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Adding Title to the Plot

Choosing a Title

A good plot includes a clear and informative title. Generic titles like "Line plot" or "Scatter plot" lack context and fail to convey the purpose of the visualization. A better example is "New York Average Monthly Temperatures (2022)", which specifies the data content, location, and time period—key details that provide clarity.

The following shows how to set a plot title using matplotlib:


              1234567
            
import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
programming_languages = ['Python', 'Java', 'C#', 'C++']
shares = [40, 30, 17, 13]
plt.bar(programming_languages, shares, color=['b', 'green', 'red', 'yellow'])
# Setting the plot title
plt.title('Percentage of users of programming languages')
plt.show()

Title Customization

The title is set using the plt.title() function with the title text passed as a string. Besides the main label parameter, the font size can be modified via the fontsize argument (default is 10), and the font color can be specified using the color parameter. These are the primary options for customizing titles.

Another important parameter is loc (location), which can take one of the values: center (default), left, and right.

Let's now modify the title in our example:


              12345678
            
import matplotlib.pyplot as plt

programming_languages = ['Python', 'Java', 'C#', 'C++']
shares = [40, 30, 17, 13]
plt.bar(programming_languages, shares, color=['b', 'green', 'red', 'yellow'])
# Customizing the title appearance
plt.title('Percentage of users of programming languages', loc='left', fontsize=7, color='indigo')
plt.show()

The title is aligned to the left, with increased font size and a changed font color. These parameters are usually the main focus when customizing titles.

Study More

However, you can always refer to the title() documentation for more information.

Task

Swipe to start coding

The task is to create a title for a line plot of average yearly temperatures in Boston and Seattle.

Use the correct function to set the title for the plot.
Set the following title: 'Boston and Seattle average yearly temperatures'.
Set the font size of the title to be 15.
Set the location of the title to right.

Solution

Switch to desktop for real-world practiceContinue from where you are using one of the options below

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Section 3. Chapter 1

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Adding Title to the Plot

Choosing a Title

The following shows how to set a plot title using matplotlib:


              1234567
            
import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
programming_languages = ['Python', 'Java', 'C#', 'C++']
shares = [40, 30, 17, 13]
plt.bar(programming_languages, shares, color=['b', 'green', 'red', 'yellow'])
# Setting the plot title
plt.title('Percentage of users of programming languages')
plt.show()

Title Customization

Another important parameter is loc (location), which can take one of the values: center (default), left, and right.

Let's now modify the title in our example:


              12345678
            
import matplotlib.pyplot as plt

programming_languages = ['Python', 'Java', 'C#', 'C++']
shares = [40, 30, 17, 13]
plt.bar(programming_languages, shares, color=['b', 'green', 'red', 'yellow'])
# Customizing the title appearance
plt.title('Percentage of users of programming languages', loc='left', fontsize=7, color='indigo')
plt.show()

The title is aligned to the left, with increased font size and a changed font color. These parameters are usually the main focus when customizing titles.

Study More

However, you can always refer to the title() documentation for more information.

Task

Swipe to start coding

The task is to create a title for a line plot of average yearly temperatures in Boston and Seattle.

Use the correct function to set the title for the plot.
Set the following title: 'Boston and Seattle average yearly temperatures'.
Set the font size of the title to be 15.
Set the location of the title to right.

Solution

Switch to desktop for real-world practiceContinue from where you are using one of the options below

Everything was clear?

Thanks for your feedback!

Section 3. Chapter 1

Switch to desktop for real-world practiceContinue from where you are using one of the options below