Diagram Design Guide for Research

When to Create Diagrams

Create a diagram when your research findings involve:

• Comparing 3+ options, comparison table or matrix diagram
• Process with 4+ steps, flowchart or sequence diagram
• System with multiple components, architecture diagram
• Chronological events, timeline
• Hierarchical relationships, tree or mind map
• Data flows, data flow diagram

Excalidraw Workflow

1. Plan the diagram, decide type, elements, and layout before creating
2. Create elements, use create_element or batch_create_elements
3. Arrange, use align_elements and distribute_elements for clean layout
4. Inspect, use describe_scene to verify the diagram looks right
5. Adjust, use update_element to fix positioning or text
6. Group, use group_elements to lock related items together

Note: Do NOT export or share links, the user sees a live embedded canvas that auto-syncs.

Color Palette

Use consistent colors across diagrams:

Purpose	Color	Hex
Primary concepts	Blue	#1971c2
Positive / supported	Green	#2f9e44
Negative / limitations	Red	#e03131
Warning / caveats	Orange	#e8590c
Neutral / context	Gray	#868e96
Highlight / focus	Yellow	#f08c00

Layout Patterns

• Top-to-bottom: Process flows, decision trees, timelines
• Left-to-right: Comparisons, before/after, pipelines
• Radial / center-out: Concept maps, mind maps
• Grid: Feature matrices, comparison tables

Element Guidelines

Text

• Use short labels (2-4 words per element)
• Title font size: 20-24px
• Label font size: 14-16px
• Add detail in sub-labels, not element titles

Shapes

• Rectangles: Processes, components, entities
• Diamonds: Decision points
• Ellipses: Start/end points, concepts
• Rectangles with rounded corners: Groups, categories