
PVACD
30% Reduction to -1 -1 2 0 2
PVACD
Increase Efficiency 0 0 3 3 0
Drying Strategy 0 Wetting
Strategy

Sequential color scales can help visualize values. Color scales can use a single hue (see the colorblind
safe scales based on Reclamation’s VI in Appendix C). They can also be based on various spectrums.
Use Reclamation’s VI colors whenever possible.If a wider range is needed, then consider color scales
designed to accurately represent data (i.e., be perceptually uniform), designed to display well on a screen,
and to be easily interpreted (i.e., maximize contrast). The Viridis color palette and scales, for example,
use a wide blue to yellow scale (see Smith and van Der Walt 2015, Rosanbalm 2017, and Gotelli 2018).
This scale was also designed to work well for people with colorblindness (Rudis et al 2018).

Sometimes color bars just don’t work, especially in complex

Determine what the gradients
situations with images with various opacities on top of imagery.
mean and where the variables
Showing landmarks in a separate image can make it difficult to tell
fall—what kind data are you
exactly what value in the heatmap overlies or aligns with a
working with? If data can be
location/area of interest. You could use the heatmap (e.g., gridded
binned, then provide a discrete
temperature field) as a base layer in GIS and overlaying key
color bar with numbers.
landmarks as open polygons. This allows you to show locations
and boundaries overlaid on top of the heatmap.

4.8.3. Consider Contrast

Contrasting colors are needed to distinguish elements in displays, particularly in spatial displays
and maps. However, adding contrast becomes more complex as soon as there is an image
background. Images with limited opacities, or transparencies, (e.g., overlaid flood data to see
underlying imagery information) also add complexities.

38
 Effective Graphics Guide

Trial and error may be needed to determine effective and accessible contrast levels. Print the
display in black and white to see the contrasts. Usually brighter colors will have better contrast.

For any government website to comply with Section 508 compliance, comply with Web Content
Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) requirements. 5 You can use tools such as:

• Contrast checker: https://webaim.org/resources/contrastchecker

• Contrast picker: http://colorsafe.co/
Do not use any color other than white or a light gray against any Reclamation color background,
as there will not be enough contrast (Table 4).

Table 4. Failed contrast for normal text (Less than 4.5:1 contrast ratio)
Dark Blue Light Blue Mustard Orange Green Purple Maroon
#003E51 #007396 #CA8117 #FF6720 #215732 #4C12A1 #9A3324
Dark Blue Light Blue Mustard Orange Green Purple Maroon
#003E51 #007396 #CA8117 #FF6720 #215732 #4C12A1 #9A3324
Dark Blue Light Mustard Orange Green Purple Maroon
#003E51 Blue #CA8117 #FF6720 #215732 #4C12A1 #9A3324
#007396
Dark Blue Light Blue Mustard Orange Green Purple Maroon
#003E51 #007396 #CA8117 #FF6720 #215732 #4C12A1 #9A3324
Dark Blue Light Blue Mustard Orange Green Purple Maroon
#003E51 #007396 #CA8117 #FF6720 #215732 #4C12A1 #9A3324
Dark Blue Light Blue Mustard Orange Green Purple Maroon
#003E51 #007396 #CA8117 #FF6720 #215732 #4C12A1 #9A3324
Dark Blue Light Blue Mustard Orange Green Purple Maroon
#003E51 #007396 #CA8117 #FF6720 #215732 #4C12A1 #9A3324
Dark Blue Light Blue Mustard Orange Green Purple Maroon
#003E51 #007396 #CA8117 #FF6720 #215732 #4C12A1 #9A3324

4.9. Cite Sources and Get Permissions

Citing sources and documenting permission to use any non-Reclamation graphic (even other
Federal agency ones) is important to ensure Reclamation complies with copyright laws. Graphics
specialists can help you find photos and images that are appropriate for your document and can
help trace permissions.

4.9.1. Citations
Always provide the source for your figures. All photos, figures, and data tables—including those
that Reclamation staff have developed—need to be attributed. Reclamation VI requires a note for
citations on each caption, such as (Reclamation/Staff Name). If the figures were not generated
within Reclamation, then appropriately cite the report.

5
WCAG 2.0 level AA requires a contrast ratio of at least 4.5:1 for normal text and 3:1 for large text. WCAG 2.1
requires a contrast ratio of at least 3:1 for displays and user interface components (such as form input borders).
WCAG Level AAA requires a contrast ratio of at least 7:1 for normal text and 4.5:1 for large text.

39
 Effective Graphics Guide

4.9.2. Permissions

4.9.2.1 Reclamation Photos and Images

Attribute to a particular photographer whenever possible. If the photo is from a Reclamation site,
and you do not know the name of the photographer, attribute to Reclamation. The caption should
include (Reclamation/Name).

