Client
The Children’s Society

Year
2026

Erin was commissioned by The Children’s Society to lead the visual communication audit, data visualisation and design of The Good Childhood Report 2026 suite. The Good Childhood Report is the charity’s flagship annual research publication on children and young people’s wellbeing, drawing together national survey data, longitudinal trends, and peer and professional research into a family of documents for different audiences. The suite of reports included the main report, a policy briefing 'Building Wellbeing Through Belonging and a summary publication.

The project began with a visual communication audit of the previous report suite. Erin’s recommendations covered both data visualisation and the wider visual strategy. They were grounded in measurable standards (WCAG contrast ratios) and research on how readers perceive visual information and data visualisations. The challenge was to make a large, data-dense publication clearer, more consistent and more accessible, while working within a brand in transition.

The audit led to specific changes in how the data was shown. Confidence intervals became shaded bands rather than competing lines. A change in survey methodology, previously a gap in the line buried in a footnote, became a continuous line with a visible marker. Charts with long category names, small values and dual-scale charts were redesigned for legibility. The brand palette was adapted to meet accessibility standards, with colour never carrying meaning alone.

At the strategic level, the report family was designed as one system, with the main report as the flagship and the other documents adapting its visual language for their own audiences. A clearer typographic hierarchy was established so that headings, highlights and body text could support both readers who skim and readers who read in depth.

The result is a report suite that presents complex evidence on children’s wellbeing and belonging with clarity and consistency, and supports The Children’s Society in reaching policymakers, practitioners and the public.

Audit and recommendations / Data visualisation / Accessible publication design / Visual communication strategy / Data-informed visual communication