hexmakR creates editable logos for R packages and projects. The default Designer starts a new logo with your name and a blank frame. Choose a hexagon, pentagon or square, then add shapes, uploaded artwork or a generic icon and edit each part. Generated names fit inside the frame and the exterior is transparent. Names use the bundled JetBrains Mono font: unsupported characters and names that cannot fit at six points produce an explanatory error. Later manual layer edits can move or enlarge the name beyond the frame.
The secondary CTTIR Gallery contains 45 identities with their original
SVG and PDF masters; hex_asset() renders PNG and icon versions on demand.
Browse for inspiration, import one selected part or an entire motif into your
current logo, or explicitly start from a whole archived design. Browsing the
archive does not replace your work.
Click a visible part to select it, then drag it to a new position. Short item names and Frame/Icon/Name groups help organise the composition; custom groups can be renamed, regrouped and moved together. The editor supports individual fills, outlines, positions, sizes, rotation, opacity, visibility and point coordinates, plus duplicate/remove, undo/reset, JSON projects and PNG/SVG/PDF export. All 46 generic icons are available. The classic designer offers 28 themes, led by the nine CTTIR v5 families, plus custom image uploads and font controls.
library(hexmakR)
hexmakr_app() # fresh logo; optional CTTIR Gallery tab
hexmakr_app(package = "phenoscapR") # preselect archive, keep fresh logo
hexmakr_app(workspace = "classic") # original generic sticker designer
project <- logo_design("My project", shape = "pentagon")
project <- hex_add_part(project, "circle", x = .5, y = .6, r = .15)
project <- hex_edit_layer(project, "part_0001", fill = "#45B59A")
hex_export(project, "project.png")
# Reuse archive artwork while keeping the new name, frame and existing parts.
project <- hex_reuse_part(project, "phenoscapR")
hex_save_design(project, "project.json")
hex_export(project, "project.svg")
# An explicit identity still opens that complete editable archive design.
hex_export(hex_design("phenoscapR"), "phenoscapR.svg")
See the detailed update plan and v5 library guide.
hexSticker
The excellent hexSticker
package by Guangchuang Yu is the original and
most widely used hex sticker generator in the R ecosystem. Available on
CRAN, it provides a
powerful programmatic API built on ggplot2 that lets you embed any R plot,
lattice graphic, ggplot, or image file into a hex sticker — and hundreds
of R package stickers have been created with it.
hexmakR is not a replacement for hexSticker — it is a complement.
If you want to embed an actual R plot (base, lattice, or ggplot2) into your
sticker, hexSticker is the right tool. It excels at code-first,
reproducible sticker generation with full control over subplot positioning.
hexmakR fills a different niche. It focuses on:
We recommend trying both and using whichever fits your workflow. For many
users, the best approach is to prototype in hexmakR's Shiny app and
then fine-tune programmatically — with either package.
hexmakR is not on CRAN yet. Install it from GitHub:
# install.packages("pak")
# pak::pak("CTTIR/hexmakR")
install.packages("hexmakR", repos = c('https://cttir.r-universe.dev', 'https://cloud.r-project.org'))
Use R 4.1 or newer with Cairo graphics support (capabilities("cairo")).
On macOS, R's Cairo devices may require XQuartz. The optional rsvg package
renders PNG copies of gallery masters; svglite enables classic SVG export;
colourpicker provides colour pickers in the classic editor. Without
colourpicker, that editor accepts typed colour values.
library(hexmakR)
logo <- logo_design("My package")
logo <- hex_add_part(logo, "polygon",
x = c(.35, .65, .5), y = c(.45, .45, .75))
hex_layers(logo)
hex_export(logo, "my-package.svg")
logo_design() starts with a frame and name, with no archived motif.
Pass motif = "phenoscapR" or another identity only when that artwork is
wanted. Use shape = "pentagon" or shape = "square" for project logos.
hexmakr_app()
Enter your name and choose a frame, then select Apply logo settings. Add part creates a circle, rectangle, line or triangle. Select a part, change its properties or points, and choose Apply part edit. Duplicate part and Remove part act on the selection. The CTTIR Gallery tab offers Add selected part to my logo, Add artwork to my logo, and the separate Start from whole design action.
Undo restores the previous edit. Reset to starting design restores the current session baseline: the new logo, the explicitly loaded archive design, or the opened JSON project. New logo starts fresh and can also be undone. Downloads use the applied design; pending form changes must be applied first. Save project preserves editable parts and R recipe reproduces them.