4.9.2.2 Google Earth and Maps

Check with TSC’s Geographic Applications and Analysis (8260) Group for the latest directions
on permissions needed for maps.

4.9.2.3 Non-Reclamation Photos and Images

Try to avoid using non-Reclamation photos as much as possible. Reclamation’s materials are
assumed to be in the public domain, so we need to be extremely vigilant about ensuring
copyrights for non-Reclamation generated data and displays are protected. For every non-
Reclamation chart, map, photo, table, or dataset; we need to ask for permission and document
that we have received permission from that source. If you use non-Reclamation figures or data
plan on time to get permissions to use these sources. It is a good idea to note these permission
requests on the team’s Consistency Document (see Section 2.5.4. Document Your Plan).

Although other Federal agencies’ materials are also copyright free, the provenance of each
graphic must be documented. Therefore, it is always best to get permission first and confirm
whether they are copyrighted. Try to find the original source if at all possible. Captions should
include (Courtesy of Agency name). As all other photos and images are copyrighted by
whomever created the work, we need to get specific permission to use these. Contact the original
developer and ask for permission. Keep a record of this permission with the report. Captions
should include (Courtesy of Company Name, all rights reserved.)

40
 Effective Graphics Guide

5. Accessibility
5.1. Alternative Text (Alt Tag)
Alternative text, or an alt tag, is text that a screen reader will read if a visually impaired person is
listening to your document. Try to put enough detail in the alt tag so everyone can understand
your meaning and results. Put as much information as needed in the alt tag to understand the
figure. If it is a flow chart, put the words and order into the alt text. If the content and relevant
conclusions from the figure are in the text, then refer to those explanations in the alt tag. Usually,
if you have described the major results in the text, you do not need to exhaustively describe the
data graphics or maps using alternative text.

5.2. Color Blindness

Some color-blind people will have difficulty
distinguishing between Reclamation’s colors. Check to see Th Quick Test:
what your figure would look like for someone who is color Print in black and white to see if
blind at https://www.color-blindness.com/ there is enough contrast (difference
coblis-color-blindness-simulator/. between the colors).

Never rely solely on colors to provide a meaning. Try to ensure that color is not the only way for
readers to distinguish between elements such as alternatives, scenarios, or sites. Use symbols,
dashed lines, icons, or other markers.

Use contrasting colors. Color contrasts are calculated as the difference between bright and dark
(calculated as the ratio of luminance, i.e., the amount of light that passes through an object).
These ratios provide a measure for contrast, and the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines
(WCAG) have defined these for large and smaller print to show readability for larger and smaller
print against a background as well as for contrasts for color scales (see Section 4.8.2. Use
Distinguishable Color Scales.). The U.S. Web Design System has guidelines on use of color at
https://designsystem.digital.gov/design-tokens/color/overview/. Nichols (2020) also has a
description of colorblind “confusion lines” and shows the way some suggested palettes will
appear for contrast.

Upload any image and see if from various color blind perspectives at https://www.color-
blindness.com/coblis-color-blindness-simulator. Figure 34 shows an example of Reclamation’s
VI colors and their contrast. Use Appendix C for colorblind safe color scales for VI colors.

41
 Effective Graphics Guide

People with difficulty seeing red may

see the colors like this:

Or even like this:

Reclamation’s colors in a normal view. Note that

using a Reclamation color as a font over another
Reclamation color will not provide enough contrast.
Use white over a colored background for readability.
Always print your materials in black and white—this
is an easy test to see if the contrast between lines with
different colors is enough to convey your information
and to allow readers to quickly see your points.

Figure 34. Examples of color-blind results for Reclamation colors.

42
 Effective Graphics Guide

6. Example for Improving a Figure

This section takes a contour plot series (Figure 35), explains several problems, and provides
some solutions for solving these problems (Figure 36 and Figure 37) .

Figure 35. Original sample image.

This contour plot series has several issues:

• Figures are not labelled in the original program. It would be very easy to get these
displays confused or turned around in the editing process. Incorporate labels in the
original program.

• Figure can’t be interpreted by someone who is color blind. The figure only uses color
to distinguish between parameters. Use line thickness, dashed lines, dotted lines, or other
ways to distinguish between parameters.

43
 Effective Graphics Guide

• Legend does not have contrast. The legend uses black on a dark blue, which cannot be
read. Check the contrast on legends or use another column so that you can have black text
on a white background.

• Not all elements are defined. Define all elements (e.g., define the black lines as the
existing pipeline). If you use acronyms, ensure they are the same as those defined in the
text that explains the graphic.

