Human Progress & Exploring Freedom


Cato Institute
2021
Branding, UI, UX, Data Visualization
Role: Visual Interaction Designer. Design Team: Dwayne Franco & Colin Ladd. UX & Desing System: Dwayne Franco. Development by Grace Fagan, Kenton Powell & Jared Schiffman. Project Management: Kevin Hanes. Under the guidance of Partner Christian Marc Schmidt & Sumin Chou.
Visit Site CHALLENGEThe Cato Institute sought to refresh its visual identity and improve how it communicates across its digital ecosystem. The organization needed a new logo and brand system, along with redesigned web platforms for three of its public-facing initiatives:

  • Human Progress (editorial content)
  • Cato Workspace (data visualizations)
  • Exploring Freedom (Human Freedom Index)

Each site needed to support different types of content, audiences, and interaction patterns—while feeling coherent as part of a shared brand experience.

APPROACH
  • Developed a new logo and visual identity that modernized Cato’s look while maintaining institutional credibility.
  • Reimagined the Human Progress site with a more editorially driven experience, including content clustering and filtered navigation.
  • Translated static reports and data-heavy content into interactive visual formats across Workspace and Exploring Freedom.

ROLE
  • Led visual design across all three websites and contributed to the overarching brand system.
  • Designed editorial layouts, navigation models, and filtering systems for Human Progress.
  • Collaborated on data visualization strategy and UI design for Workspace’s treemap tool.

SOLUTIONA unified suite of digital platforms that includes:
  • A new brand identity and logo that scales across web, print, and institutional materials.
  • A streamlined Human Progress site focused on storytelling, filtering, and content discovery.
  • A visually rich Workspace experience featuring interactive treemap visualizations.
  • A fully digital Exploring Freedom tool that allows users to explore comparative rankings by country and region.

IMPACTCato’s updated brand and digital ecosystem now supports its mission with clarity, confidence, and reach. The redesigned platforms invite deeper engagement with Cato’s research, allow audiences to explore data independently, and reflect the organization's status as a modern, influential voice in global policy.