diff --git a/client/app/scripts/charts/node-container.js b/client/app/scripts/charts/node-container.js
index 2296731ae..75506b290 100644
--- a/client/app/scripts/charts/node-container.js
+++ b/client/app/scripts/charts/node-container.js
@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@ export default class NodeContainer extends React.Component {
   render() {
     const { dx, dy, focused, layoutPrecision, zoomScale } = this.props;
     const animConfig = [80, 20]; // stiffness, damping
-    const scaleFactor = focused ? (2 / zoomScale) : 1;
+    const scaleFactor = focused ? (1 / zoomScale) : 1;
     const other = _.omit(this.props, 'dx', 'dy');
 
     return (
diff --git a/client/app/scripts/charts/node.js b/client/app/scripts/charts/node.js
index 05fef8e9d..a7c458162 100644
--- a/client/app/scripts/charts/node.js
+++ b/client/app/scripts/charts/node.js
@@ -55,9 +55,11 @@ export default class Node extends React.Component {
   }
 
   render() {
-    const { blurred, focused, highlighted, label, nodeScale, pseudo, rank,
+    const { blurred, focused, highlighted, label, pseudo, rank,
       subLabel, scaleFactor, transform, zoomScale } = this.props;
 
+    const nodeScale = focused ? this.props.selectedNodeScale : this.props.nodeScale;
+
     const color = getNodeColor(rank, label, pseudo);
     const truncate = !focused && !highlighted;
     const labelText = truncate ? ellipsis(label, 14, nodeScale(4 * scaleFactor)) : label;
diff --git a/client/app/scripts/charts/nodes-chart.js b/client/app/scripts/charts/nodes-chart.js
index d6123a582..0308f2e6e 100644
--- a/client/app/scripts/charts/nodes-chart.js
+++ b/client/app/scripts/charts/nodes-chart.js
@@ -270,7 +270,7 @@ export default class NodesChart extends React.Component {
     });
 
     // auto-scale node size for selected nodes
-    const selectedNodeScale = this.getNodeScale(props);
+    const selectedNodeScale = this.getNodeScale(adjacentNodes, props.width, props.height);
 
     return {
       selectedNodeScale,
@@ -314,7 +314,7 @@ export default class NodesChart extends React.Component {
     const nodeMetrics = stateNodes.map(node => makeMap({
       metrics: node.get('metrics')
     }));
-    const nodeScale = this.getNodeScale(props);
+    const nodeScale = this.getNodeScale(props.nodes, props.width, props.height);
     const nextState = { nodeScale };
 
     const options = {
@@ -365,11 +365,11 @@ export default class NodesChart extends React.Component {
     return nextState;
   }
 
-  getNodeScale(props) {
-    const expanse = Math.min(props.height, props.width);
+  getNodeScale(nodes, width, height) {
+    const expanse = Math.min(height, width);
     const nodeSize = expanse / 3; // single node should fill a third of the screen
     const maxNodeSize = expanse / 10;
-    const normalizedNodeSize = Math.min(nodeSize / Math.sqrt(props.nodes.size), maxNodeSize);
+    const normalizedNodeSize = Math.min(nodeSize / Math.sqrt(nodes.size), maxNodeSize);
     return this.state.nodeScale.copy().range([0, normalizedNodeSize]);
   }