Tell your story through data

Preserving Naturally Occurring Affordable Housing
Data visualization, mapping
Client: The Preservation Compact, DePaul Institute for Housing Studies

A mapping tool designed to facilitate evidence-based decision-making in preservation strategies for affordable multifamily rental housing.

Under Whose Command? Human rights abuses under Myanmar's military rule
Data visualization, interactive storytelling
Client: Columbia Law School Human Rights Institute

A powerful, mobile optimized data visualization and story detailing institutionalised human rights abuses by Myanmar’s military.

Chicago Recovery Plan
Government transparency, data standard development, mapping, charts
Client: City of Chicago

Transparency site showing the impact of over 30 programs under the Chicago Recovery Plan and what neighborhoods they are active in.

Illinois Wastewater Surveillance System
Data visualization, Content Management System (CMS), ETL
Client: Discovery Partners Institute and Illinois Department of Public Health

Provides series of COVID-19 measurements from wastewater for 75 sites across the state of Illinois.

Chi Block Builder
User centered process design, mapping, digital front door
Client: City of Chicago - Department of Planning and Development

Browse all City-owned vacant surplus property in Chicago and apply to buy it.

Understanding Employment Quality in Illinois
Data visualization
Client: Project for Middle Class Renewal, School of Labor and Employment Relations at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

An interactive visualization that shows how different job features influence employment quality based on surveys of 3,500 workers across Illinois.

Equitable Financial Incentives
Data visualization, CMS, Spanish translation
Client: Metropolitan Planning Council (MPC)

View incentive program spending in Chicago and recommendations to make them more equitable.

Partnership for Land Use Insights
Data visualization, CMS
Client: University of California Berkeley

We visualized how local governments regulate land use to provide the actionable insights leaders need to achieve their climate, equity, affordability goals

National Wastewater Surveillance System Schema
Schema validation, process improvement
Client: California Department of Public Health

A structured schema to help validate submissions of COVID test results in wastewater samples at scale.

Chicago Arts Census
Data consulting, CMS, Spanish translation
Client: Artists' Cooperative Residency & Exhibitions (ACRE)

We built and helped design a web portal to survey art workers in Chicago

Who Benefits from Climate Ambition?
Data visualization
Client: Data for Progress

Explore and compare nearly 600 occupations in the US, including over 100 common green jobs.

Budget: Oak Park
Product deployment, data visualization
Client: Pro Bono

An explorable budget for the Village of Oak Park to make government more transparent and accountable.

California Dream Index
Data visualization
Client: California Forward

We built a socioeconomic mobility measurement portal designed to help policy and decision-makers learn more about the level of access that Californians have to education, health, jobs, and opportunities

CPS Local School Councils - Election Guide
Data access and lookup
Client: Chalkbeat Chicago

We partnered with Chalkbeat Chicago to provide actionable information on voting and running for local school councils.

The Circuit
Data scraping, data analysis, training
Client: BGA, The Chicago Reporter, Injustice Watch

A data-driven collaboration to investigate and reveal how Cook County’s courts work using 3 million filed criminal cases.

Minnesota Historical Election Archive
Data search and faceting, CMS
Client: Smart Politics and University of Minnesota Libraries Publishing

A powerful search interface for the most complete archive of historical Minnesota election results.

Congressional Oversight Hearing Index
Data collection, machine learning, data visualization
Client: The Lugar Center

A database of congressional hearings to provide measurable insight into Congress’s commitment to oversight.

Illinois Public Pensions Database
Data processing and analysis, interactive graphics
Client: Illinois Answers Project

Explore nearly a decade’s worth of system metadata and millions of beneficiary records from the largest public-sector pension funds in Illinois.

The Chicago Neighborhood Development Awards Website
Interactive maps, online application, Google Docs integration
Client: LISC Chicago

An online application and awardee showcase for development projects in Chicago to recognize the essential role that both non-profit and for-profit developers play in building communities.

Just Spaces
User research, interactive graphics, data pipelines
Client: University City District

A mobile-friendly web app for collecting and visualizing data about the justness and inclusivity of public spaces.

Text to Connect to End Homelessness
Text message platform, user research and process design
Client: Corporation for Supportive Housing (CSH)

A texting platform designed to help more people experiencing homelessness find pathways to housing and services.

WTTW - 2019 Election Ward Demographics
Data preparation
Client: WTTW Chicago Tonight

We aggregated and combined data on population, demographics and median household income by Ward for Chicago Tonight’s coverage of the 2019 Chicago municipal election.

