What You'll Learn: In this tutorial, you'll discover how to use Matplotlib to add labels and titles to your plots. We'll cover creating labels for the x- and y-axis, adding titles, setting font properties, and positioning the title.

Creating Labels for a Plot

With Pyplot, you can use the xlabel() and ylabel() functions to set labels for the x- and y-axis.

Example: Add labels to the x- and y-axis

import numpy as np
import matplotlib.pyplot as plt

x = np.array([80, 85, 90, 95, 100, 105, 110, 115, 120, 125])
y = np.array([240, 250, 260, 270, 280, 290, 300, 310, 320, 330])

plt.plot(x, y)

plt.xlabel("Average Pulse")
plt.ylabel("Calorie Burnage")

plt.show()

Result:

Creating a Title for a Plot

With Pyplot, you can use the title() function to set a title for the plot.

Example: Add a plot title and labels for the x- and y-axis

import numpy as np
import matplotlib.pyplot as plt

x = np.array([80, 85, 90, 95, 100, 105, 110, 115, 120, 125])
y = np.array([240, 250, 260, 270, 280, 290, 300, 310, 320, 330])

plt.plot(x, y)

plt.title("Sports Watch Data")
plt.xlabel("Average Pulse")
plt.ylabel("Calorie Burnage")

plt.show()

Result:

Setting Font Properties for Title and Labels

You can use the fontdict parameter in xlabel(), ylabel(), and title() to set font properties for the title and labels.

Example: Set font properties for the title and labels

import numpy as np
import matplotlib.pyplot as plt

x = np.array([80, 85, 90, 95, 100, 105, 110, 115, 120, 125])
y = np.array([240, 250, 260, 270, 280, 290, 300, 310, 320, 330])

font1 = {'family':'serif','color':'blue','size':20}
font2 = {'family':'serif','color':'darkred','size':15}

plt.title("Sports Watch Data", fontdict=font1)
plt.xlabel("Average Pulse", fontdict=font2)
plt.ylabel("Calorie Burnage", fontdict=font2)

plt.plot(x, y)
plt.show()

Result:

Positioning the Title

You can use the loc parameter in title() to position the title. Legal values are: 'left', 'right', and 'center'. Default value is 'center'.

Example: Position the title to the left

import numpy as np
import matplotlib.pyplot as plt

x = np.array([80, 85, 90, 95, 100, 105, 110, 115, 120, 125])
y = np.array([240, 250, 260, 270, 280, 290, 300, 310, 320, 330])

plt.title("Sports Watch Data", loc='left')
plt.xlabel("Average Pulse")
plt.ylabel("Calorie Burnage")

plt.plot(x, y)
plt.show()

Result:

Try It Yourself: Fun Exercises

1. Add Labels and Titles:
   • Create a plot and add custom labels for the x- and y-axis, along with a title.
2. Customize Font Properties:
   • Experiment with different font properties for your labels and title.
3. Position the Title:
   • Try positioning the title in different locations on your plot.

Summary:

In this tutorial, we learned how to use Matplotlib to add labels and titles to plots. We explored creating labels, adding titles, setting font properties, and positioning the title. Keep experimenting and have fun with Matplotlib in Python!