Separate the measures
Give dollars and percentages distinct scales instead of asking readers to decode a dual-axis chart.
Research
Joint Fiscal Office
Tax Study
Selected project · Vermont Joint Fiscal Office
Making complex fiscal
information clearer.
Turning dense charts and report materials into visual explanations that help readers find the comparison, follow the story, and understand what matters.
Explore two examplesThe challenge
Important information.
A lot to take in.
Fiscal reports bring together dollar amounts, percentages, trends, and policy details. When those elements compete for attention, readers have to work harder to understand the point. My work focused on clarifying those relationships and developing consistent design conventions that could carry across JFO’s reports.
01
Before & after · Income tax
Give each comparison
room to be understood.
The original chart combined tax revenue and the percentage of total tax paid on two different scales. I separated the measures into aligned panels, keeping the same decile order so readers could follow the relationship between them.
Before Two measures, one plotting area
After Two aligned views
Dollar amounts, percentages, and income ranges compete within the same view.
Each measure has its own scale and space, with consistent ordering connecting the two.
Select either chart to enlarge
Preserve the relationship
Keep categories in the same order so the two views remain easy to compare.
Reduce competing detail
Move supporting income-range information out of the plotting area.
02
Benefits cliffs · Figure 3
Make the unexpected
change visible.
Higher earnings do not always mean more resources available to a household. This chart shows the change in total resources for each $1,000 increase in earnings, making the losses stand out against the gains.
Single working parent with employer-sponsored health insurance and two children. Portfolio rendering from the final Figure 3 workbook.
The design decision
Use color to distinguish gains from losses, then place explanations beside the two largest drops so readers can connect the numbers to the pattern.
Beyond individual charts
A consistent system
for the next report.
The engagement extended beyond these examples. I translated design decisions into shared guidance and editable materials that JFO could use as information changes.
01
Visual standards
Consistent approaches to color, typography, labels, spacing, and hierarchy.
02
Editable chart templates
Excel charts that allow staff to update data within an established visual structure.
03
Coordinated report materials
Word layouts that bring narrative, charts, and supporting information together.
The outcome
Clearer examples.
Tools for continued consistency.
The project produced redesigned visualizations, shared style guidance, and reusable report components—a practical foundation for presenting complex fiscal information more clearly.