Illinois Risk and Reach Report Website
User research, interactive maps, data import
Client: Erikson Institute

A comprehensive report for the State of Illinois showing county-by-county data on the well-being of young children in the areas of Family Stability, Health, and Early Care and Education.

HousingStudies.org - Website Redesign
User research, interactive graphics, CMS
Client: DePaul Institute for Housing Studies

A complete website and data portal redesign to update the interface, reorganize the research, and better showcase IHS’s services and work.

Early Development Instrument Project
User research, interactive maps, data import, CMS
Client: Erikson Institute

An interactive map for exploring the physical, social, emotional, language and communication development of young children within the context of their community.

Illinois Public Salaries Database
Data processing and analysis, interactive graphics
Client: Illinois Answers Project

Review, explore and compare compensation for over 500,000 public employees throughout Illinois.

Overview of Chicago's Housing Market
Charts and interactive graphics
Client: Institute for Housing Studies at DePaul University

Charts and tables showing trends in Chicago’s housing demand, demographic and economic shifts and affordable housing to help inform the City of Chicago’s 5 year housing plan.

Chicago Urban Agriculture Mapping Project
Map visualization, updates with Google Forms and Spreadsheets
Client: NeighborSpace

A website to collaboratively map and inventory urban agriculture and community gardens in Chicago.

Mapping Displacement Pressure in Chicago
Data processing and analysis, mapping, interactive graphics
Client: Institute for Housing Studies at DePaul University

An interactive map to view different levels of displacement and lost affordability pressures in Chicago and learn about strategies to preserve housing affordability.

New York City Councilmatic
Data processing and presentation, user research
Client: New York City Council

An open government tool to help users access, track, and understand the activities of New York City Council.

Student Union
Data processing and presentation, web and information design, user research
Client: Uptake.org

A tool to help match high-school students with their best-fit colleges.

Cook County Probation Community Resources
Map visualization, user research, multi-stakeholder partnership
Client: Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law, the Chicago Appleseed Fund for Justice, Health & Medicine Policy Research Group

An interactive map and directory that helps criminal justice personnel refer clients to culturally relevant and geographically specific community-based services throughout Cook County.

WhoWasInCommand
Content Management System (CMS), data modeling, user research
Client: Security Force Monitor

A system for compiling public information on security forces to aid journalists, human rights groups and litigators to hold security forces accountable.

Los Angeles Metro Board Agendas
Data processing and presentation, user research, map visualization
Client: Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority

An open government tool for understanding and tracking the activity of the Board Members of the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority.

Where to Buy
Data processing and analysis, web scraping, mapping, interactive graphics
Client: Crain's Chicago Business

A tool to score, sort, and filter real estate in Chicagoland neighborhoods based on a variety of statistics.

Justice Divided
Data processing, analysis and presentation, map visualization
Client: Illinois Justice Project, Adler University, Project NIA

An educational tool and data repository for promoting awareness of disproportionate minority contact, or the overrepresentation of black youth in the juvenile justice system.

Neighborhood Opportunity Fund
User-centered process design, map visualization
Client: SomerCor

A website to help property owners in underserved neighborhoods access block grants for economic development.

Retail Thrive Zones
User-centered process design, custom charting, map visualization
Client: SomerCor

A web portal that makes it easy for businesses in low-income neighborhoods to apply for tax breaks — with an interactive map, dynamic charts, and an easy-to-use application form.

Living With Lead
Data processing, analysis and presentation
Client: City Bureau

Liberation and statistical treatment of data on lead in Chicago’s schools and parks from more than 500 PDFs.

Impact of the 606
Data visualization
Client: Institute for Housing Studies at DePaul University

Interactive maps and charts that measure change in the housing market near Chicago’s 606 linear park.

The Openness Project
Campaign finance access, custom charting
Client: New Mexico In Depth

Search and browse all political contributions, expenditures, and candidates in statewide and local New Mexico races.

MyReps
Information design, mapping
Client: Participatory Budgeting Project

Enter your address to find your local elected representatives and then tell them to support participatory budgeting!

2nd City Zoning
Data visualization
Client: Pro bono

An interactive map that lets you find out how your building is zoned and explore zoning patterns throughout the city

Where the Work Is
Data visualization
Client: JPMorgan Chase, IPPR, Burning Glass

An interactive visualization for exploring entry-level job dynamics for middle-skilled jobs in the United Kingdom.

Big Easy Budget
Product deployment, data visualization
Client: Committee for a Better New Orleans

An explorable budget for the City of New Orleans to make government more transparent and accountable.

