Figurestead

Retained earlier-alpha gallery

Evidence, given a disciplined visual voice.

Figurestead is an experimental scientific-figure system for Python and the browser, built around a shared normalized figure contract.

Six selected themes show how one scientific grammar can move between quiet foundations and expressive signatures without changing the underlying evidence.

Five synthetic response series rendered with the Slipware theme
Five series on a shared responseSlipware · a light five-series foundationOpen full-resolution figure

01

Foundations

Capability-first themes for broader multi-series use

Recommended color-led series is the count intended to remain distinguishable by color alone, not a hard renderer limit. Larger series sets should add marker, dash, or other redundant encodings; inspect Atlas case 05 and case 07.

Method: The 3/5 values are project-authored usage guidance from curated theme review and deterministic stress figures. They are not psychophysical thresholds or accessibility certification.

02

Signatures

Identity-forward themes with explicit capacity guidance

Ultraviolet Laboratory synthetic scientific figure

Ultraviolet Laboratory

High-contrast dark signature

Recommended color-led series: 3

Use active marker/dash redundancy for larger series counts.

Open full-resolution figure

Lavender Fog Notebook synthetic scientific figure

Lavender Fog Notebook

Editorial light signature

Recommended color-led series: 3

Use active marker/dash redundancy for larger series counts.

Open full-resolution figure

Traceable by design

Inspect the claims, not just the palette.

The evidence atlas keeps line, scatter, matrix, phone, grayscale, threshold, stress, and digital paper cases together.

Open evidence atlas

Open source figure

Synthetic line figure showing a derived summary and threshold reference

03

One theme, two runtimes

Python and browser surfaces share the normalized figure-contract vocabulary and selected theme definitions. Each surface renders through its own runtime implementation; shared semantics do not imply pixel-identical output.

Historical installation examples: The alpha.1 commands below are retained with this earlier-alpha showcase. Use the current installation guidance for the published packages.

Python

figurestead on PyPI

python -m pip install "figurestead==0.9.0a1"
from figurestead import line
figure, axes = line([0, 1, 2], [[0, 1, 0]])
figure.savefig("figurestead-first-success.png", dpi=150)

Open exact Python example

Browser

@figurestead/web on npm

npm install @figurestead/web@0.9.0-alpha.1
<canvas id="figure" width="760" height="520"></canvas>
<script type="module">
import { createFigurestead } from "@figurestead/web";
const canvas = document.querySelector("#figure");
const contract = await fetch("./contract.json").then(r => r.json());
createFigurestead(canvas, contract, { autoplay: false });
</script>

Open exact Browser example, including contract

04

What this alpha is not

This experimental alpha features six themes from a broader design catalog. Recommended color-led series capacity is project-authored usage guidance; the six-series signature studies rely on marker and dash redundancy beyond that recommendation. Digital paper evidence records a measured 6.372 pt minimum label against Figurestead’s 6 pt project floor, without physical printer proof or an external typographic-standard claim. This is not universal accessibility, renderer, projector, or physical-print certification.