• Figures in the same series have different scales. Whenever possible, use the same color
for the same scale. In this example, using pink for 2,700 and blue for 2,800 consistently
would be a better choice. If scales are radically different (e.g., comparing a very small
reservoir with a very large one or a scenario with twice the impact as others in the series,
note clearly on the figure itself that this is a different scale.)

• Figures show different areas. Left figure begins at CP10/CP11. Right figure starts
higher up at R12, which makes it difficult to compare locations and compounds the
differences in the scales.

44
 Effective Graphics Guide

Figure 36. Sample image reworked adding various line weights in new VI colors and also shown in grayscale (Reclamation/Gray).

45
 Effective Graphics Guide

Figure 37. Sample image reworked in grayscale to show contrast without colors and only different line weights (Reclamation/Gray).

46
 Effective Graphics Guide

7. References
Basu Saikat, 2011. GT Explains: What is the Difference Between JPG, GIF, PNG, BMP Basu
Saikat, 2011. GT Explains: What is the Difference Between JPG, GIF, PNG, BMP
Image Formats?30 Aug 2011. https://www.guidingtech.com/7729/difference-
between-jpg-png-gif-bmp-image-formats/.
Centers for Disease Control, 2018. Using Graphs and Charts to Illustrate Quantitative Data.
https://www.cdc.gov/healthyyouth/evaluation/pdf/brief12.pdf.
Chartblocks, 2020. When to use a Bar Chart.
https://www.chartblocks.com/en/support/faqs/faq/when-to-use-a-bar-chart.
Accessed 4/20/2020.
Chastain, S., 2020. JPEG File Format Myths and Facts. https://www.lifewire.com/jpeg-myths-
and-facts-1701548. Updated 4/17/2020.
CopyPress, 2020. Making Complex Data Infographics Simple. Life wire.
https://www.copypress.com/kb/infographics/making-complex-data-infographics-
simple/.
Fisher, T., 2020 (GIF). What Is an GIF File? Life Wire. https://www.lifewire.com/gif-file-
4116104. Updated 3/18/2020.
Fisher, T., 2020 (SVG). What Is an SVG File? Life Wire. https://www.lifewire.com/svg-file-
4120603. Updated 3/9/2020.
Geospatial World, 2010. Graphic communication and Balance in Map Design. 02/03/2010. Blog
post. Brig (Retd.) M.C. Dhamija, K.D Sood.
https://www.geospatialworld.net/article/graphic-communication-balance-in-map-
design/.
Gotelli, N.J. 2018. Viridis color palette. https://gotellilab.github.io/GotelliLabMeetingHacks/
NickGotelli/ViridisColorPalette.html. 9/6/2018.
Klipfolio. What is Data Visualization? https://www.klipfolio.com/resources/articles/what-is-
data-visualization.
Macolabels.com. SVG Graphics in Microsoft word. https://macolabels.com/blogs/news/svg-
graphics-in-microsoft-word. Accessed 2/2/2020.
Nichols, 2020. Coloring for Colorblindness. https://davidmathlogic.com/. Accessed 5/19/2020/.
Nielsen, J., 2000. Why You Only Need to Test with 5 Users.
https://www.nngroup.com/articles/why-you-only-need-to-test-with-5-users/.
3/18/2000.
Reclamation, 1995. Legal and Institutional Framework for Rio Grande Project Water Supply and
Use. Reclamation, Upper Colorado Region, October, 1995.

