Concept Development & Design Strategy

Building an Accessible Narrative

At Periscopic, I worked on a variety of projects, each unique in its content and complexity. Some had vast amounts of data, while others relied heavily on long-form content. This project was a mix of both. To meet the client’s goals and resonate with the audience, we focused on distilling the long-form content down to its core concepts, ensuring it was accessible and easy to understand. We made a conscious effort to present the content in a way that would resonate with visitors that are unfamiliar with the subject and to simplify concepts that might otherwise feel counterintuitive. From there, we layered in more detailed information and refined the language to suit the target audiences, keeping in mind that the narrative should remain straightforward while the graphical elements can provide more nuance.

Optimizing Navigation for Key Audiences

Journalists and government officials were a primary audience, who would likely revisit key sections frequently. To make this an easy experience, we implemented a dropdown menu with anchor links to each section, which is a unique feature in scrolling narratives. This navigation was designed to be especially useful for professionals looking for localized insights, allowing them to detour the narrative and dive right into county-specific data using the explorable map.

Information Architecture

Summarizing Localized Metrics for Each County

As is common in most projects, the design process was not linear, with many elements developing in parallel. The approach to presenting county-level data in the explorable map evolved alongside the broader project visuals. Given the limited space in the side panel, I initially explored ways to consolidate the data or adapt visuals to better suit the vertical layout. However, once we finalized the visuals for the main section, it became clear that maintaining consistent data presentation methods in the side panel was the best approach and would avoid the need for users to interpret the same data through a new visual format.

We also wanted to make sure users could quickly extract key takeaways for each county, especially for those who might not need the more detailed insights provided by the visuals. To accomplish this, we included a brief county overview that highlighted a comparison of its metrics to national averages.

Solving Design Challenges

Way-Finding Beyond County Names

Navigating data constraints is a familiar aspect of the strategic design process. In this project, we were utilizing county-level data—a useful measurement to assess the subject but more challenging for users to navigate. Through prototyping and internal testing, we discovered the potential for users to experience frustration if they did not know the name of the counties for the town or metropolitan area they were interested in.

We solved this challenge by first, reconfigured the search feature to be more flexible. While it was originally designed to return county names only, we expanded it to include metropolitan areas above a certain population threshold. Second, we introduced a new feature in the side panel that allowed users to directly select noteworthy counties, making exploration easier without relying on the map. This addition was especially valuable for mobile users, since the map becomes less accessible when the side panel is active. (See mobile prototype in the section above.)

Adapting Designs for Mobile

When adapting designs for mobile, adjustments were made to ensure usability and engagement, including refining menu interactions and reconfiguring horizontal charts for vertical displays. Modifications also addressed how text would scroll over background graphics, and how the interactive map and side panel would function.

Visual Design

Creating a Purposeful Color Strategy

Drawing from the client’s existing color schemes, I leaned toward a dark theme to create a more immersive experience and allow for greater contrast. I explored variations of the palette to assess visibility and contrast—not only against the dark background but between colors themselves. This process also accounted for how the palette performed across different element sizes, from large color blocks to thin lines in a line chart.

A key focus was establishing a cohesive color throughline, using consistent hues for related data points—like applying the same color for data on people aged 65+ and Social Security. I also incorporated subtle visual cues to help reinforce understanding complex concepts, such as using yellow for government transfers, blue for income, and green for transfer share, which represents the overlap of the two.