Lascaux
Printing, maps
Client: LISC Chicago

Print high resolution data maps from the web

Chicago Councilmatic
Data processing and presentation, user research
Client: Sunlight Foundation

An open government tool for tracking the legislation, committees, meetings and aldermen of the Chicago City Council.

ClearStreets
Data processing and algorithms, data mapping
Client: Pro bono

A civic app for tracking where Chicago snow plows have gone during a snowstorm.

Macoupin Directory
Product deployment, searchable map, government services
Client: Macoupin County, IL

A searchable map and directory for finding businesses, local governments and community services in Macoupin County, IL

Invest in West Virginia Families
GIS data merging, web and information design
Client: West Virginia Center on Budget & Policy

We showed how a proposed Earned Income Tax Credit increase would affect constituents in each state district in West Virginia.

Brentano Elementary
Information design, custom website, code training
Client: Friends of Brentano

An open source and responsive website for a local neighborhood school, managed by the students.

Illinois Sunshine
Campaign finance access, custom charting
Client: Illinois Campaign for Political Reform

Search, browse and download over 20 years of searchable campaign finance records in Illinois.

Chicago's Million Dollar Blocks
Custom charting and map visualization
Client: Pro bono

An interactive map showing spending on incarceration for every block in the City of Chicago.

New York Open Budget
Product deployment, government services
Client: State of New York

An explorable budget for the State of New York to make government more transparent and accountable.

Cook County House Price Index
Custom charting and map visualization
Client: DePaul Institute for Housing Studies

We communicated research about price trends for single-family homes in 33 submarkets in Cook County.

Entity-Focused Data System
De-duplication, distributed tasks, data linking
Client: Atlanta Journal Constitution

A data system to continually link information about political figures, campaign filings, contracts and lobbyist disclosures to drive investigations.

Geomancer
APIs, data tools
Client: Associated Press

A free and open source tool for journalists to easily mash up data based on shared geography.

Plenar.io
API development, data exploration, geospatial querying
Client: Urban Center for Computation and Data

We worked with researchers and policy students to build a new platform to explore and build with open data through space and time.

Election Money
Data scraping, documentation

To empower journalists and citizens to investigate money in Illinois politics, we partnered with the Illinois Campaign for Political Reform to package up and document 20 years of campaign contributions and expenditures from the Illinois State Board of Elections.

Cook County Housing Stock Composition
Custom mapping, TileMill training
Client: DePaul Institute for Housing Studies

We communicated research about the Chicago area housing market through an interactive map that earned national media attention.

Dangerous by Design - Pedestrian Fatalities Map
Mapping and user interface
Client: Smart Growth America

As part of Smart Growth America’s “Dangerous by Design” 2014 report on urban planning and pedestrian safety, we built an interactive map to search pedestrian fatalities in the US going back to 2003.

EITC Works!
GIS data merging, web and information design
Client: Voices for Illinois Children

We showed how a proposed Earned Income Tax Credit increase would affect constituents in each state district.

LargeLots.org
User centered process design, GIS data merging
Client: LISC Chicago

We worked with the City of Chicago and neighborhood groups to improve and scale up a program for selling land to residents.

Chicago Sun-Times Clout Meter
Data modeling, scraping, APIs
Client: Chicago Sun-Times

To quantify the power, or ‘clout’, in Chicago City Council, we partnered with the Chicago Sun-Times to model to rank the political influence for Chicago’s 50 Aldermen.

Macoupin Budget
Product deployment, data release, government services
Client: Macoupin County, IL

An explorable County budget for Macoupin County, IL to make local goverment more transparent and accountable.

Chicago Health Atlas
Data visualizations, data transformation
Client: Smart Chicago Collaborative

We worked with the Smart Chicago Collaborative, Chicago Department of Health and Human Services, CHITREC and others to create the first version of the Chicago Health Atlas, a visual and comprehensive health data explorer for every neighborhood and zip code in Chicago.

State of Washington Budget
Product deployment and customization
Client: Economic Opportunity Institute

We helped the Economic Opportunity Institute, a policy and advocacy group in Washington State, customize and launch an explorable State budget visualization.

Chicago Early Learning
Data cleanup, Project management
Client: Smart Chicago Collaborative

Tool for finding and comparing preschools, head start and other early childhood education programs.

Connect Chicago
Interactive map, website design, data cleanup
Client: Smart Chicago Collaborative

To help bridge the digital skills gap in Chicago, we built a system with the Smart Chicago Collaborative for searching and managing a directory of free computer labs in the city.