47
 Effective Graphics Guide

Reclamation, 2013. Los Angeles Basin Stormwater Conservation Study: Task 3.2 Hydrologic
Modeling Report. https://www.usbr.gov/lc/socal/basinstudies/LA-Basin-Study-
Task-3-2%20Report-FINAL.pdf
Reclamation, 2015. Truckee Basin Study: Basin Study Report. Reclamation, Mid-Pacific
Region, Sacramento, California. August 2015.
Reclamation, 2015. West-Wide Climate Risk Assessments: Irrigating Demand and Reservoir
Evaporation Projections. Prepared by the U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of
Reclamation, Technical Service Center, Denver, Colorado. February 2015.
https://www.usbr.gov/watersmart/wcra/docs/irrigationdemand/WWCRAdemands.p
df.
Reclamation, 2016 (SSJ Basin Study). Sacramento and San Joaquin River Basins Study.
http://www.usbr.gov/watersmart/bsp/docs/finalreport/sacramento-
sj/Sacramento_SanJoaquin_TechnicalReport.pdf.
Reclamation, 2019 (TRRP). Trinity River Annual Report.
Reclamation, 2020 (Altus Survey). Altus Reservoir Survey Report. https://www.usbr.gov/tsc/
techreferences/reservoir.html.
Reclamation, 2020. (Altus Reservoir) Altus Reservoir Area Capacity Report.
https://www.usbr.gov/tsc/techreferences/reservoir.html.
Reclamation, 2020 (Pecos). Pecos River Basin Study-New Mexico. Albuquerque Area Office.
Reed, A. 2018. Why Every Marketer in 2018 Needs to Be a (Part-Time) Designer: 52 Design
Terms and Tips to Level-Up. https://buffer.com/library/53-design-terms-explained-
for-marketers.
Roose, J. nd. How to Conduct Usability Testing in Six Steps.
https://www.toptal.com/designers/ux-consultants/how-to-conduct-usability-testing-
in-6-steps. Accessed 2/2/2020.
Rosanbalm, S. Generating Colors from the Viridis Color Scale with a SAS® Macro.
PharmaSUG 2017 - Paper QT06.
https://www.pharmasug.org/proceedings/2017/QT/PharmaSUG-2017-QT06.pdf.
Rudis, B., N. Ross, and S. Garnier. The viridis color palettes. 2018-03-29. https://cran.r-
project.org/web/packages/viridis/vignettes/intro-to-viridis.html.
Securities and Exchange Commission, Plain English Handbook, 1998, Washington, DC.
https://www.sec.gov/pdf/handbook.pdf.
Smith, N. and S. van der Walt, 2015. A Better Default Colormap formatplotlib. Youtube video of
conference talk at Sci Py 2015. https://www.youtube.com/
watch?list=PLYx7XA2nY5Gcpabmu61kKcToLz0FapmHu&v=xAoljeRJ3lU.
Statistics Canad, nd. Constructing box and whisker plots.
https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/edu/power-pouvoir/ch12/5214889-eng.htm.
Accessed 2/2/2020.
Tufte, E., 1990. Envisioning Information. Second Edition. Graphics Press, Cheshire,
Connecticut.

48
 Effective Graphics Guide

Tufte, E., 2001. The Visual Display of Quantitative Information. Second Edition. Graphics Press,
Cheshire, Connecticut.
Tufte, E., 2006. Beautiful Evidence. Graphics Press, Cheshire, Connecticut.
Tully and Young, Inc. 2016. 2016 Update for Reclamation’s 5 Year Water Plan, El Dorado
Irrigation District. https://www.eid.org/home/showdocument?id=269.
Visually. Infographics, 2020. Why you need them. http://thumbnails-visually.netdna-ssl.com
/importance-of-infographics_5356164ec3ebe_w1500.JPG. Accessed 4/20/2020.
Wall Street Mojo, 2020. https://www.wallstreetmojo.com/graphs-vs-charts/. Accessed
4/20/2020.

49
 Effective Graphics Guide

8. Glossary
508 compliance. Requirements to make content accessible to people with disabilities. This also
makes it easier for everyone to understand.

Alt tags. Image attributes applied to images to provide a text alternative (for web and
accessibility)

Axis. A reference line in a chart indicating the measurement of coordinates.

Color bar. A gradient with ascribed values using a color scale to show minimum to maximum
range of values.. See heat map.

Consistency Document, or style guide. A set of standards for a set of displays for the entire
cross-disciplinary team to follow to help ensure that figures, texts, and presentations are
consistent.

Contrast. The difference between two colors. More contrast makes it easier to read (Black and
white would provide the greatest contrast).

Coordinates. A group of numbers used to indicate the position of a point, line, or plane.

Copyright. The exclusive legal right, given to an originator or an assignee to print, publish,
perform, film, or record literary, artistic, or musical material, and to authorize others to do the
same.

Crosswalk. A table making comparisons between elements, mapping one schema (e.g., color of
element) to another schema (e.g., map shape for element).
.
Display. A generic term for graphics, including maps, graphs, charts, tables, posters, etc.

Figure. Any type of map, chart, or other images.

Flat file. A file exported from a software where all layers are combined into one.

Gradient. A gradual change of colors (e.g., green turning gradually into blue) or a color fading
into transparency.

Heat map. A map or table where sets of values are displayed as different shades or colors (e.g.,
75% or higher is dark red, 50 -75% is medium red, 25-50% is light red, 0 – 25% is white).

Icon. An image used to represent an action or an object.

Initial Capped. When the first letter of each substantive word is a capital letter.
Layer. A layer of information in a graphic software, such as CAD or Photoshop.

51
 Effective Graphics Guide

Legend. A box on a display (e.g., chart or map) which lists the label and visual appearance for
elements used in the display.

Lossless format. A file format that does not lose data each time it is saved.

Luminance. Photometric measure of the amount of light travelling in a given direction.

Margin. The space around the edge of a page

Opacity. The degree that an image is transparent. The lower the opacity, the more transparent an
element is (e.g., 100% opacity means an object is solid and 0% is so transparent you can not see
it).

