Define American
Define American's research identified the "Moveable Middle" — people open to pro-immigrant perspectives but not yet convinced. The research proved what messaging strategies actually work with this audience.
We redesigned the report series, each built on the last: from understanding audience segments, to showing how stories shift perspectives, to illustrating how immigrants enrich communities. Bold typography, vibrant colors, and custom illustrations made complex research built to be read, shared, and acted on. The unified visual system turned research findings into a movement.
Move Them or Lose Them Reports
Define American believes cultural change drives policy change. That conviction shaped everything about how we designed this series. Each report had to do more than present data — it had to move people.
We built a visual language rooted in nature's most powerful metaphor: migration. Creatures that move, pollinate, and make ecosystems thrive — just like immigrants. The natural world became our creative framework for making research feel alive, urgent, and human.
Report 1 — Knowing the Audience
Before you can move the middle, you have to understand them. Report 1 mapped four distinct Moveable Middle audience segments — Taking Responsibility, Following the Plan, Doing My Own Thing, and Getting It Done — each with unique values, media habits, and entry points for pro-immigrant storytelling.
We designed each audience segment with its own creature metaphor and color identity, making complex psychographic research immediately legible and visually engaging. The result was a report that felt less like a white paper and more like a field guide for narrative change.
Report 2 — Strategies for Reaching the Middle
Research doesn't change minds. Stories do. Report 2 translated the audience insights from Part 1 into five concrete storytelling strategies — from immigrants telling their own stories, to culture-first narratives, to the power of positive endings for undocumented stories.
We designed a dynamic visual system built around the butterfly's metamorphosis — a direct metaphor for how perspectives shift when audiences encounter authentic storytelling. Bold color transitions, high-contrast typography, and layered illustrations made each finding feel like a revelation, not a footnote. Every spread was designed to be both visually powerful and deeply accessible.
Each report was distinct but unmistakably connected. Report 1 used migratory creatures as audience archetypes. Report 2 used the butterfly's life cycle to represent perspective change. Together, the two reports form a cohesive visual argument: migration is natural, movement is power, and belonging is something we build together.
Project Team
Julia Sorrenti
Stacey Lo
Ambar López
Neta Collab is a creative agency for nonprofits and social good.
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