Visual Design Tools
This section provides a collection of resources and tools for visual design to enhance your scientific presentations, figures, and images. Explore links to various tools that can help you create clear, engaging visuals to effectively communicate your research.
Images and Diagrams
Duarte Diagrammer: Customizable, editable diagrams for PowerPoint
Noun Project: Icons for all possible nouns
BioRender: A web platform to build professional scientific figures easily. Available at a discounted price for anyone employed by Harvard University.
Pixabay: Copyright-free images
Color
Adobe Color: Application for experimenting with color themes and variations
Color Brewer: Color advice for cartography
Harvard Medical School (HMS) Research Imaging Solutions
HMS Research Imaging Solutions: Seminars and comprehensive resources to support researchers in creating figures, images, posters and presentations. Their library of slides and handouts provide detailed, step-by-step instructions on a number of topics. Three of their robust resources are highlighted below.
Imaging Essentials Guide: Explains important differences between two types of image files: vectors and rasters. It also shows how to effectively resize images.
Creating Figures Guide: Offers detailed instructions on how to create scientific figures using Photoshop and PowerPoint.
File Format Output Options: Explains how to determine the correct file format to use and how to save files appropriately.
Harvard University’s Digital Accessibility: Steps you can take to improve the accessibility of documents, PDFs, slides, and websites.