Create Matplotlib Logo with Python

Introduction

In this lab, you will learn how to create the Matplotlib logo using Python. The Matplotlib library is a popular data visualization tool for Python and is widely used in scientific computing.

VM Tips

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Importing the Required Libraries

In this step, we will import the necessary libraries, including Matplotlib and NumPy.

import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
import numpy as np

Defining the Constants

In this step, we will define some constants, including the color of the logo and the font.

MPL_BLUE = '#11557c'

def get_font_properties():
    ## The original font is Calibri, if that is not installed, we fall back
    ## to Carlito, which is metrically equivalent.
    if 'Calibri' in matplotlib.font_manager.findfont('Calibri:bold'):
        return matplotlib.font_manager.FontProperties(family='Calibri',
                                                      weight='bold')
    if 'Carlito' in matplotlib.font_manager.findfont('Carlito:bold'):
        print('Original font not found. Falling back to Carlito. '
              'The logo text will not be in the correct font.')
        return matplotlib.font_manager.FontProperties(family='Carlito',
                                                      weight='bold')
    print('Original font not found. '
          'The logo text will not be in the correct font.')
    return None

Creating the Icon Axes

In this step, we will create a polar axis containing the Matplotlib radar plot.

def create_icon_axes(fig, ax_position, lw_bars, lw_grid, lw_border, rgrid):
    """
    Create a polar axes containing the matplotlib radar plot.

    Parameters
    ----------
    fig : matplotlib.figure.Figure
        The figure to draw into.
    ax_position : (float, float, float, float)
        The position of the created Axes in figure coordinates as
        (x, y, width, height).
    lw_bars : float
        The linewidth of the bars.
    lw_grid : float
        The linewidth of the grid.
    lw_border : float
        The linewidth of the Axes border.
    rgrid : array-like
        Positions of the radial grid.

    Returns
    -------
    ax : matplotlib.axes.Axes
        The created Axes.
    """
    with plt.rc_context({'axes.edgecolor': MPL_BLUE,
                         'axes.linewidth': lw_border}):
        ax = fig.add_axes(ax_position, projection='polar')
        ax.set_axisbelow(True)

        N = 7
        arc = 2. * np.pi
        theta = np.arange(0.0, arc, arc / N)
        radii = np.array([2, 6, 8, 7, 4, 5, 8])
        width = np.pi / 4 * np.array([0.4, 0.4, 0.6, 0.8, 0.2, 0.5, 0.3])
        bars = ax.bar(theta, radii, width=width, bottom=0.0, align='edge',
                      edgecolor='0.3', lw=lw_bars)
        for r, bar in zip(radii, bars):
            color = *cm.jet(r / 10.)[:3], 0.6  ## color from jet with alpha=0.6
            bar.set_facecolor(color)

        ax.tick_params(labelbottom=False, labeltop=False,
                       labelleft=False, labelright=False)

        ax.grid(lw=lw_grid, color='0.9')
        ax.set_rmax(9)
        ax.set_yticks(rgrid)

        ## the actual visible background - extends a bit beyond the axis
        ax.add_patch(Rectangle((0, 0), arc, 9.58,
                               facecolor='white', zorder=0,
                               clip_on=False, in_layout=False))
        return ax

Creating the Text Axes

In this step, we will create an axis in fig that contains 'matplotlib' as text.

def create_text_axes(fig, height_px):
    """Create an Axes in *fig* that contains 'matplotlib' as Text."""
    ax = fig.add_axes((0, 0, 1, 1))
    ax.set_aspect("equal")
    ax.set_axis_off()

    path = TextPath((0, 0), "matplotlib", size=height_px * 0.8,
                    prop=get_font_properties())

    angle = 4.25  ## degrees
    trans = mtrans.Affine2D().skew_deg(angle, 0)

    patch = PathPatch(path, transform=trans + ax.transData, color=MPL_BLUE,
                      lw=0)
    ax.add_patch(patch)
    ax.autoscale()

Creating the Logo

In this step, we will create the full figure with the Matplotlib logo.

def make_logo(height_px, lw_bars, lw_grid, lw_border, rgrid, with_text=False):
    """
    Create a full figure with the Matplotlib logo.

    Parameters
    ----------
    height_px : int
        Height of the figure in pixel.
    lw_bars : float
        The linewidth of the bar border.
    lw_grid : float
        The linewidth of the grid.
    lw_border : float
        The linewidth of icon border.
    rgrid : sequence of float
        The radial grid positions.
    with_text : bool
        Whether to draw only the icon or to include 'matplotlib' as text.
    """
    dpi = 100
    height = height_px / dpi
    figsize = (5 * height, height) if with_text else (height, height)
    fig = plt.figure(figsize=figsize, dpi=dpi)
    fig.patch.set_alpha(0)

    if with_text:
        create_text_axes(fig, height_px)
    ax_pos = (0.535, 0.12, .17, 0.75) if with_text else (0.03, 0.03, .94, .94)
    ax = create_icon_axes(fig, ax_pos, lw_bars, lw_grid, lw_border, rgrid)

    return fig, ax

Displaying the Logos

In this step, we will display the Matplotlib logos of different sizes.

## A large logo:
make_logo(height_px=110, lw_bars=0.7, lw_grid=0.5, lw_border=1,
          rgrid=[1, 3, 5, 7])

## A small 32px logo:
make_logo(height_px=32, lw_bars=0.3, lw_grid=0.3, lw_border=0.3, rgrid=[5])

## A large logo including text, as used on the Matplotlib website.
make_logo(height_px=110, lw_bars=0.7, lw_grid=0.5, lw_border=1,
          rgrid=[1, 3, 5, 7], with_text=True)
plt.show()

Summary

In this lab, you learned how to create the Matplotlib logo using Python. By following the above steps, you can customize the logo to suit your needs and preferences.