“The problems I help to solve through my research are often complex, multidimensional, and require someone with my background in systems-thinking, research, and communication, who understands how to tackle large, messy challenges with interdisciplinary data, and can use those data to develop transformative, lasting solutions that are scalable, feasible, and rooted in scientific evidence.”
Apoorva Joshi, Ph.D.

Featured Past Projects

The projects featured below reflect a range of research methods, knowledge domains, technical and ‘soft’ skills, responsibilities, and objectives. Details about research findings, outcomes, etc. are available upon request due to the requirements of funding partners, peer-reviewed journals, or other policies.

Research Showcase

Explore our cutting-edge work pushing the boundaries of data-driven design and decision-making, building capacities and knowledge that directly and positively impacts our clients, their customers, as well as science and society.

Collaborators

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Usability Testing and Redesigning of the National Hazard Forecast Products

Role: Research Lead
Duration: 2 years
Methods: Survey + Experiment
Responsibilities: End-to-end research design, implementation, participant recruitment, data collection, data analysis, reporting, writing, project management, cross-functional team management, Federal partners and stakeholders relationship management as point of contact.
Overview: Diagnosed design, usability, and decision making challenges encountered by users of a national hazard forecast and decision support data product – the U.S. Drought Outlook forecast visualization. Collaboratively worked with NOAA Climate Prediction Center, and led national control vs. treatment research which improved user response accuracy and product understanding by 67%, and increased legend interpretation accuracy by ~35%. Ensured compliance with Section 508 by significantly increasing the visual accessibility of the product as evidenced by high positive ratings on usability dimensions from users with color vision impairments.

Building Powerful National Impact-based Decision Support Products with Research Insights and Evidence

Role: Collaborator; Subject matter expert and consultant
Duration: 2 years
Methods: Heuristic Evaluations + Interviews + Literature Reviews + User Flows + Usability assessment
Responsibilities: Collaborated on research design, implementation, data analysis, and developing peer-reviewed papers, reports, executive memos and recommendation toolkits to facilitate research-to-operations transition.
Overview: Collaborated with NOAA Office of Water Prediction and the National Water Center to identify decision support and usability pain points in national hydrologic forecast and decision support products, including those relating to Section 508 and visual data accessibility. Synthesized research evidence, data insights, and shared subject matter expertise (SME) in visual cognition, human-centered design, decision science, choice and information architecture, and visual communication with colleagues as part of a cross-functional research team. Directly contributed to the design & development of the National Water Prediction Service product – NOAA’s flagship new hydrologic forecast tool – prior to its public release in the United States.

Designing an Agricultural Decision Support MVP using Research Evidence within Short Turnaround Times

Role: Design Team Co-Lead; Subject Matter Expert consultant
Duration: 8 months (ongoing as of 04/2025)
Methods: Usability Assessments + Focus groups + Literature Reviews + Heuristic Evaluations + Concept Testing + Wireframes
Responsibilities: Provided Subject Matter Expertise (SME) in visual and cognitive design for decision support; designing effective data visualizations; and risk communication. Served as a key member of the Strategic Planning Team and co-lead of the Design Team to advance the design and execution of agricultural forecast products to support the decisions of farmers in the US Corn Belt.
Overview: Worked with multidisciplinary, cross-functional teams to develop a new online Dashboard for Agricultural Water Use and Nutrient Management (DAWN) – a decision support product for US Corn Belt farmers. Synthesized evidence from research in cognitive science, human-centered design, and risk or uncertainty communication, and shared SME on designing impactful decision support visuals while meeting time-sensitive project goals and needs. Identified and scoped research opportunities to develop and experimentally test the usability of lo and hi-fidelity wireframes and concepts to provide original empirical data for decision-making regarding product design and development.