Pixel. The smallest basic unit of programmable color on a computer or printer. Images are made
up of many individual pixels.

Public Domain. Belonging or being available to the public as a whole, and therefore not subject
to copyright.

Raster. Comprised of a set grid of pixels. This means when you change the size of stretch a
raster image it can get a little blurry and lose some clarity.

Resolution. The sharpness and clarity of an image.

Scale. Refers to the size of an object, impact, or factor in relationship to another object. Two
elements of the same size can be seen as being equal and elements with a clear variation in size
tend to be seen as different.

Serif. An extra stroke or curve at the ends of letters. Sans serif is without these strokes.

Storyboard. A visual outline for data. A quick and not exact depiction of what the displays will
look like.

Table. Any form of information with rows and columns.

Test audience. A representative of the type of audience that your report is prepared for.

White space (negative space). The area of a design left blank.

Vector. Comprised of points, lines, and curves that are calculated using a mathematical equation.
Vector images can change size without losing any quality.

Visual Identity. A branding using consistent colors, fonts, etc. See intra.usbr.gov/vip for
Reclamation’s Visual Identity requirements.

52
 Effective Graphics Guide

Appendix A: Programming Tips and Examples

Using a scripting language to create the figures to help build
consistency and are comparatively easy to modify and rerun—rather
than a system that draws each figure separately. Set up your scripts to make
your output figures easy to
Using a post processing program specific to a particular model has less modify. No matter what,
flexibility and may be more difficult to modify. there will be changes at the
last minute
When you use a scripting language, you can:

• Track plotted data. For example, you can add comments in the script describing the
input data. Anyone familiar with the program can then understand how the figure was
created, and what data and analyses were used to create the figure. This facilitates
reproducibility and supports best analytic practices. Since your data and graphs may be
used for multiple planning phases (appraisal, feasibility, specifications, construction, as
built, and follow up) and potentially may be required to be reproduced for legal
processes, it is critical that all data underlying your figures be clearly documented,
archived, and reproducible.

• Re-use scripts. It is easier and faster to reformat previously created scripts to plot out
new data.

• Ensure consistency. Scripts can have standard colors, sizes, labels, etc. It is best
practice to ensure consistency not only within a report but with other similar data.

Tips
Develop standard libraries of scripts to create different types of plots (e.g., time series, spatially
gridded plots).

Standardize labels for data, variables, and time scales so you can loop through variables with one
script.

Try to create scripts that can be modified for the next project to save time and to promote
consistency.

53
 Effective Graphics Guide

Sample R Script
This example R script loops through different scenarios (SCNNAME), time periods (TMPRD),
areas (AREAS) and months (MONTH). It also could easily loop through different variables if
need be (VNAME).

#ARBS - hydrology script

#Timeseries plots from scenario data (spatially averaged over the basins)
#Plots all scenarios on plot, facets by time period for each basin

###*run w/ wba subbasins and when input data is in volumetric units

#### Input/Output #####

# -- variable
FILEDIR <- c( "vic_data/timeseries")
FILESTR <- c( "%s.%s.arbs_ssj.%s.month.%s.txt") # SCNNAME, TMPRD, VNAME, aname

outdir <- "figures/timeseries/monthly/scn/%s" # vname

outstr <- "%s.%s.monthly.april.timeseries.scn_loca.png" # insert: bname, vname

VNAME <- c( "swe.max")

VUNIT <- c( "in")
VNAME_PLT <- c( "Maximum SWE")

SCNNAME <- c( "BASELINE","HD","HW","CT","WD","WW" )

TMPRD <-c( "2040_2069","2055_2084", "2070_2099")

AREA <-c("basin")

MONTH <-c("JAN", "FEB", "MAR", "APR", "MAY", "JUN", "JUL", "AUG", "SEP", "OCT", "NOV", "DEC")

#### Plot Options ####

SCOLOR <- c( "blue","darkgreen","orange","black")

# #############################################################
# CODE
# #############################################################

library( broom )
library( ggplot2 )
library( gtools )
library( ncdf4 )
library( raster )
library( reshape2 )
library( rgdal )
library( rgeos )

54
 Effective Graphics Guide

library( scales )
library( sp )
library(dplyr)
library(plyr)
library(tidyverse)
library (Kendall)
library (trend)

snipdir <- "C:/Users/kmikkelson/Documents/R/Clark_Canyon/snips/"

source( paste(snipdir,"organizedDateColumns_function.R",sep="") )

# GRAB DIMENSIONS FOR LOOPING

# (datasets, variables, timescales, polygons )
nscn <- length( SCNNAME )
nvar <- length( VNAME )
ntim <- length(TMPRD)
narea <- length(AREA)

