def set_style(style=None, rc=None):
    """
    Set the aesthetic style of the plots.

    This affects things like the color of the axes, whether a grid is
    enabled by default, and other aesthetic elements.

    Parameters
    ----------
    style : dict, None, or one of {darkgrid, whitegrid, dark, white, ticks}
        A dictionary of parameters or the name of a preconfigured set.
    rc : dict, optional
        Parameter mappings to override the values in the preset seaborn
        style dictionaries. This only updates parameters that are
        considered part of the style definition.
    """
    style_object = _axes_style(style, rc)
    mpl.rcParams.update(style_object)