Recovery.gov Data Displays

As Senior Web Manager for Recovery.gov (archived here by the Library of Congress) I enthusiastically embraced our job as the government’s first transparency website. Responsible for making sense, and displaying the distribution of, over $800 billion in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds, I listened to users and continually tested our site - through focus groups, individual user testing, Foresee survey feedback, and a website feedback form - to make sure we were delivering what site visitors wanted. Here are a couple examples of data displays I designed and implemented over the 4 years that I worked there.

Recipient Projects Map Redesign

When Recovery.gov was first built, mapping where Recovery funds were being spent was a top priority. User testing and focus groups revealed, however, that the original map was of minimal usefulness to site visitors. The map simply displayed dots that would have to be clicked individually to view information about the award.
To improve the mapping function I began with a pencil sketch, and built out a data display where all the separate pieces would react and refine based on the user's choices, giving visual cues to the user as selections were made, and providing links to detailed information and other data displays. Watch my YouTube video to see how all the pieces fit together.

Recipient Projects Map - AFTER [YouTube demo screenshot]

Overview of Funding Page Design

In 2009 when Recovery.gov was first published, we included a graphic we called the "Bubbles." This graphic depicted funding buckets such as Infrastructure, Education, and Tax Relief. We knew, however, that these bubbles weren't entirely accurate, nor did they give the detail about the funding that we collected. But over and over again, we heard that site visitors wanted this overview of ARRA funding.
In 2010 I read an article in the New York Times entitled "Rolling Up TARP, Though the Cleanup Isn't Over." I saved the newspaper and brought it into work. THESE were the bubbles we should be displaying. After reviewing the funding lines, item by item, our team created the buckets. Our first display was very similar to the TARP article, with our beloved bubbles with breakdowns and more detailed information displayed below.
Eventually, the funding outgrew the bubbles display, and we had to convert our bubbles into bars. But throughout the evolution of the page, I continued to draw visual cues from the top aggregate number, to the middle graph display, to the individual categories below.