#Loop through the variables and the scenarios

for ( v in 1:nvar) {

for(a in 1:narea){
aname <- AREA[a]

# read in the txt file to get basin names

fdir <- sprintf( FILEDIR)
fname <- sprintf( "BASELINE.1980_2009.arbs_ssj.%s.month.%s.txt",vname, aname)
fpath <- sprintf( "%s/%s",fdir,fname )
the_data <- read.table(fpath, sep="\t", header=TRUE)

BLIST = colnames(the_data)
BLIST = BLIST[-1]
nbas <- length(BLIST)

for (b in 1:nbas) {
bname <- BLIST[b]

#Create empty dataframe for plotting

pltdata <- data.frame( Date=character(),
Data=numeric(),
TimePeriod=character(),
Scenario=character(),
month_abb=character(),
stringsAsFactors=FALSE )

for (s in 1:nscn) {

55
 Effective Graphics Guide

sname <- SCNNAME[s]

vunit <- VUNIT[v]
vname <- VNAME[v]
vname_plt <- VNAME_PLT[v]

for ( t in 1:ntim) {
tname <- TMPRD[t]

fdir <- sprintf( FILEDIR)

if(sname=="BASELINE"){
fname <- sprintf( "BASELINE.1980_2009.arbs_ssj.%s.month.%s.txt",vname, aname)
} else{
fname <- sprintf( FILESTR,sname, tname, vname, aname)
}

fpath <- sprintf( "%s/%s",fdir,fname )

the_data <- read.table(fpath, sep="\t", header=TRUE)

#select only the one basin you need

the_data <- subset(the_data, select=c("DATE", sprintf("%s", bname)))
#Change column name to 'Data'
names(the_data)[2] <- "Data"

#format date column

the_data$DATE = as.Date(the_data$DATE, "%Y-%m-%d")
#pull out year
the_data = OrganizeDateColumns(data.x= the_data,ncol.date = 1, orders = "ymd", ncol.day = NULL,
ncol.month = NULL, ncol.year = NULL)
#add 84 year offset to dates to find future time slices:
the_data$Date = the_data$year + 84

#Create column w/ month abbreviations

the_data$month_abb=MONTHS[the_data$month]

#Create column w/ scenario name

scn_name <- sprintf( "%s",sname )
the_data$Scenario = scn_name

#Create column with time period

tm_pd = sprintf("%s", tname)
the_data$TimePeriod = tm_pd

#Keep only certain columns

the_data3 = subset(the_data, select=c("Date", "Data", "TimePeriod", "Scenario", "month_abb"))

#Add to new dataframe with all scenario/time period data in it

56
 Effective Graphics Guide

pltdata <- rbind( pltdata,the_data3 )

} #end of ntim loop

} #end of nscn

melt_plt = melt(pltdata, id = c("Date","Scenario", "TimePeriod", "month_abb"), measure.vars = "Data")

#Change units for future period

melt_plt$value = melt_plt$value*0.0393701

melt_plt$TimePeriod = ifelse( melt_plt$Scenario=="BASELINE", "1980 - 2009", melt_plt$TimePeriod)

melt_plt$TimePeriod <- factor(melt_plt$TimePeriod,

labels = c("1980 - 2009", "2040 - 2069", "2055 - 2084", "2070 - 2099"))

#Subset into just April data

plt_apr = subset(melt_plt, month_abb=="APR")

#### Timeseries Plot ####

ylab <- sprintf( "Maximum April SWE [%s]" ,vunit)
gline <- ggplot( )
gline <- gline + geom_line(data=plt_apr,aes(x=Date,y=value,color=TimePeriod), size=0.25,
linetype="solid", na.rm=TRUE )
gline <- gline + facet_wrap(~ Scenario, scale="fixed", ncol=1)

gline <- gline + scale_color_manual( name="Time Period",values=SCOLOR )

#gline <- gline + scale_x_continuous(breaks=c(2020, 2050, 2080))
gline <- gline + labs( x="Year", y=ylab)
gline <- gline + theme(plot.title=element_text(face="bold",color="black",size=16))
gline <- gline + theme(plot.subtitle=element_text(face="bold",color="black",size=14))
gline <- gline + theme(axis.title.y=element_text(face="bold",color="black",size=16))
gline <- gline + theme(axis.title.x=element_text(face="bold",color="black",size=16))
gline <- gline + theme(axis.text.y=element_text(face="bold",color="black",size=14))
gline <- gline + theme(axis.text.x=element_text(face="bold",color="black",size=14))
gline <- gline + theme( strip.background=element_blank() ) + guides(colour = guide_legend(override.aes
= list(size = 1)))
gline <- gline + theme( strip.text=element_text(face="bold",color="black",size=12) )
gline <- gline + theme( panel.border=element_rect(linetype="solid",color="black",size=1,fill=NA) )
gline <- gline + theme( panel.grid.major=element_line(color="gray50",linetype="dotted") )
gline <- gline + theme( panel.grid.minor=element_blank() )
gline <- gline + theme( panel.background=element_blank() )
gline

