Background
First Focus on Children's annual Children's Budget analyzes federal spending for children across more than 250 government programs, organized into 11 investment areas, from Early Childhood and Education to Nutrition, Housing, and International programs. The report gives U.S. leaders and lawmakers a comprehensive picture of how federal dollars do and don't prioritize children.

Challenge
I designed the full 174-page publication from the ground up, spanning print, digital, and social assets. The core design challenge was making an enormous volume of budget data feel structured, navigable, and visually compelling for a policy audience.

Approach and Information System
To do this, I developed a color-coded system across all 11 investment categories, assigning each section a distinct color that carried consistently throughout the publication. I presented individual government programs in tables organized around key metrics, including Spending Level and Estimated Share to Children, tracked annually from 2018 through 2024. Directional arrows indicated whether funding increased or decreased, giving readers an immediate, at-a-glance understanding of trends without needing to parse the numbers.

Outcome
The report was widely downloaded and distributed, and cited by congressional offices and child advocacy organizations nationwide as a reference for federal budget and policy decisions.

To read the 2023 Children’s Budget, click here