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This page in a nutshell: When creating diagrams or maps for use on Wikipedia, it is recommended that they assume a generic style and be saved in SVG format.

The following are draft Wikipedia guidelines for the use of diagrams and maps in articles.

Diagrams (including charts) and maps are valuable additions to Wikipedia pages when they fulfil these criteria:

• They give an explicit presentation that is directly relevant to the subject of the article(s) in which they appear^{[clarification needed]}
• They are fully consistent with, and support, the surrounding text^{[clarification needed]}
• Their style and density of information are chosen to appeal to a general reader^{[clarification needed]}

Other qualities such as being entertaining, "eye-candy", startling or artistically rendered do not compensate for lacks in the above criteria. Avoidchartjunk.

Such images must adhere toWikipedia:Image use policy, like any other. In particular, do not violatecopyright by using all or portions of a diagram or map published in another source. Instead create a new one, presenting the information germane to the Wikipedia article(s) the image is intended for.

For diagrams of chemical structures, seeWikipedia:WikiProject Chemistry/Structure drawing for guidance. [There are probably others that could be pointed to here.]

For maps, where possible use the blank map images available atWikipedia:Blank maps when producing new maps. See also theWikiMedia Commons Project Mapmaking Standards and its talk page.

It is preferable that diagrams and maps be saved in theSVG file format. This is an open standard for vector image files. If saving the image as a raster graphic, thePNG file format is generally preferred, thoughJPEG is acceptable. Very simple animations can be saved in theGIF file format. Other formats are strongly deprecated.

Upload your finished image toWikiMedia Commons, giving the image an appropriate, descripive filename that can be understood at a glance. Categorize it appropriately (it may be helpful to look at the pages of other, similar diagram or map images in Commons to see how they are categorized).

When possible, usetables rather than diagrams to present simple tabular data, and usemathematical markup to produce formulas.

Avoid making a diagram or map so dense that it reduces readability or comprehensibility. On the other hand, diagrams should avoid the inclusion of big areas of empty, non-informative space inside the image.

Maps should present necessary geographic details, not every possible detail. The level of detail on a map should be selected so as to make the map useful to experts familiar with the subject, and also to users who are not at all familiar with it. Some information that an expert may not deem necessary might be necessary to others. For example, those with a geographical knowledge of Europe may not need to have neighbouring countries marked on a map of France, although this feature could be useful to those unfamiliar with the continent.

Maps showing a small geographic area should also have an inset locator map, locating that small geographic area in the context of a larger area, such as a continent or island chain.For example, seethis map.

Avoid blank space in the image around its main content to give the illusion of a margin around the image. Wikipedia's image displaying code already handles spacing of images in relation to text and other images. A thin black border may be desirable as an element of the image itself, however, especially if the image is predominantly white or near-white.

The Wikimedia renderer only knows specific, free fonts, a list of which can be foundhere. Other, non-free fonts such as Arial, Verdana, Helvetica etc. are replaced by a similar one. TheNoto fonts are a good choice to use since they provide visual consistency across a wide range of scripts and languages.

Diagrams and maps should not include the image title (e.g. "Map of Azerbaijan", "Timeline of Events", etc.)in the image itself. The title is given in the article with the image caption feature and in the image filename, so having the title inside the image is redundant.

In general, labels of items within the diagram or map should use headline style, in which most words are capitalized. To quote theChicago Manual of Style, 14th Edition:

In regular title capitalization, also known as headline style, the first and last words and all nouns, pronouns, adjectives, verbs, adverbs, and subordinating conjunctions (if, because, as, that, etc.) are capitalized. Articles (a, an, the), coordinating conjunctions (and, but, or, for, nor), and prepositions, regardless of length, are lowercased unless they are the first or last word of the title...

In maps, bodies of water such as rivers, lakes, and oceans should be labeled initalics. Many map makers use a dark blue for the font.[More recommendations are needed. Should capital cities bebold? Regions inSmall Caps? What about use of letter and word spacing? Serif font? Etc.]

When inserting an image into an article, consider using the{{legend}} template to include a legend in the image caption.

When considering what colors to use in diagrams and maps, try to use colors that are subtle and pleasant rather than bold and garish. Also, try to avoid using colors in a way that would cause difficulty for those withcolor blindness or black-and-white monitors. Try viewing your image in greyscale to see if neighboring or overlapping colors could be indistinguishable to some.

The following colors are recommended for use in creating basic maps.

Like articles, all maps and diagrams should include a complete set of references (seeWikipedia:Verifiability). For maps, the image page should also include information on themap projection.

Except for the largest maps, maps should include ascale.

• Wikipedia:Using maps and similar sources in Wikipedia articles
• Wikipedia:WikiProject Maps/Conventions, standard practices for displaying maps on Wikipedia
• Commons:Commons:Project Mapmaking Wiki Standards

• Inactive project pages
• WikiProject Maps
• Wikipedia maps
• Wikipedia style guideline proposals