Social investing is often dismissed. While impact matters to more people than ever, it’s still often seen as feel-good finance with compromised returns. Enter Advanced Portfolio Management’s new division, Social Investment Solutions (SIS): dedicated to scientifically proving the financial value of social investment.

Built on a proprietary platform grounded in rigorous research and analytics, SIS quantifies—precisely—how social factors affect financial outcomes. The challenge? Convince the skeptics.

SIS approached Cotton to establish immediate credibility within a skeptical space through a white paper, website prototype, and data visualization system.

Our response: Data comes first, not brand.

We built a data-first identity where data visualizations define the design system. A broad color palette signals transparency, editorial inspired typography reinforces authority, and nature photography grounds everything within the social space.

A data-first identity for a platform turning social impact into measurable financial performance.


Social Investment Solutions

A data-first identity for a platform turning social impact into measurable financial performance.

Data Dashboards

Website Design

Inaugural Research Paper on Social Factor Analysis