Use Add an image or vector drawing for PNG/JPEG figures or SVG artwork. PNG/JPEG remains one movable, scalable and rotatable image with editable opacity. Supported SVG shapes become individual vector parts. Both are embedded in the project, so reopening needs no original upload file.
project <- hex_import_art(logo_design("My project"), "figure.svg")
project <- hex_label_layer(project, "part_0001", "Central cell")
project <- hex_edit_layer(project, "part_0001", angle = 25, alpha = .8)
hex_groups(project)
Uploads are limited to 10 MiB; projects to 20 MiB. SVG supports solid-colour
paths/shapes, transforms and local references. Curves become bounded vector
polylines, and SVG/PDF exports keep that vector geometry. Root viewBox,
preserveAspectRatio and absolute viewport units are respected. Percentage
dimensions and viewport cropping are unsupported. Outline text and
flatten gradients, masks, filters or intersecting clips before uploading;
unsupported features produce an explanatory error. Raster content stays raster
inside SVG/PDF exports. The application title is the text hexmakR.
Exports, project files and recipes replace an existing file only after writing the new output succeeds. In the classic editor, an invalid edit or upload shows an error and retains the last valid preview, download and filename. Correct the settings or upload a valid image to apply a new design.
| Feature | hexSticker | hexmakR |
|---|---|---|
| Embed R plots (base/lattice/ggplot2) | ✅ | — |
| Interactive Shiny designer | — | ✅ |
| Built-in icon library (46 icons) | — | ✅ |
| Curated theme presets (28 themes) | — | ✅ |
| Dark/light mode toggle | — | ✅ |
| Custom image upload | ✅ | ✅ |
| Font selection UI | — | ✅ |
| Google Fonts support | ✅ | — |
| Programmatic API | ✅ | ✅ |
| Returns ggplot object | ✅ | ✅ |
| Installation | CRAN | GitHub development version |
The nine CTTIR v5 families come first and are the house standard. Their
colours are derived from the v5 design tokens by the same engine as
hex_design(), so a classic sticker uses the tile face, rim, ink and muted
text of the v5 artwork. Use hex_design() for complete v5 artwork with
motifs and outlined names.
hex_sticker("mypkg", icon = "microscope", theme = "spatial",
font_family = "jetbrains_mono")
| Key | Label |
|---|---|
spectral |
Spectral imaging |
spatial |
Spatial biology |
omics |
Molecular data |
clinical |
Clinical science |
methods |
Learning & inference |
simulation |
Systems & simulation |
evidence |
Evidence & discovery |
platform |
Research infrastructure |
brand |
Science, connected |
The 19 generic themes follow:
| Key | Label |
|---|---|
stats |
Statistics |
viz |
Visualization |
bio |
Bioinformatics |
medical |
Medical/Clinical |
tech |
Tech/Computing |
earth |
Earth/Nature |
cran |
CRAN |
bioc |
Bioconductor |
tidy |
Tidyverse |
genomics |
Genomics |
proteo |
Proteomics |
pharma |
Pharma |
ocean |
Ocean |
midnight |
Midnight |
cyber |
Cyber |
neon |
Neon |
sunset |
Sunset |
viridis |
Viridis |
plasma |
Plasma |
Each theme has both dark and light variants.
| Category | Count | Icons |
|---|---|---|
science |
5 | atom, flask, microscope, molecule, magnet |
biology |
6 | dna, cell, brain, leaf, bacteria, tree |
stats |
8 | bar_chart, scatter, line_chart, bell_curve, pie, sigma, boxplot, network |
medical |
6 | stethoscope, heart, pulse, pill, cross, syringe |
tech |
6 | terminal, brackets, gear, database, hash, rlogo |
shapes |
7 | star, shield, diamond, hexagon, infinity, arrow_up, circle |
fun |
8 | rocket, lightning, fire, sparkle, crown, coffee, music, gamepad |
Contributions are welcome! Please open an issue first to discuss major changes at github.com/CTTIR/hexmakR/issues.
Please note that the hexmakR project is released with a Contributor Code of Conduct. By contributing to this project, you agree to abide by its terms.
hexmakR was inspired by the pioneering work of the
hexSticker package. We are
grateful to Guangchuang Yu and all contributors for establishing hex stickers
as a staple of R package identity.
If you use this software, please cite it as:
Heller, R. (2026). hexmakR: Editable Hex Stickers and Project Logos [Computer software]. https://github.com/CTTIR/hexmakR
citation("hexmakR") gives the entry for the installed version. A DOI will
be added once the archived release is published.
Where applicable, LLM tools were used for narrowly defined, non-authorial tasks: copyediting, prose refinement, Markdown/LaTeX formatting, boilerplate scaffolding (such as CI configurations and build scripts), and code refactoring. Tools included Chat AI, the KISSKI (GWDG) service, and self-hosted Mistral Small (24B, Apache-2.0) served through a local vLLM architecture on an Ubuntu Linux workstation with Intel processors and NVIDIA GPUs. The self-hosted model ran locally, with no data sent to third parties.
All scientific claims, methodological choices, analyses, interpretations and conclusions remain the authors' own. Where applicable, LLM-generated material must be reviewed and revised before inclusion, and references must be verified against their DOI, arXiv ID or ISBN.
Local software setup: vLLM with Python/PyTorch, plus R and RStudio.
The package uses the CTTIR Coder Edition v5 v3.1 identity. Editable R geometry, fonts, and a reproduction command are in tools/branding.