57
 Effective Graphics Guide

# save plot
fname <- sprintf( outstr,bname, vname)
fdir <- sprintf(outdir, vname)
fpath <- sprintf( "%s/%s",fdir,fname )
if (!dir.exists(fdir)) { dir.create(fdir,recursive=TRUE) }
ggsave( gline , filename=fpath, width=7, height=10, dpi=600, device = "png" )
rm(fname, fdir, fpath)

} #end nbas
} #end narea
} #end nvar

58
 Effective Graphics Guide

Appendix B: Guidance for Development of

Maps for Briefing, Presentation, and External
Outreach Materials
Note: This is a copy of the official guidance from Christopher J. Beardsley, Acting Director,
Policy and Administration and David Raff, Science Advisor, Reclamation, November 18, 2019.
Please contact the TSC Geographic Applications and Analysis Group for updated policies.

Introduction
This document establishes guidance for maps included in briefing materials, presentations, and
external outreach materials. This guidance was developed at the request of the Commissioner to
ensure consistent use of effective maps in across Reclamation, and to showcase Reclamation's
GIS capabilities. The Guidance was developed by a team of GIS Coordinators representing RLT
members, led by the GIS Program Coordinator within Policy and Administration, and has been
in use since July 2019. GIS Coordinators are responsible for a broad range of GIS Program
activities, including program development and identification of standards.

This Guidance should be used to prepare maps for briefing papers and presentations such as
PowerPoint presentations, as well as other materials generated by Public Affairs. Included within
this document are:

1) protocols for communication between each directorate’s identified Geographic

Information Systems (GIS) contact and the Washington Office liaison (or other employee
responsible for the materials),

2) defined mapping guidance for briefing materials, and

3) options for technical mapping support by Reclamation staff available to assist with map
production.

1. Communication Process
Each directorate has identified a GIS contact who is available to consult with subject matter
experts within the Directorate to develop maps for briefing and other materials. Whenever a map
is necessary as part of briefing, presentation, or outreach materials, the Reclamation employee
responsible for the materials (e.g., subject matter expert, Washington Office liaison, Public
Affairs) should engage the GIS contact to ensure that materials are developed consistent with this

59
 Effective Graphics Guide

Guidance. The communications process between the GIS contact and Washington Office liaison
should be defined by the region or directorate. The GIS contact should work with the subject
matter expert to produce a map that contains relevant information that enhances the briefing
paper or other material. To be effective, maps should be designed for the intended audience with
a clear communication goal defined by the subject matter experts and produced by the GIS
contacts.

2. Mapping Guidance for Briefing, Presentation, and External

Outreach Materials
This Guidance will be updated as templates are developed and additional standard mapping
elements are identified. With that in mind, communication with GIS contacts is critical to ensure
that up-to-date information can be shared with subject matter experts and liaisons.

Maps should be included in all briefing, presentation, and external outreach materials that are
associated with spatial locations or features. The briefing map will likely be printed out for
viewing and should be letter sized, embedded into the briefing paper when possible, and be
presented in color. We have developed the following “Mapping Elements Checklist” to improve
the consistent use and quality of maps across Reclamation:

Mapping Elements Checklist

Use this checklist of mapping elements to be included in briefing maps used in Commissioner’s
Office materials:

Title/Description
A detailed title/description that gives the map audience a succinct explanation of the
subject matter of the map.

Legend
A legend that provides a key to the symbology contained within the map, inclusive of all
data layers.

Scale Bar
A scale bar providing a reference of distance and size of features that displays U.S. units
of measurement. When displaying division blocks or tics on the scale bar, choose a
‘rational’ subdivision, (e.g., 5, 10, 15, 20 rather than 12.5, 25.5, 37.5.)

Locator Map (Inset)

An inset locator map within a map providing context to the broader location of the
subject of the map. The locator map should show the map audience, who may not be
familiar with the area or subject, the larger geographic region that the map relates to. All
maps should include a locator map except when the map subject is a larger geographic
region such as a state or groups of states.

North Arrow
All maps should include a north arrow.

60
 Effective Graphics Guide

Projections

Large scale maps - UTM or State Plane.

Logo
Reclamation logo should be included.

Map Production Information

Last revised date or printed date, map prepared by (office) and/or local office filename
and file path.

