Graphic Design and Data Visualization Resources for Proposal Development

Federal Agencies:

NIH Tips for Tables, Charts, and Figures
NIH Picture This!
CDC Using Graphs and Charts to Illustrate Quantitative Data
CDC Visual Communication Resources
AHRQ Six Tips for Making a Quality Report Appealing and Easy to Skim
Usability.gov Visual Design Basics
US ED Graphic Design for Researchers

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What’s the Best Way to Present Your Knowledge, Skills and Experience?

Strength of Signal: Improving your scientific figures and diagrams for proposals

Five Quick Tips for Winning Proposal Graphics

How to Effectively Use Proposal Graphics

Proposal Graphics and Graphic Design Support

UNH IT: Available Software

https://td.usnh.edu/TDClient/60/Portal/KB/ArticleDet?ID=770

(Go to the site above for access to these resources)

Purpose	Windows Software	Macintosh Software
Vector graphics and illustration	Adobe Illustrator*	Adobe Illustrator*
Page design and layout	Adobe InDesign	Adobe InDesign
Advanced digital photo editing and graphics	Adobe Photoshop*	Adobe Photoshop *
Geographic information systems and mapping	ArcGIS Desktop	See IT website
Statistical analysis and graphing	JMP 11	JMP 11
Mathematics and computation system, modeling, programming	MATLAB	MATLAB
Computer aided design (CAD) and computer aided engineering (CAE)	SOLIDWORKS	N/A
Statistical analysis and graphing	SPSS Statistics	SPSS Statistics

*Note re: Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop:
Both programs make high quality figures at appropriate resolution for publication but the learning curve for both of these programs is steep. However, training is available through UNH Professional Development & Training, on the Internet, or in places like LinkedIn learning.

Other Software

Recommended by Researchers and Research Development Professionals

Kaleidagraph

Tableau

Biorender
BioRender has a ton of templates and icons to make scientific figures. The interface is online, and it works very similarly to PowerPoint, so the learning curve isn’t very high for someone familiar with PowerPoint. Figures export at resolutions appropriate for publication, and they will give you a publication license. They also have resources and recorded webinars with tips on how to make the best figures for manuscripts, grants, etc.

Canva: Visual Suite for Everyone
A great resource for simpler figures (charts, diagrams, etc.) or even inspiration on where to start, Canva has are free and premium tiers, but you can do a lot with the free tier. This platform is good for social media graphics and if something at a high resolution isn't need. It’s quick and easy to learn.

Datawrapper
Datawrapper makes clean bar and linecharts that can be easily uploaded into a web newsletter. They have free and paid tiers, but you can do quite a bit with the free tier. The learning curve is moderate.

Powerpoint
While figures made with BioRender may look better, there’s nothing wrong with using Powerpoint; plus, many people already know how to use it. It's an excellent tool for editing figures made on another platform.