Web & Mobile
Alliance for Excellent Education
The Alliance for Excellent Education presented the challenge of redesigning their Graduation Effect project, a data-rich web application which examines the current crisis in high school graduation rates and explores the potential positive economic impact of a 90% graduation rate.
The Graduation Effect examined the current crisis in U.S. high school graduation rates and modeled the potential positive economic impact of achieving a 90% graduation rate — state by state, community by community. Designing for a policy and advocacy audience required translating dense statistical data into an experience that was both intellectually rigorous and emotionally compelling — one that could move policymakers, educators, and the public from awareness to action.
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The Alliance for Excellent Education needed a redesign of The Graduation Effect that could make a complex, data-heavy policy argument accessible to a broad audience — from federal and state legislators to educators, journalists, and engaged citizens. The challenge was a familiar one in advocacy design: the most important information is often the hardest to communicate clearly. Raw graduation rate data and economic modeling are not inherently compelling. The design's job was to make the stakes of the crisis visceral and the opportunity of the solution tangible — without oversimplifying the underlying research.
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Marcos B. // VP and Director of Interactive
Christina S. // Digital Art Director
Daryle M. // Digital Art Director
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Delivered design direction for the Graduation Effect redesign through Home Front Communications, working in close alignment with the Alliance's communication and policy teams. Focused on information hierarchy that allowed users to engage at multiple levels of depth: a quick, emotionally resonant top-line message for casual visitors and detailed data exploration for policy-focused audiences. Designed an experience that could serve the Alliance's dual audience of federal and state policymakers and the broader public — making complex graduation rate data and economic modeling accessible without oversimplifying the underlying research.
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The redesigned Graduation Effect delivered a data-rich advocacy tool that served the Alliance's dual mission: informing policymakers with rigorous research while making the stakes of the graduation crisis accessible to a broader public. The engagement demonstrated the core design strategy capability of translating complex policy and data narratives into clear, human-centered visual experiences — directly relevant to government and nonprofit communication contexts. The Alliance for Excellent Education work, alongside the ULI Europe Conference, Census Bureau, and RSPA engagements completed through Home Front Communications, forms a body of institutional and advocacy design work with direct application to mission-driven organizations.
