How to Make a Review Figure

Start from the review question and cited categories. Choose a layout that explains their relationships, then refine labels and visual roles before the journal and export checks.

Define the question and literature scope

Decide whether the figure summarizes a field, compares strategies or explains a progression. Record the evidence supporting each category and connection. Materials, methods, properties and applications are different levels; they should not become equal wedges merely because they fit a template.

Match the structure to the task

Task	Possible layout	Main check
Group related categories	Circular or semicircular	Comparable categories at each level
Compare the same criteria	Matrix	Consistent row and column definitions
Explain different levels or stages	Separate panels	Explicit reading order and cross-references

The PDMS membrane figure separates a central membrane, surrounding strategies and outer applications. The layout-selection guide addresses crowded versions of this problem.

Work through content, relations and style

Draft a content skeleton with placeholder labels first. Verify grouping and arrow meaning next. Then standardize type, color, spacing and object detail. These passes make scientific revision easier than polishing all elements before the hierarchy is approved.

Use templates with a source record

Replace every placeholder and check the permission terms for assets and the template. Keep the editable project separately from exported images. The online review workflow explains this sequence; the circular tutorial focuses on sector and ring choices. The overseas platform remains a closed preview.

Review the publication package

Check literature support, final-size labels, accessible color roles, source permissions and the target journal's current artwork instructions. Record any caption or attribution wording. Use review-figure requirements and review-figure services for the relevant next step.

How to Make a Review Figure — editorial illustration — Editorial illustration retained from the source article; it is not a research result.

How to Make a Review Figure — teaching diagram — Teaching diagram retained in its original form; it is not experimental data or a journal-issued specification.

PDMS Gas-Separation Membranes: A Semicircular Review Figure — Lingjiang Keshi project archive. The PDMS base membrane and layer roles occupy the lower center. Outer sectors organize hydrophilic modification, permeability, copolymerization and defect repair. Gas-separation applications sit above, creating an inside-to-outside hierarchy. Paper, archive version and attribution.

Piezoelectric Nano-Urchins for Drug-Resistant Biofilm Infections — Lingjiang Keshi project archive. Material preparation runs horizontally across the top. An animal application connects to the central scene, with functional regions on the left and stage panels on the right. Read preparation and application location before the local stages and lower results. Paper, archive version and attribution.

Sources and scope

Sources apply within their stated scope. Archive records describe existing work; international account access and checkout remain closed.

Choose the next step

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