Human-centered design for geospatial products

Complex location data shouldn’t feel complicated. I help mission-driven organizations bridge the gap between technical innovation and user needs, designing intuitive tools that make geographic information clear, actionable, and accessible.

About

Photo of Jeff Frankl

I’m a designer with 15+ years of experience in product design, user research, and frontend engineering. I work on projects with complex data or workflows, particularly those with meaningful impact on people and the planet.

As a product designer at ProPublica, I split my time between editorial and internal product work. On the editorial side, I design and build tools that help journalists, researchers, and the public investigate and understand complex datasets. On the internal side, I partner with teams across the newsroom to improve operations, from refining publishing workflows to establishing user research practices.

Previously, I specialized in geospatial web applications at Azavea (now Element 84), and I spent two years teaching a Web Development for City Planners course at the University of Pennsylvania. I studied Sociology at Haverford College.

I enjoy long walks, chasing toy birds with Olive, tinkering with unusual keyboards, playing challenging games and puzzles, and refining my All Genres, All Decades Running Mix.