I'm already thinking about how to replicate that blue arrow in Fig. 2. It looks very clean. And the patterns in the plots do have a pgfplots vibe to it, so that makes sense.
In case you're not aware, it is also possible to have pgf outputs that preserve scaling with matplotlib with similar serif fonts for the labels that you can specify in matplotlibrc of the project. Hopefully you'd find that useful if you ever decide to use matplotlib beyond some quick plots.
Start your shift as a server.