Information Design

Neal Kauder

VRI stresses the importance of showing data and information in a clear and concise manner. In an age of information overload, organizations must use design principles that ensure management reports, text, pictures, and data get the time and attention they deserve. Neal Kauder gives clients specific design strategies for presenting quantitative and qualitative information on paper (in printed reports) and in projected light environments (PowerPoint shows). Handouts and work samples are supplied and small group exercises are provided upon request; critiques and re-design strategies are provided.

Redmond Asset Management
  • Project
  • Redmond Asset Management
  • Role
  • Website Design
  • Link
  • Website

Redmond Asset Management is a Richmond-VA based financial company that was looking to increase their reach by establishing a presence on the web while having a way to dynamically reach their clients. Constructed with the Wordpress CMS, this site design featured an efficient navigation system and a showcase of the company's quarterly blog.

Examining the Work of State Courts
  • Project
  • Examining the Work of State Courts
  • Role
  • Information Design • Table Design
    Interactive Report
  • Link
  • Cover | Interior | Website | 2011 | 2010 |

Annual report of national court statistics project (CSP) first developed in 1996 and continuously redesigned as a demonstration report on the visual display of court data. Use of point and click icons for pre-formatted data downloads, "hot tabs" design for external links to databases and related reports, while keeping branding consistent with other CSP related products.

Mental Health Court
  • Project
  • Mental Health Court Performance Project
  • Role
  • Information Design • Policy Development
  • Link
  • Cover | CD

VRI created four products for the MHCPM (Mental Health Court Performance Measures) project; a comprehensive report, an executive summary brochure, automated Excel measurement templates, and a CD. All products have an integrated branding and communication format to enable courts with a special interest in mental health issues improve case processing.

Courtools Website
  • Project
  • Courtools Website
  • Role
  • Website Design & Development
  • Link
  • Website

VRI re-designed and developed the new CourTools.org website for the National Center for State Courts. The website emphasizes organizational clarity and a minimalist design, consokidating down to a single homepage. Users click intuitive icons to gain immediate access to a variety of on-line reports and brochures, MS Excel templates, and a series of easy-to-follow performance measures, without using any sub-URLs.

High Performance Courts
  • Project
  • High Performance Courts Framework
  • Role
  • Brochure
  • Link
  • PDF

The High Performance Court (HPC) Framework provides a comprehensive set of organizing concepts to describe what a high-performing court seeks to accomplish. VRI created all info-graphics to help explain this complex framework. This included the design of the "quality cycle" infographic, which was used to clarify data collection and analysis, action to be taken, and the evaluation process of the entire HPC concept. Other multi-dimensional graphics were developed to help clarify court culture by creating a sociability and solidarity scale within a larger quadrant diagram.

Telfair Museums
  • Project
  • Telfair Museums
  • Role
  • Lead Website Design & Development • Branding
  • Link
  • Website Design

The Telfair Museums consists of three museums (Jepson, Telfair, Owens-Thomas House) in Savannah, Ga. The website was re-designed to increase visual accessibility and improve user experience. A clean, minimal design accompanied by an earthy, muted palette was used to unify the three separate museums under a universal brand.

International Framework for Court Excellence
  • Project
  • International Framework for Court Excellence
  • Role
  • Print • Website Design & Development • PowerPoint.
  • Link
  • Website | .PDF | .PDF | Brochure

Project involved a large-scale communications and design effort including an 80 page, fully interactive PDF, with extensive external and internal hyperlinks to provide a highly visual and accessible user-interface. Website used by international court community that provides resources to assist courts worldwide. Brochures translated into 4 languages.

Railroad Services Group
  • Project
  • Railroad Services Group
  • Role
  • Website Design & Development
  • Link
  • Website

Railroad Services Group is a full-service railroad company that unified Central Illinois Railroad, Central Railink Services, and Central Railroad Group Construction Services. Complete website construction was aimed at bringing a modern and forward-thinking concept to bring each company under one identity.

Circuit City
  • Project
  • Circuit City
  • Role
  • Website Design & Development
  • Link
  • Website

National promotion created to showcase Circuit City's Thanksgiving, Black Friday, Christmas, and Cyber Monday sales. Homepage takeovers created a unique branding approach to Circuit City's online holiday events. Site design utilized animated flash effects to unify the winter season with retail products.

Courtroom Exhibits for McDonnel Douglas & General Dynamics vs. The United States

Mutli-year project, lead designer of courtroom exhibits in McDonnell Douglas & General Dynamics vs. The United States involving the cancellation of the Navy A12 Stealth Aircraft contract; became the largest government contract case in American history ($9 billion lawsuit). Worked with DOJ commercial litigation branch attorneys, engineers and scientists to translate data, pictures, diagrams, and text into effective courtroom and arbitration exhibits.

Center for Disease Control - Trends in Vision/Hearing among Elderly
  • Project
  • Centers for Disease Control - Trends in Vision & Hearing Among the Elderly
  • Role
  • Information Design • Layout • Online Interactivity
  • Link
  • .PDF

Project involved developing an interactive series of short reports, with external and internal hyperlinks to data warehouses and other resources. Report design emphasized charts and graphs closely integrated with text. First reports of their kind used by CDC to communicate research and policy analysis on Trends in Aging.

Perofrmance Measurement for Drug Courts
  • Project
  • Performance Measurement for Drug Courts
  • Role
  • Information Design • Editing • Report
  • Link
  • .PDF

Report design with effectively designed data tables, and charts and graphs integrated with text. Used by drug court community to communicate the most recent developments in performance measurement for one group of specialty courts.

