rwthplots 3.2.0

Adding standard themes with RWTH Aachen University colours to matplotlib

rwthplots — RWTH Aachen University colours for Matplotlib

Matplotlib style sheets, colormaps, and colour utilities based on the RWTH Aachen University corporate design palette.

Gallery

RWTH colour palette — 13 base colours × 5 tint levels

Line plot with context() and pick_colors(6)

Colormaps — selection of available maps

Climate stripes — Nordrhein-Westfalen 1881–2025, DWD area average, RWTH blue / red

Installation

pip install rwthplots

Or install the latest development version directly from GitHub:

pip install git+https://github.com/RWTH-IAEW/rwthplots.git

# Editable install for development
git clone https://github.com/RWTH-IAEW/rwthplots.git
cd rwthplots
pip install -e .

Requires Python ≥ 3.10 and Matplotlib ≥ 3.7.

Quick start

import rwthplots                    # registers all colormaps and styles on import
import matplotlib.pyplot as plt

# --- Styles ------------------------------------------------------------------
plt.style.use("rwthplots.styles.rwth-latex")          # LaTeX / thesis
plt.style.use("rwthplots.styles.rwth-word")           # Word / report
plt.style.use("rwthplots.styles.rwth-pptx")           # PowerPoint
plt.style.use("rwthplots.styles.rwth-dark")           # Dark background

# Compose styles (base + colour override + grid)
plt.style.use(["rwthplots.styles.rwth-latex",
               "rwthplots.styles.color.blue",
               "rwthplots.styles.misc.grid"])

# Or use the context manager (short names auto-expanded)
with rwthplots.context("rwth-latex", "color.blue", "misc.grid"):
    fig, ax = plt.subplots()
    ax.plot(x, y)

# --- Colormaps ---------------------------------------------------------------
plt.set_cmap("extended_RWTH_discrete")        # registered automatically
plt.set_cmap("divergent_RWTH")                # blue → red diverging
plt.set_cmap("viridis_RWTH")                  # RWTH-branded perceptual gradient
plt.set_cmap("thermal_RWTH")                  # black → red → orange → yellow → white (blackbody)
plt.set_cmap("divergent_bm_RWTH")             # blue–white–magenta diverging
plt.set_cmap("divergent_gy_RWTH")             # green–white–yellow diverging

from rwthplots.cmap import rwth_cmap
cmap = rwth_cmap("extended_RWTH_discrete", lut=13)

# --- Colour sets (qualitative) -----------------------------------------------
from rwthplots.cmap import rwth_cset
cset = rwth_cset("rwth_100")           # hex strings (default)
cset.blue                              # '#00549F'

cset_rgb  = rwth_cset("rwth_100", frmt="RGB")   # integer (R,G,B) tuples
cset_nrgb = rwth_cset("rwth_100", frmt="NRGB")  # normalised float tuples

# --- Figure sizing -----------------------------------------------------------
from rwthplots.formatter import set_size, list_presets
fig, ax = plt.subplots(figsize=set_size("ieee-column"))   # 3.5 in
fig, ax = plt.subplots(figsize=set_size("a4"))            # A4 text width
print(list_presets())                                     # all available names

# Journal size styles (composable)
plt.style.use(["rwthplots.styles.rwth-latex",
               "rwthplots.styles.size.ieee-column"])

# --- Multi-format export -----------------------------------------------------
rwthplots.save_figure(fig, "output/my_plot", formats=["pdf", "png"], dpi=300)

# --- Accessibility -----------------------------------------------------------
# Pick N maximally distinct RWTH colours
colors = rwthplots.pick_colors(4)   # ['#00549F', '#FFED00', ...]

# Simulate CVD and report confusable pairs
issues = rwthplots.check_accessibility(colors, threshold=20.0)

# Colorblind-safe 6-colour cycle modifier
plt.style.use(["rwthplots.styles.rwth-latex",
               "rwthplots.styles.misc.colorblind"])

# --- Palette visualisation ---------------------------------------------------
fig = rwthplots.plot_color_palette()   # 13 colours × 5 tints grid
plt.show()

Style sheets

Base styles

Name	Use case
rwthplots.styles.rwth-latex	LaTeX/PGF, thesis, journal
rwthplots.styles.rwth-word	Word, reports
rwthplots.styles.rwth-pptx	PowerPoint
rwthplots.styles.rwth-latex-pptx	LaTeX-rendered text in PPT
rwthplots.styles.rwth-latex-beamer	Beamer slides
rwthplots.styles.rwth-dark	Dark background / screens

Modifier layers

Composable on top of any base style:

Category	Examples
color/	color.blue, color.orange, color.green, … (16 total)
misc/	misc.grid, misc.colorblind, misc.sans, misc.no-latex, …
journals/	journals.ieee, journals.nature, journals.elsevier, journals.springer, journals.aps, journals.acm
size/	size.ieee-column, size.a4, size.nature-column, … (15 total)

Colormaps

38 colormaps registered on import (plus _r reversed variants for all). Key maps:

Name	Type	Description
extended_RWTH_discrete	discrete	Full RWTH palette, up to 65 colours (lut=)
continuous_RWTH_discrete	discrete	Continuous coverage, 1–65 colours (lut=)
divergent_RWTH	diverging	Blue → green → red
divergent_bm_RWTH	diverging	Blue – white – magenta
divergent_gy_RWTH	diverging	Green – white – yellow
viridis_RWTH	sequential	Violet → turquoise → may green → yellow
thermal_RWTH	sequential	Black → bordeaux → red → orange → yellow → white (blackbody)
blue_RWTH	sequential	Blue tint gradient
voltage_RWTH	diverging	Red → orange → green → orange → red (symmetric voltage deviation)
loading_RWTH	sequential	Blue → white → yellow → red → bordeaux (line/transformer loading)
(+ 13 single-colour gradients)		One per RWTH base colour
All maps available as name_r		Reversed variant registered automatically

Development

uv sync --group dev
uv run python -m pytest -q
uv run python -m pytest --cov=rwthplots --cov-report=term-missing
MPLBACKEND=Agg uv run python examples/new_features_demo.py

License

MIT — see LICENSE.txt.

Contact

Steffen Kortmann · [e-mail]