Reclamation Assets
Important Reclamation and Reclamation funded assets should be included as a layer
when available to give the Commissioner area information and location perspective.
The GIS contact should work with the subject-matter expert preparing the material to
identify the relevant features that should be included to provide appropriate context for
the map. For example, it may be important to show the State water project, major rivers
or streams, county lines and other features in some maps but not in others. Maps should
provide the appropriate amount of context for the subject matter of the material without
including information that is unnecessary.

3. Review of Maps
The GIS contact and Washington Office Liaison (or other Reclamation employee tasked with
developing the briefing or presentation materials) will be responsible for using the Mapping
Elements Checklist to review maps before they are finalized.

4. Technical Mapping Support

Maps for briefing, presentation, and external outreach materials can require a swift turn around,
and the GIS contact to the Washington liaison may not be present to generate or review the map.
In this case, contact Kenneth Richard, GIS Program Coordinator, to facilitate the map being
produced.

5. Existing Symbology
Standard colors denoting land ownership are at:
https://www.ntc.blm.gov/krc/uploads/223/Ownership_Map_Color_Reference_Sheet.pdf
https://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/TopographicMapSymbols/topomapsymbols.pdf

61
Effective Graphics Guide

63
 Effective Graphics Guide

Appendix C. Color Scales for Reclamation’s VI

Colors

Note: only the darkest colors are the official Reclamation VI colors. Reclamation VI colors
should be used in all corporate materials whenever possible and should be the primary colors in
other applications as well. However, we often need to use sequential scales to signify the level of
factor.

These were developed using the color bar picker at https://learnui.design/tools/data-color-

picker.html.

Color blindness testing was from https://www.color-blindness.com/coblis-color-blindness-

simulator.

RGB to hex https://www.rgbtohex.net/hextorgb/

65
 Effective Graphics Guide

Dark Blue (PMS 3035)

Hex 003e51 2c5d71 4e7e92 70a1b5 94c5da B8eaff

RGB R: 0 G: 62 B: R: 44 G: 93 R: 78 G: 126 R: 112 G: R: 148 G: R: 184 G:
81 B: 113 B: 146 161 B: 181 197 B: 218 234 B: 255

66
 Effective Graphics Guide

Light Blue (PMS 633)

Hex 007396 3b89aa 5ea0bf 7db8d4 9cd0e9 Bae9ff

RGB R: 0 G: 115 R: 59 G: 137 R: 94 G: 160 R: 125 G: 184 R: 156 G: R: 186 G:
B: 150 B: 170 B: 191 B: 212 208 B: 233 233 B: 255

67
 Effective Graphics Guide

Mustard (PMS 1245)

Hex C69214 D2a13e Ddb05f E7bf7e Efcf9e F7dfbd

RGB R: 198 G: R: 210 G: 161 B: R: 221 G: 176 R: 231 G: 191 B: R: 239 G: 207 B: R: 247 G: 223 B:
146 B: 20 62 B: 95 126 158 189

68
 Effective Graphics Guide

Tan (PMS 468)

Hex Ddcba4 E1cfa9 E5d4ae Ead8b2 Eeddb7 F2e1bc

RGB R: 221 G: 203 B: R: 225 G: 207 R: 229 G: 212 B: R: 234 G: R: 238 G: 221 B: R: 242 G: 225 B:
164 B: 169 174 216 B: 178 183 188

69
 Effective Graphics Guide

Orange (PMS 165)

Hex Ff671f Ff8042 ff9863 Ffae83 Ffc4a4 Ffd9c6

RGB R: 255 G: R: 255 G: R: 255 G: 152 R: 255 G: 174 B: R: 255 G: 196 B: R: 255 G:
103 B: 31 128 B: 66 B: 99 131 164 217 B: 198

70
 Effective Graphics Guide

Green (PMS 357)

Hex 215732 42734e 628f6c 83af8c A4ccac C7ebce

RGB R: 33 G: 87 R: 66 G: 115 R: 98 G: 143 R: 131 G: R: 164 G: R: 199 G:
B: 50 B: 78 B: 108 175 B: 140 204 B: 172 235 B: 206

71
 Effective Graphics Guide

Red (PMS 484)

Hex 9a3324 B15542 C67562 Da9584 Edb6a7 Ffd7cc

RGB R: 154 G: 51 R: 177 G: 85 R: 198 G: R: 218 G: R: 237 G: R: 255 G:
B: 36 B: 66 117 B: 98 149 B: 132 182 B: 167 215 B: 204

72
 Effective Graphics Guide

Purple (PMS 2091)

Hex 4c12a1 713eb4 9264c7 B18bda D0b2ec Eedbff

RGB R: 76 G: 18 R: 113 G: 62 R: 146 G: R: 177 G: R: 208 G: 178 R: 238 G:
B: 161 B: 180 100 B: 199 139 B: 218 B: 236 219 B: 255

73