DataVis Help Desk: Clinical trial schematics – design clear flow-chart diagrams

You need to explain a trial schematic for a grant, paper, or ethics application? You want your audience to understand treatment and control arms, and timing of enrollments? You have little space and the templates are made for A4? You never thought about a new design? 

This week we’ll look at a couple of clinical trial schematics and how you can improve their effectiveness with an easy-to-read layout. We’ll also discuss how to (not) use boxes and background to increase clarity and adjust text hierarchies. Bonus: you can use your trial schematic to introduce color codes of charts reporting the trial outcomes. 

PS You have an example schematic you are working on? Send it in and we’ll discuss improving it together. helena.jambor@tu-dresden.de