Client: The Ministry of Finance
Collaboration with Kaisa Uik
Estonia 2024
The Challenge
Develop two types of one-pagers that provide a clear and accessible overview of Estonia's state budget. One design should focus on the areas of governance (valitsemisala) while the other displays performance-based budget (tulemusvaldkond). These one-pagers will be included in Estonia's official state budget document and published on the Ministry of Finance's website for public access. Printed copies will also be distributed to members of parliament, helping them make more informed and quicker decisions.
Creative process
Kaisa and I kicked off the project by meeting with ministry officials to gain a clear understanding of the required data and the intended format for the final pages. After assessing their needs, we spent the following weeks ideating various data visualization possibilities. My focus was primarily on the one-pagers related to governance areas (valitsemisalad).
Once we had developed templates for both one-pagers, we held another meeting to review them and identify necessary adjustments. We repeated this process a few times until we arrived at the end result. For cohesion purposes, we used the ministry's own visual language for colors and fonts.
Below are some of our initial diagram concepts.
One of the most challenging graphs to design was the basic budget graph. It needed to display a significant amount of data, including the allocated budget, actual spending, the difference between the two, and how much leftover funds were carried over to the next year. We iterated through multiple versions, refining the design. Together with the ministry, we identified the key figures and highlighted them for clarity, while also creating a visual flow to show the relationships between the numbers.
The Sankey graph was one of the easiest to conceptualize but the most difficult to execute. Fitting large amounts of data into a single, coherent visual while ensuring the flow remained intuitive was a significant challenge. It took multiple iterations before we achieved the right balance of clarity and functionality.
Final design
We designed two double-sided one-pagers, which feature seven distinct visualizations about Estonia's budget - employment details, expenses, real estate holdings, budget overview and it's distribution between different programs. The performance areas' one-pager also lists key metrics and challenges specific to each area. The one-pagers are now featured in the state budget document, with printed versions distributed to parliamentary members and ministers. Individual graphs are also actively being incorporated into various materials for different ministries.
See the one-pagers here: https://www.fin.ee/temaatilised-ukslehed