Problem Solving Justice Toolkit
  • Project
  • Problem Solving Justice Toolkit
  • Role
  • Design of Online Publication
  • Link
  • .PDF Toolkit

Project bridged the gap between print and on-line publishing - merging text, user-centered navigation, and extensive video footage. Included branding consultation and logo design.

Data Analysis

Where does America Stand?
  • Project
  • Performance Optimization and
    Transparency in Romania
  • Role
  • Statistical Analysis • Performance Measure Design • Visual Displays

VRI is working for EWMI on a World Bank funded project to help further judicial reform efforts in Romania. The project involves an 18 month long data analysis to develop performance indicators and visual displays that translate complex data into simple and transparent open-society reporting.

Judicial Salary Tracker
  • Project
  • Judicial Salary Tracker
  • Role
  • Web App Development • Information Design • Data Analysis
  • Link
  • Web Application

The interactive Judicial Salary Tracker, created for the NCSC, is an interactive data application that compares and contrasts judicial salaries and trends across the country.

Where does America Stand?
  • Project
  • Where does America Stand?
  • Role
  • Infographic Design & Data Analysis
  • Link
  • LINK

In August 2011, VisualResearch, Inc. took a closer look at the state of the American economy. This infographic focuses on how the U.S. stands up, economically, with other top tier nations (G8) and leading developing nations (+5).

Sanctioning Reference Points
  • Project
  • Sanctioning Reference Points
  • Role
  • Data Collection & Analysis • Policy Development Manuals • Training
  • Link
  • Nursing | Medicine | Dentistry | Article

This project provides structured reference points for use by health regulatory boards when determining what type of sanction a health professional should receive in a disciplinary case. The first system of its kind in the country, VRI modeled the methodology, in part, after the Virginia Sentencing Guidelines used by judges. Statistical analysis is used to determine which factors predict the type of sanction the board will hand down. The analysis is translated into easy to use worksheets that are a voluntary tool to aid board members. The Virginia Board of Medicine first adopted this ongoing project in 2004; by 2010 12 other Virginia health regulatory boards adopted the system.

Sentencing Continuum and Profiles
  • Project
  • Using Offender Risk and Needs Assessment Information at Sentencing
  • Role
  • Policy Analysis • Information Design
  • Link
  • Cover | Interior | .PDF

Funded by the Pew Charitable Trust, these two books examine sentencing policies and practices for the states with sentencing guidelines. One book looks evaluates the effectiveness of guidelines for three states; the other volume examines all guidelines states across a set of common characteristics.

CourTools
  • Project
  • CourTools
  • Role
  • Branding & Logo • Print • Website design & Development • Powerpoint • Packaging Design
  • Link
  • .PDF | Brochure

Extensive project involving data-based designs, instructional diagrams, data analysis, writing and editing to produce 10 "Spark Charts"--executed as 4 and 6 panel laminated stock print pieces. Project involved all branding, packaging and website development, maintenance/revisions of PDFs. Products used nationally and internationally as models for measuring court performance in easily understood and replicable formats. Award: Winner of the 2005 Robert W. Tobin Achievement Award (NCSC 2005 best product and excellence in staff achievement)

Future Trends in State Courts

This annual project involves collecting data and qualitative information to create graphics and diagrams, which are used to supplement short articles on a wide range of court topics. VRI integrates graphics and pictures with text to make this large publication more interesting and visually accessible. VRI also contributes original articles related to judicial officer salaries and compensation.

Survey of Judicial Salaries
  • Project
  • Survey of Judicial Salaries
  • Role
  • Data Analysis • Report Layout & Design
  • Link
  • Vol.35 N.2 | Vol.35 N.1

This semi-annual report shows salary amounts and other compensation information for judicial officers at all court levels. VRI also uses CPI and cost-of-living data to make results more comparable over time and across states.

Key Performance Measures - Virginia Department of Health Professions
  • Project
  • Key Performance Measures – Virginia Department of Health Professions
  • Role
  • Research & Data Analysis • Writing & Editing • Graphic Design • Publishing
  • Link
  • Website | .PDF

The Virginia Department of Health Professions (DHP) requested assistance in developing a balanced set of performance measures to help determine the effect of policies aimed at decreasing the time to process disciplinary cases. VRI conducted research and determined three measures; clearance rates, age of pending caseloads, and time to disposition could be used together to portray a complete picture of agency performance in processing disciplinary cases. The measures make use of a complex series of analytical techniques, but are displayed through a series of simple trend lines. Many states have expressed interest in the performance work done by VRI in conjunction with DHP.

Sentencing Continuum and Profiles
  • Project
  • Sentencing Continuum and Profiles
  • Role
  • Policy Analysis • Data Collections • Interviews • Writing & Editing • Design
  • Link
  • .PDF | Excel

This project involved profiling all states with Sentencing Guidelines systems and developing a taxonomy of systems based on criteria that could effectively differentiate each system in terms of their voluntary versus mandatory nature. 21 states were profiled and a scaling system was developed that allowed each state to be placed along a continuum from most voluntary to most mandatory. The publication is used nationally by policymakers when considering the myriad of options for a sentencing guideline system's organizational and conceptual framework.

Crime in Virginia: The 40-Year Picture
  • Project
  • Crime in Virginia: The 40-Year Picture
  • Role
  • Research & Data Analysis • Writing & Editing • Graphic Design • Publishing
  • Link
  • .PDF

From conceptual framework to report publishing, this research project was executed solely by VRI. VRI collected data and analyzed trends to determine if crime and other selected factors were correlated. The research also determined if levels of crime were relatively high or low when comparing Virginia to other similarly situated states. Faced by a substantial amount of longitudinal data, the report used innovative graphical techniques to display trends over a 40 year period; some pages showed over 1,500 pieces of data using only four statistical charts.