How do you bridge the gap between abstract climate data and the immediate obligation to design a safe built environment? HGA and the University of Minnesota Climate Adaptation Partnership (MCAP) conducted research on climate data use among building professionals. The visual strategy and publication design turned those findings into a national resource.

The work has been cited by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), included in Minnesota House of Representatives infrastructure resilience documentation, featured in AGU Fall Meeting “Science to Action” sessions in Washington D.C., and highlighted by USGBC and Green Building & Design as an industry-standard roadmap.

By translating technical climate projection data into digestible graphics, the work created a visual language that standardized how risk is communicated to non-technical stakeholders—elevating HGA from design firm to trusted advisor for government agencies and proving that strategic design can influence policy at the federal level.