---

name: ggterm-style description: Apply publication-quality style presets to plots. Use when the user wants to style a plot like Wilke, Tufte, Nature, The Economist, or apply minimal/publication styling. allowed-tools: Read, Write, Bash(bun:*)

Plot Style Presets

Apply expert-curated style presets to Vega-Lite specifications for publication-quality output.

Available Presets

Preset	Inspiration	Key Characteristics
wilke	Claus Wilke's Fundamentals of Data Visualization	Minimal, clean, no chartjunk, subtle gridlines
tufte	Edward Tufte's data-ink ratio principles	Maximum data-ink, no grid, no borders
nature	Nature journal style	Clean, serif fonts, specific dimensions
economist	The Economist charts	Bold colors, distinctive style
minimal	Generic minimal style	No grid, no borders, clean
apa	APA publication guidelines	Academic papers, grayscale-friendly

Workflow

1. Read .ggterm/last-plot-vegalite.json
2. Apply the requested style preset
3. Write the updated spec
4. Inform user they can export with /ggterm-publish

Style Configurations

Wilke Style (Recommended Default)

Based on Claus Wilke's Fundamentals of Data Visualization principles:

• No unnecessary gridlines (or very subtle if needed)
• Clean, sans-serif typography (Helvetica/Arial)
• No bold axis titles
• High data-ink ratio
• Muted, colorblind-safe palettes
• No 3D effects or gradients
• Appropriate aspect ratios

const wilkeStyle = {
  config: {
    font: "Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif",
    background: "white",
    view: { stroke: null },
    title: {
      fontSize: 14,
      fontWeight: "normal",
      anchor: "start",
      offset: 12
    },
    axis: {
      domain: true,
      domainColor: "#333333",
      domainWidth: 1,
      grid: false,
      gridColor: "#e5e5e5",
      gridWidth: 0.5,
      labelColor: "#333333",
      labelFontSize: 11,
      labelFontWeight: "normal",
      tickColor: "#333333",
      tickSize: 5,
      titleColor: "#333333",
      titleFontSize: 12,
      titleFontWeight: "normal",
      titlePadding: 10
    },
    axisX: {
      grid: false
    },
    axisY: {
      grid: true,
      gridColor: "#ebebeb",
      gridDash: [],
      gridWidth: 0.5
    },
    legend: {
      labelFontSize: 11,
      titleFontSize: 11,
      titleFontWeight: "normal",
      symbolSize: 100,
      orient: "right"
    },
    range: {
      category: ["#4C78A8", "#F58518", "#E45756", "#72B7B2", "#54A24B", "#EECA3B", "#B279A2", "#FF9DA6"]
    }
  }
}

Tufte Style

Edward Tufte's principles: maximize data-ink ratio, minimize non-data ink.

const tufteStyle = {
  config: {
    font: "Georgia, serif",
    background: "white",
    view: { stroke: null },
    title: {
      fontSize: 13,
      fontWeight: "normal",
      anchor: "start"
    },
    axis: {
      domain: false,
      grid: false,
      labelColor: "#333333",
      labelFontSize: 10,
      labelFontWeight: "normal",
      ticks: false,
      titleColor: "#333333",
      titleFontSize: 11,
      titleFontWeight: "normal"
    },
    legend: {
      labelFontSize: 10,
      titleFontSize: 10,
      titleFontWeight: "normal"
    },
    range: {
      category: ["#333333", "#666666", "#999999", "#CCCCCC"]
    }
  }
}

Nature Style

Nature journal publication style.

const natureStyle = {
  config: {
    font: "Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif",
    background: "white",
    view: { stroke: null },
    title: {
      fontSize: 10,
      fontWeight: "bold"
    },
    axis: {
      domain: true,
      domainColor: "#000000",
      domainWidth: 0.5,
      grid: false,
      labelColor: "#000000",
      labelFontSize: 8,
      labelFontWeight: "normal",
      tickColor: "#000000",
      tickSize: 4,
      tickWidth: 0.5,
      titleColor: "#000000",
      titleFontSize: 9,
      titleFontWeight: "normal"
    },
    legend: {
      labelFontSize: 8,
      titleFontSize: 8,
      symbolSize: 50
    }
  },
  width: 180,
  height: 150
}

Economist Style

The Economist's distinctive chart style.

