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Graphical Abstracts:Graphical Abstracts:Graphical Abstracts:Graphical Abstracts:From the Future to TodayFrom the Future to TodayFrom the Future to TodayFrom the Future to Today

Andy Smith

Production Operations Manager

an.smith@cell.com

What Is A Graphical Abstract?

• Created by author

• Not peer reviewed

• Not required at submission

• Single-panel image

• Quick, easy to digest

snapshot of a paper’s main

findings

• First impression

• Whatever you need it to be

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Origin of GAs: Article of the Future

• 2010, Cell and primary and Trends journals

• Tabbed navigation structure

• Introduction, Results, Discussion, Experimental

Procedures

• Figures in “film reel”, with legend, relevant citation within

article

• Highlights + eTOC

• Video abstracts

• Integration of Supplemental Experimental Procedures and

Supplemental Figures into the main article

Origin of GAs: Article of the Future (cont.)

• In AotF, GA was required file on Cell

• Concerted effort for ~2 years on

helping authors make effective GAs

• SnapShot lessons learned

• Pathways, comparisons, cycles, and

tables

• Redrawing GAs

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Training Authors

• Created the CP GA

Guidelines PDF

• Give an author a GA,

and you’ll exhaust your

illustration resources.

Teach an author to

create a GA, and you’ll

have space to exhaust

your illustration

resources in other ways.

https://els-jbs-prod-

cdn.literatumonline.com/pb/assets/raw/shared/figureguidelines/GA_guide-

1537202744020.pdf

A GA Should…

• Have a clear start and end, “reading from top to bottom or left to

right”

• Provide a visual indication of the biological context of the results

depicted (subcellular location, tissue or cell type, species, etc.)

• Be distinct from any model figures or diagrams included in the

paper itself

• Emphasize the new findings from the current paper without

including excess details from previous literature

• Avoid the inclusion of features that are more speculative (unless

the speculative nature can be made apparent visually)

• Not include data items of any type; all the content should be in a

graphical form

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Before / After

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Similar Resources

• https://biorender.com/blog/creating-a-winning-graphical-abstract-the-

comprehensive-guide/

The Ultimate Sophistication

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The Ultimate Sophistication (cont.)

The Ultimate Sophistication (cont.)

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Bang for the Buck

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Lessons Learned

• Keep it simple

• Authors will do the work if it adds value and the instructions are clear

• Two big ifs!

• Must be able to scale, must be able to productionize, must be able to

make it routine

• Find ways to leverage the GA (or any visual element)