Figures and graphs are an essential part of scientific literature, but few will ever be noticed by graphic artists or information design gurus.

They're uncelebrated and utilitarian, a means to an end — but some, however, stand out. Though lacking in post-production polish, they convey complex messages with elegance and directness. They might even be considered the scientific world's folk art.

On the following pages are some of Wired Science's favorite research graphics from the past year.

Above:

So-called rogue waves — also known, per Wikipedia, as "freak waves, monster waves, killer waves, extreme waves, and abnormal waves" — form unpredictably and destructively, obeying laws and responding to circumstances that are only partly understood. A review of rogue-wave science yielded this depiction of a wave's spread across the Sea of Japan.

Image: Slunyaev et al./arXiv

Citation: "Rogue waters." By Alexey Slunyaev, Ira Didenkulova, Efim Pelinovsky. arXiv, July 28, 2011.