Understanding the Problem
The Wall Street Journal published an article on tracking inflation that included a large graphic to show the change in price of commonly bought items. The graphic was successful, but too large to include in future inflation-related articles. There was a need for a condensed inflation tracker for both wsj.com and the WSJ mobile app.
Design
The final design prioritizes clarity and comparability across devices by adapting interactions to each platform’s constraints. On desktop, hover interactions reveal item-level details without adding visual clutter, enabling fast exploration. On mobile, where hover is unavailable and long-press introduces friction, key items and labels are surfaced directly through layout and hierarchy, ensuring the data remains immediately legible within limited screen space.
Impact
This condensed graphic was implemented for future stories related to inflation in the United States.