Skip to contents

ggkodom

ggkodom is a ggplot2 extension for visualizing individual-level longitudinal trajectories. Each subject gets its own visual lane; measurements are encoded as a smooth color gradient. Three layout geoms cover different analytical needs:

Geom Best for
geom_kodom_line() Irregular visit schedules; visible per-observation timing
geom_kodom_heatmap() Large cohorts; aligned time-window summaries
geom_kodom_circular() Compact population overview; the Kadam-flower aesthetic

The package is named after the Kadam flower (Neolamarckia cadamba), whose radial spoke structure inspired the circular layout.

Installation 

# install.packages("devtools")
devtools::install_github("subroy13/ggkodom")

Quick start 

library(ggkodom)
#> কদম গাছে উঠিয়া আছে গোলমেলে ডেটা
#> প্লট বানিয়ে সোজা করবে ggkodom-এর ব্যাটা!
#> 
#> (English Translation: Messy data has climbed the Kodom tree, but ggkodom's lad will straighten it out with a plot!)
#> Welcome to ggkodom! 
#> Version: 0.1.0
library(ggplot2)
#> Warning: package 'ggplot2' was built under R version 4.5.2

set.seed(42)
n_subjects <- 25
n_obs_per <- sample(6:12, n_subjects, replace = TRUE)

df <- do.call(rbind, lapply(seq_len(n_subjects), function(i) {
  n <- n_obs_per[i]
  base <- rnorm(1, mean = 7.5, sd = 1.2)
  trend <- rnorm(1, mean = -0.02, sd = 0.01)
  time <- sort(runif(n, 0, 24))
  data.frame(
    subject_id = sprintf("P%03d", i),
    visit_month = time,
    relative_month = time - min(time),
    hba1c = pmax(4, base + trend * time + rnorm(n, sd = 0.4)),
    arm = ifelse(i <= 12, "Treatment", "Control"),
    stringsAsFactors = FALSE
  )
}))

Line plot 

ggplot(df, aes(x = relative_month, id = subject_id, colour = hba1c)) +
  geom_kodom_line(sort_by = "first") +
  scale_colour_kodom(name = "HbA1c (%)") +
  labs(x = "Visit (months)", y = "") +
  theme_kodom()

Heatmap 

ggplot(df, aes(x = visit_month, id = subject_id, fill = hba1c)) +
  geom_kodom_heatmap(bins = 8, sort_by = "mean") +
  scale_fill_kodom(
    discretize   = TRUE,
    color_breaks = c(5.7, 6.5, 8),
    name         = "HbA1c (%)"
  ) +
  labs(x = "Visit (months)", y = "") +
  theme_kodom()

Circular 

ggplot(df, aes(x = visit_month, id = subject_id, colour = hba1c)) +
  geom_kodom_circular(sort_by = "mean", show_points = TRUE) +
  scale_colour_kodom(name = "HbA1c (%)") +
  coord_fixed() +
  theme_kodom_circular() +
  labs(title = "")

Key aesthetics

All three geoms share the same aesthetic contract:

  • x — time variable
  • id — subject identifier (stat converts it to integer lane positions)
  • colour / fill — measured value; drives the colour gradient and lane sorting
  • size → point markers only (geom_kodom_line / geom_kodom_circular)
  • linewidth → connecting path only
  • alpha, shape, stroke, linetype — standard ggplot2 semantics

Because all geoms are native ggplot2 layers, they compose freely with facet_wrap(), scale_*(), theme(), and coord_*().

Colour palette

Three anchors — teal #008D98, gold #FFCC3D, red #D7433B — interpolated via colorRampPalette. Pass discretize = TRUE and color_breaks to switch to solid clinical bands.

Learn more

Authors

Ayoushman Bhattacharya, Sayan Das, Subrata Pal, Subhrajyoty Roy. Developed as part of the WashU Datathon 2026.

License

MIT