Heuristic Evaluations, Cognitive Principles, and Visual Design to Make Life-Saving Flood Forecasts More Effective

Role: Collaborator; Subject matter expert and consultant
Duration: 2 years
Methods: Heuristic Evaluations + Interviews + Literature Reviews + User Flows + Product Testing
Responsibilities: Collaborated on research design, implementation, data analysis, and developing peer-reviewed papers, reports, executive memos and recommendation toolkits to facilitate research-to-operations transition. Worked with cross-functional research teams and Federal partners to identify research opportunities aligned with product development priorities.
Overview: Heuristically evaluated the design and usability of US and global Flood Inundation Maps – a near real-time suite of visual flood forecast decision support tools. Identified major decision-making, usability, and interpretation challenges; shared findings with partners at NOAA Office of Water Prediction, and the National Water Center; and co-produced peer reviewed publications sharing results broadly within and beyond the scientific community. Provided Subject Matter Expertise (SME) on designing effective visual decision support products based on evidence from research in decision-making, visual cognition, risk communication, and design justice principles.

Crafting Persuasive Messages to Drive the Adoption of Sustainable Behaviors

Role: Research and Project Lead
Duration: 2 years
Methods: Survey + Experiment
Responsibilities: End-to-end management of research project from conceptualization and design to data collection, data analysis, and reporting and publishing findings.
Overview: Designed an online survey-experiment for message testing to assess whether theory-informed message framing based on the interdisciplinary OneHealth model could motivate audiences to adopt sustainable behaviors to protect themselves against the negative health impacts of ecological loss and damage. Analyzed data using advanced causal process modeling, path analysis, and mediation and moderation models to examine cause-and-effect relationships demonstrating how our communication choices directly and indirectly influence our behavioral choices. Wrote and published a solo-author peer-reviewed paper available here.

Strategically Designing Conservation Ads & Campaigns to Influence Donation Behaviors

Role: Research and Project Lead
Duration: 3 years
Methods: Content analysis + Surveys + International
Responsibilities: End-to-end management of research project from conceptualization and design to data collection, data analysis, team management, grant reporting, and publishing or sharing findings.
Overview: Co-Principal Investigator on a research project funded by a grant from the National Geographic Society to examine how conservation issues are visually communicated, and which factors drive donation behaviors and audience engagement with conservation campaigns. Led the development of a typology for analyzing visual content and presented research nationally and internationally. Also led the the design, validation, and implementation of 2 international surveys, analyzed data using advanced statistical methods such as Structural Equation Modeling (SEM), Latent Variables and Confirmatory Factor Analyses, Multigroup Modeling etc. Shared findings on the factors predicting donation behaviors, the extent to which they differ between audiences in different countries, and what these findings mean for professionals and organizations who want to design impactful ads, PR, outreach, and social marketing communication or environmental campaigns.

Areas of Expertise Reflected by Past Projects

Topics and problem areas represented in above examples of previous research and projects.

Communication and Media

Designing powerful communication to reach target audiences through optimal media channels; evaluating communication strategies, and improving messaging impacts.

Visual communication
Message framing and testing
Media use and effects
Science communication
Risk communication
Environmental communication
Health communication
Persuasive communication
Narrative storytelling
Media technologies (AI, AR/VR)
Digital communication
Social marketing campaigns

Design Thinking

Applying theories and principles of human-centered design thinking to diagnose and evaluate design wins and usability challenges.

User Experience Research (UXR) (UXDR)
User Perceptions
Product Usability and User Interface (UIR)
Visualization Design
Product Design Testing
Design Usability Challenges
Human-centered Design
Communication Design
Message / Campaign Design
User-centered Design
Design justice principles
Information architecture
Choice architecture

Decisions and Behaviors

Using evidence from cognitive, decision and behavioral science research to inform and improve communication design, product performances, and client KPIs.

Psychological information processing
Heuristic evaluations
Decision making
Audience analytics
User engagement studies
Consumer behavior research
Behavior change campaigns
Behavior change communication
Decision support product design
Cognitive principles and theories
Visualization design rooted in decision and cognitive science
Behavioral science insights