https://scotgovanalysis.github.io/sgplot/
Graphic styles and colours for Scottish Government plots
https://scotgovanalysis.github.io/sgplot/
accessibility colours ggplot2 ggplot2-theme r r-package rstats style
Last synced: about 2 months ago
JSON representation
Graphic styles and colours for Scottish Government plots
- Host: GitHub
- URL: https://scotgovanalysis.github.io/sgplot/
- Owner: ScotGovAnalysis
- License: other
- Created: 2023-01-19T15:51:06.000Z (almost 3 years ago)
- Default Branch: main
- Last Pushed: 2025-08-07T11:21:20.000Z (5 months ago)
- Last Synced: 2025-10-22T05:02:59.520Z (3 months ago)
- Topics: accessibility, colours, ggplot2, ggplot2-theme, r, r-package, rstats, style
- Language: R
- Homepage: https://scotgovanalysis.github.io/sgplot/
- Size: 8.41 MB
- Stars: 15
- Watchers: 4
- Forks: 1
- Open Issues: 20
-
Metadata Files:
- Readme: README.Rmd
- Changelog: NEWS.md
- Contributing: .github/CONTRIBUTING.md
- License: LICENSE
- Support: .github/SUPPORT.md
Awesome Lists containing this project
- awesome-ggplot2 - sgplot
README
---
output: github_document
editor_options:
chunk_output_type: console
---
```{r, include = FALSE}
knitr::opts_chunk$set(
collapse = TRUE,
warning = FALSE,
error = FALSE,
message = FALSE,
comment = "#>",
fig.path = "man/figures/README-",
dev = "svg"
)
ex1_alt <- paste("A bar chart with grey background, white grid lines",
"and dark grey bars.")
ex2_alt <- paste("A bar chart with white background,",
"light grey horizontal grid lines dark blue bars.")
```
# sgplot 
[](https://CRAN.R-project.org/package=sgplot)
[](https://github.com/ScotGovAnalysis/sgplot/actions/workflows/R-CMD-check.yaml)
sgplot is an R package for creating accessible plots in the Scottish Government. Currently, functions are available for styling ggplot2 plots.
The package has been developed using the [Government Analysis Function Data Visualisation guidance](https://analysisfunction.civilservice.gov.uk/policy-store/data-visualisation-charts/) and uses accessible colour palettes from the [Scottish Government Design System](https://designsystem.gov.scot/guidance/charts/data-visualisation-colour-palettes).
sgplot should be used in conjunction with these guidance documents.
More information about the package and its functions can be found on the [sgplot website](https://ScotGovAnalysis.github.io/sgplot/).
In particular, the [cookbook](https://ScotGovAnalysis.github.io/sgplot/articles/cookbook.html) contains lots of examples.
Slides are also available for an internal [presentation given to statisticians and analysts](https://alice-hannah.github.io/presentations-and-blogs/2023-06-19_sgplot/slides.html).
## Installation
If you are working within the Scottish Government network, you can install sgplot in the same way as with other R packages.
Alternatively, install from CRAN:
``` r
install.packages("sgplot")
```
Or install the development version from GitHub:
``` r
# install.packages("remotes")
remotes::install_github(
"ScotGovAnalysis/sgplot",
upgrade = "never",
build_vignettes = TRUE
)
```
## Getting Started
Once installed, sgplot can be loaded using the `library()` function:
``` r
library(sgplot)
```
Help files for each function in the package can be found on the [References](https://ScotGovAnalysis.github.io/sgplot/reference/) page of the package website. Alternatively, type `?function_name` into the RStudio console. For example:
``` r
?theme_sg()
```
### Use sgplot as default
The easiest way to use sgplot is by adding `use_sgplot()` to the beginning of your R script, Rmarkdown document or Shiny app code. This function will set a number of defaults to ggplot2 geoms, use sgplot colour palettes and use `theme_sg()`.
#### Example 1: Plot with one colour using ggplot2 defaults
```{r ex1, fig.alt = ex1_alt}
library(ggplot2)
library(dplyr)
library(gapminder)
gapminder |>
filter(year == 2007 & continent == "Europe") |>
slice_max(order_by = lifeExp, n = 5) |>
ggplot() +
geom_col(aes(x = reorder(country, -lifeExp), y = lifeExp)) +
scale_y_continuous(expand = c(0, 0)) +
labs(
x = NULL,
y = NULL,
title = "Iceland has the highest life expectancy in Europe",
subtitle = "Life expectancy in European countries, 2007",
caption = "Source: Gapminder"
)
```
#### Example 2: Plot with one colour using sgplot defaults
```{r ex2, fig.alt = ex2_alt}
sgplot::use_sgplot()
gapminder |>
filter(year == 2007 & continent == "Europe") |>
slice_max(order_by = lifeExp, n = 5) |>
ggplot() +
geom_col(aes(x = reorder(country, -lifeExp), y = lifeExp)) +
scale_y_continuous(expand = c(0, 0)) +
labs(
x = NULL,
y = NULL,
title = "Iceland has the highest life expectancy in Europe",
subtitle = "Life expectancy in European countries, 2007",
caption = "Source: Gapminder"
)
```
**Note on use of titles, subtitles and captions**
Titles, subtitles and captions have been embedded in these example charts for demonstration purposes. However, for accessibility reasons, it is usually preferable to provide titles in the body of the page rather than embedded within the image of the plot. More information is available in the [accessibility article](https://ScotGovAnalysis.github.io/sgplot/articles/accessibility.html#other-accessibility-considerations).
## Licence
Unless stated otherwise, the codebase is released under [the MIT License](LICENSE). This covers both the codebase and any sample code in the documentation.
The documentation is [© Crown copyright](https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/information-management/re-using-public-sector-information/uk-government-licensing-framework/crown-copyright/) and available under the terms
of the [Open Government 3.0](https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/) licence.