ABOUT

The challenge
Nestlé wanted to start a conversation about what it’s really like to be a parent today. It funded the first global index. Kantar ran the research, surveying 8,045 parents in 16 countries.
The Index had to appear independent; it couldn’t look like Nestlé. It also had to look credible, warm, and hopeful, and make a very data-heavy report easy to read. Plus, it had to work in print, online, and in several languages.
The idea
Make it open, light, and human. Soft shapes, real people, and clear data would make it feel like a trusted global index, not a corporate report.
What I did
I was creative director and graphic designer, from first routes to final report.
Name and logo. The working title was the Modern Parenting Index. We shortened it to The Parenting Index, and I designed the logo. The big, rounded “Index” has a neumorphic, embossed finish. The “x” represents a baby, so the name carries a human touch.
I presented three distinct directions to the client. The final look grew out of Route 3, with its embossed type and clean, cool, data-led feel.
Look and feel. A calm teal palette, with a colour for each of the eight factors behind the Index. Everything sits on soft, shadowed cards that echo the logo.
Infographics. I designed the data visualisation system. It’s clear without being simple, and it includes country rankings, factor charts, a world map, and bold big-number pictograms.
Illustration. I produced some of the illustrations, including the spot illustrations in the chapter on parenting pressures.
Picture research. I sourced real, natural images of diverse parents and babies, with no stock-photo smiles.
Global rollout. The report was produced in English, Spanish, German, French and Arabic. For Arabic, I adapted the layout for right-to-left reading.
The identity also powered a microsite and a talking-heads video on YouTube.
The result
The Parenting Index launched in early 2021 with a virtual media launch. The coverage spread across 16 countries, and the story was picked up in the national angle each market cared about.
Country rankings drove the headlines. Sweden topped the Index as the easiest place to raise a baby. In the US, the story was “ranks fifth”. In the UK, it was sixth place, with loneliness and childcare costs in focus.
The core finding landed. Pressure came out as the biggest challenge facing parents everywhere. Lifestyle and parenting media ran with the finding that around a third of new parents feel lonely, despite being so connected.
Regional outlets, including in the Middle East and the Caribbean, covered the launch and framed the Index as a roadmap for change, such as longer parental leave.