CKB style with ggplot

+ ckb_style() does three things to a ggplot2 plot:

  1. applies a CKB theme (i.e. change the overall appearance)
  2. extends the plotting area and caps the axis lines (so that you can have a custom sized gap between the plotting area and the axes)
  3. applies a fixed aspect ratio

Examples with a scatter plot

Make a scatter plot with ggplot.

plot <- ggplot(data = mpg, aes(x = displ, y = hwy)) + geom_point(size = 1)
plot

Use + ckb_style() to apply a CKB theme, cap axis lines and fix the aspect ratio.

plot + ckb_style()

Or apply just a CKB theme.

plot + theme_ckb()

Axis limits

Set axis limits.

plot + ckb_style(xlims = c(0, 8), ylims = c(10, 50))

If you do not want a gap between the axes, set gap = c(0, 0).

plot + ckb_style(xlims = c(0, 8), ylims = c(10, 50), gap = c(0, 0))

Aspect ratio and panel sizes

Change the aspect ratio of the plot.

plot + ckb_style(xlims = c(0, 8),
                 ylims = c(10, 50),
                 ratio = 0.3)

Set the width of the plot (width controls the length of the x axis).

plot + ckb_style(xlims = c(0, 8),
                 ylims = c(10, 50),
                 ratio = 1.5,
                 width = unit(4, "cm"))

Modifying the appearance of the plot

The ink and paper arguments of theme_ckb() and ckb_style() can be used to change the colours of the plot.

plot + ckb_style(xlims = c(0, 8),
                 ylims = c(10, 50),
                 ink = "darkred",
                 paper = "cornsilk")

The plot.margin arguments of theme_ckb() and ckb_style() can be used to adjust the margin around the plot.

plot + ckb_style(xlims = c(0, 8),
                 ylims = c(10, 50),
                 plot.margin = margin(2, 2, 2, 2, unit = "cm"))

If you wish to override some aspect of the theme applied by ckb_style() or theme_ckb(), then this can be done by adding a theme after + ckb_style(),

plot + ckb_style(xlims = c(0, 8),
                 ylims = c(10, 50)) +
  theme(axis.title = element_text(colour = "red", face = "plain"))

Data points outside axis limits

There is no warning if data points fall outside the axis limits. So check that your xlim and ylim values are suitable for your data before using the function.

# The xlim and ylim ranges are too narrow
plot + ckb_style(xlims = c(0, 4), ylims = c(20, 50))

Bar chart example

ggplot(mpg, aes(class)) + 
  geom_bar() +
  ckb_style(xlims = c(0.5, 7.5),
            ylims = c(0, 70),
            gap = c(0.025, 0.005),
            ratio = 0.5) +
  theme(axis.ticks.x = element_blank())