Making figures is vital to any science. Here a decent guide (Allen et. al) to help avoid common mistakes.

Data Visualization in the Neurosciences: Overcoming the Curse of Dimensionality

In publications, presentations, and popular media, scientific results are predominantly communicated through graphs. But are these figures clear and honest or misleading? We examine current practices in data visualization and discuss improvements, advocating design choices which reveal data rather than hide it.