A hierarchical network graph organizes nodes in distinct levels from root to leaves, with edges showing parent-child relationships between levels. Unlike force-directed layouts that optimize for aesthetic spacing, hierarchical layouts explicitly encode tree structure by positioning nodes at fixed vertical or horizontal levels. This visualization reveals organizational depth, branching patterns, and the overall tree structure at a glance.
#' anyplot.ai
#' network-hierarchical: Hierarchical Network Graph with Tree Layout
#' Library: ggplot2 3.5.1 | R 4.4.1
#' Quality: 81/100 | Created: 2026-05-17
library(ggplot2)
library(dplyr)
library(tidyr)
library(ragg)
set.seed(42)
# --- Theme tokens -----------------------------------------------------------
THEME <- Sys.getenv("ANYPLOT_THEME", "light")
PAGE_BG <- if (THEME == "light") "#FAF8F1" else "#1A1A17"
INK <- if (THEME == "light") "#1A1A17" else "#F0EFE8"
INK_SOFT <- if (THEME == "light") "#4A4A44" else "#B8B7B0"
IMPRINT <- c("#009E73", "#C475FD", "#4467A3", "#BD8233",
"#AE3030", "#2ABCCD", "#954477")
# --- Data: Organization hierarchy -------------------------------------------
# Define nodes with their level (depth in tree)
nodes <- data.frame(
id = c("ceo", "vp_eng", "vp_sales", "vp_fin",
"be_lead", "fe_lead", "eng_mgr",
"sales1", "sales2",
"fin_mgr",
"dev1", "dev2", "dev3",
"eng1", "eng2",
"rep1", "rep2", "rep3"),
label = c("CEO", "VP\nEngineering", "VP\nSales", "VP\nFinance",
"Backend\nLead", "Frontend\nLead", "Eng\nManager",
"Sales\nManager", "Sales\nManager",
"Finance\nManager",
"Developer", "Developer", "Developer",
"Engineer", "Engineer",
"Sales\nRep", "Sales\nRep", "Sales\nRep"),
level = c(0, 1, 1, 1,
2, 2, 2,
2, 2,
2,
3, 3, 3,
3, 3,
3, 3, 3)
)
# Define edges (parent -> child relationships)
edges <- data.frame(
from_id = c("ceo", "ceo", "ceo",
"vp_eng", "vp_eng", "vp_eng",
"vp_sales", "vp_sales",
"vp_fin",
"be_lead", "be_lead",
"fe_lead",
"eng_mgr",
"sales1", "sales1", "sales2", "sales2"),
to_id = c("vp_eng", "vp_sales", "vp_fin",
"be_lead", "fe_lead", "eng_mgr",
"sales1", "sales2",
"fin_mgr",
"dev1", "dev2",
"dev3",
"eng1",
"rep1", "rep2", "rep3", "rep2")
)
# Calculate horizontal positions for each level
level_counts <- nodes %>%
group_by(level) %>%
mutate(
pos_in_level = row_number(),
n_at_level = n(),
x = pos_in_level - (n_at_level + 1) / 2
) %>%
ungroup() %>%
select(id, x)
# Add coordinates to nodes
nodes <- nodes %>%
left_join(level_counts, by = "id") %>%
mutate(y = -level * 2.2)
# Merge coordinates for edges
edges <- edges %>%
left_join(nodes %>% select(id, x, y), by = c("from_id" = "id")) %>%
rename(x_from = x, y_from = y) %>%
left_join(nodes %>% select(id, x, y), by = c("to_id" = "id")) %>%
rename(x_to = x, y_to = y)
# --- Plot -------------------------------------------------------------------
p <- ggplot() +
# Draw edges (parent to child)
geom_segment(
data = edges,
aes(x = x_from, y = y_from, xend = x_to, yend = y_to),
color = INK_SOFT, linewidth = 0.75, alpha = 0.6
) +
# Draw nodes
geom_point(
data = nodes,
aes(x = x, y = y),
color = IMPRINT[1], size = 12, alpha = 0.9
) +
# Add node labels
geom_text(
data = nodes,
aes(x = x, y = y, label = label),
size = 3.2, color = INK, vjust = 0.5, hjust = 0.5,
lineheight = 0.9, fontface = "plain"
) +
labs(
title = "network-hierarchical · ggplot2 · anyplot.ai",
x = "", y = ""
) +
theme_minimal(base_size = 14) +
theme(
plot.background = element_rect(fill = PAGE_BG, color = PAGE_BG),
panel.background = element_rect(fill = PAGE_BG, color = NA),
panel.grid = element_blank(),
axis.text = element_blank(),
axis.title = element_blank(),
axis.ticks = element_blank(),
plot.title = element_text(
color = INK, size = 24, hjust = 0.5,
margin = margin(b = 25, t = 15)
),
plot.margin = margin(30, 40, 30, 40, "pt")
) +
coord_cartesian(expand = FALSE)
# --- Save -------------------------------------------------------------------
ggsave(
filename = sprintf("plot-%s.png", THEME),
plot = p,
device = ragg::agg_png,
width = 16,
height = 9,
units = "in",
dpi = 300
)
Part of Hierarchical Network Graph with Tree Layout on anyplot.ai.