Typography is the most overlooked part of scientific design. The right font makes a figure clean and legible; the wrong one makes good science look careless. The principles below apply to figures, posters, and slides alike.
Sans-serif for labels, almost always
For figure labels, axis text, and slides, use a sans-serif typeface. Sans-serifs stay clean at small sizes and when projected or compressed. Serifs are fine for long body text in a printed document, but inside figures they tend to clutter.
Recommended typefaces
- Helvetica / Arial: the journal default — neutral, universally available, accepted everywhere.
- Source Sans, Lato, Open Sans: free, modern, excellent on screen.
- Roboto / Noto Sans: great cross-platform consistency, strong for posters.
- Fira Sans / Inter: clean with good number legibility for data labels.
Many journals explicitly ask for Arial or Helvetica in figures — check the author guidelines before finalising.
Limit yourself to one or two fonts
Use a single family throughout a figure, varying weight (regular, bold) and size for hierarchy. A second font is acceptable only to distinguish, say, a display title from body labels. More than two looks chaotic.
Sizing: design for the final medium
| Context | Practical minimum |
|---|---|
| Journal figure label | ~6–8 pt at final print size |
| Conference poster body | ~24 pt; title much larger |
| Slide body text | ~24–28 pt; readable from the back |
For posters, the rule of thumb is that the title should be readable from several metres away. See our conference poster guide for full sizing.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Decorative or condensed fonts in data figures — they hurt legibility.
- All-caps for long labels — slower to read.
- Inconsistent sizes across panels of a multi-panel figure.
- Light/thin weights that vanish when printed or projected.
- Using a font you don't have licensing rights to embed.
Numbers and units
Pick a font with clearly distinguishable digits (so 1, l, and I differ), use a proper minus sign rather than a hyphen, and keep units consistent. Small details like these signal a careful author.
Short on time before a deadline?
Our team designs publication-ready graphical abstracts, journal covers, and custom scientific illustrations for researchers worldwide.
Get Design Services →