The 3-D Commission
Rockefeller Foundation + Boston University School of Public Health
Digital communications and content strategy
Project Details
YEAR
2020 - 2021
ROLES
Design and digital communications for a global health research initiative focused on the social, political, and environmental conditions that shape health outcomes.
Visual communications
Information design
Digital storytelling
Research translation
About
The 3-D Commission, supported by The Rockefeller Foundation and Boston University School of Public Health, brought together 25 cross-sector experts to explore how data on social determinants of health (SDoH) could better guide decision-making at every level. My role was to make this work visible and accessible, shaping complex research into usable visuals and systems for policymakers, researchers, and the general public.
Launched on the occasion of the 76th United Nations General Assembly, the 3-D report is now available: Read the report
Scope
Approach
→ Participated in recurring cross-sector meetings with global experts from public health, data science, and policy
→ Sketched concepts in real time as researchers spoke, treating conversation as design input
→ Pulled from existing SDoH frameworks (WHO, CDC, BARHII), but moved toward a systems-based structure
→ Identified needs not just for individual diagrams, but for a unified visual language to carry across outputs
Design
→ Built modular diagram systems in Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop, rooted in systems thinking and meant to communicate across audiences
→ Designed with scalability in mind; layouts, color logic, and iconography were developed to shift seamlessly from PDF to social post
→ Developed logo and brand guidelines that emphasized unity, community, and the layered nature of population health
→ Drafted and structured the visual language for the 3-D Commission website using Squarespace, basic HTML/CSS, and a narrative-first layout
Implementation
→ Translated data into conceptual diagrams, causal models, and accessible infographics
→ Final visuals built and exported from Illustrator and Photoshop based on ongoing synthesis of real-time conversations
→ Managed and maintained the 3dcommission.health website, implementing custom blocks, CSS styling, and ongoing content updates
→ Produced a full digital social toolkit in Illustrator, creating over 500+ Twitter posts and 70+ Instagram visuals that distilled research into accessible, shareable content
Exploring traditional vs. new data sources through initial ideation and diagram design
Future Considerations
Was this supposed to live as social content? A conference visual? A report diagram? In most cases, it was all three. That made the starting point tricky. Something too simplified felt thin at the policy level. Something too technical fell flat on Instagram. So I started building with the idea that each visual should scale.
One diagram might get dropped into a keynote. Another would anchor an Instagram post. And another would easily fit in a monthly newsletter. I needed a system that worked like a visual language: modular, readable, and flexible across mediums. This meant creating a system for color, type, and flow, so that once you saw one, the next made more sense.
There was also the question of tone. Too polished, and it felt corporate. Too raw, and it didn’t carry weight. I ended up keeping the bones of the visuals I sketched in meetings, even as I rebuilt them digitally. They had a rhythm to them that made complex ideas feel more human.
And consistency was everything. The final report, the website, the social posts—they all had to feel like one voice. So even when the format shifted, the core logic stayed put.
Challenges & Reasoning
If I revisited this project now, I’d build in motion, because these systems move. With animation and interactive layers, I’d show how a policy ripples through housing, education, and community well-being.