const economistStyle = {
  config: {
    font: "Officina Sans, Arial, sans-serif",
    background: "#d5e4eb",
    view: { stroke: null },
    title: {
      fontSize: 14,
      fontWeight: "bold",
      color: "#000000",
      anchor: "start"
    },
    axis: {
      domain: false,
      grid: true,
      gridColor: "#ffffff",
      gridWidth: 1,
      labelColor: "#000000",
      labelFontSize: 11,
      tickColor: "#000000",
      titleColor: "#000000",
      titleFontSize: 12,
      titleFontWeight: "bold"
    },
    axisX: {
      grid: false,
      domain: true,
      domainColor: "#000000"
    },
    legend: {
      orient: "top",
      labelFontSize: 11,
      titleFontSize: 11
    },
    range: {
      category: ["#006BA2", "#3EBCD2", "#379A8B", "#EBB434", "#B4BA39", "#9A607F", "#D73F3F"]
    }
  }
}

Minimal Style

Clean, distraction-free visualization.

const minimalStyle = {
  config: {
    font: "system-ui, -apple-system, sans-serif",
    background: "white",
    view: { stroke: null },
    title: {
      fontSize: 14,
      fontWeight: "normal"
    },
    axis: {
      domain: false,
      grid: false,
      ticks: false,
      labelColor: "#666666",
      labelFontSize: 11,
      titleColor: "#333333",
      titleFontSize: 12,
      titleFontWeight: "normal"
    },
    legend: {
      labelFontSize: 11,
      titleFontSize: 11,
      titleFontWeight: "normal"
    }
  }
}

APA Style

American Psychological Association publication guidelines.

const apaStyle = {
  config: {
    font: "Times New Roman, serif",
    background: "white",
    view: { stroke: null },
    title: {
      fontSize: 12,
      fontWeight: "bold",
      anchor: "middle"
    },
    axis: {
      domain: true,
      domainColor: "#000000",
      grid: false,
      labelColor: "#000000",
      labelFontSize: 10,
      tickColor: "#000000",
      titleColor: "#000000",
      titleFontSize: 11,
      titleFontWeight: "normal",
      titleFontStyle: "italic"
    },
    legend: {
      labelFontSize: 10,
      titleFontSize: 10,
      titleFontStyle: "italic"
    },
    range: {
      category: ["#000000", "#666666", "#999999", "#CCCCCC"]
    }
  }
}

Implementation Script

const fs = require('fs');

// Style presets
const STYLES = {
  wilke: { /* config from above */ },
  tufte: { /* config from above */ },
  nature: { /* config from above */ },
  economist: { /* config from above */ },
  minimal: { /* config from above */ },
  apa: { /* config from above */ }
};

function applyStyle(spec, styleName) {
  const style = STYLES[styleName];
  if (!style) {
    throw new Error(`Unknown style: ${styleName}. Available: ${Object.keys(STYLES).join(', ')}`);
  }

  // Merge config (style config takes precedence)
  spec.config = { ...spec.config, ...style.config };

  // Apply dimensions if specified
  if (style.width) spec.width = style.width;
  if (style.height) spec.height = style.height;

  return spec;
}

// Read, apply, write
const specPath = '.ggterm/last-plot-vegalite.json';
const spec = JSON.parse(fs.readFileSync(specPath, 'utf-8'));
const styledSpec = applyStyle(spec, 'wilke'); // or requested style
fs.writeFileSync(specPath, JSON.stringify(styledSpec, null, 2));

Usage Examples

User says: "style this like Wilke" or "apply wilke style"

• Read spec, apply wilkeStyle config, write spec

User says: "make it publication ready"

• Default to wilke style (most universally appropriate)

User says: "style for Nature journal"

• Apply natureStyle with specific dimensions

User says: "Tufte style" or "maximize data ink"

• Apply tufteStyle (no grid, no borders, minimal)

Key Principles by Style

Wilke Principles

1. No chartjunk: Remove unnecessary visual elements
2. Subtle gridlines: Y-axis only, very light gray
3. Clear hierarchy: Data first, then axes, then labels
4. Colorblind-safe: Use distinguishable palettes
5. Appropriate aspect ratio: ~1.6:1 for most plots

Tufte Principles

1. Data-ink ratio: Maximize proportion of ink devoted to data
2. No grid: Lines should only appear when they represent data
3. No borders: View stroke removed
4. Minimal ticks: Only where necessary
5. Direct labeling: Prefer labels over legends when possible

Response Format

After applying a style:

Applied **{style}** style to your plot.

Changes:
- {list key visual changes}

Export with `/ggterm-publish` to generate PNG/SVG/PDF.

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