At its core, an interactive index is a presentation of data that allows users to actively engage with the data it presents. This goes beyond a static list, enabling users to filter and refine data, drill down to obtain more detailed information, see visualisations, and customise the view to their specific needs.

<h2>Why are interactive Indices important?</h2>

Interactive indices can play a crucial role in data-driven decision making:

Enhance data exploration: They make it easier to discover insights and identify relevant information.

Improve decision-making: They provide users with the tools they need to analyse data and make informed choices.

Increase user engagement: They make data more accessible and engaging.

Provide a dynamic experience: They allow users to interact with data in real time.

<h2>Why do Interactive Indices need to be designed correctly?</h2>

An interactive index should transform a daunting, unnavigable data set into a clear and focused user experience. It would offer clarity and simplicity; overcrowded or needlessly complex indices can overwhelm users and obscure important information.

Relevant metrics: Highlighting irrelevant metrics can distract users from the main insights.

Data Accuracy: Inaccurate or outdated data renders the index useless.

User Experience (UX): A poor user interface can make the index difficult to navigate and interact with.

Context: Data without context is meaningless. The index needs to supply the correct context for the information it displays.

<h2>What does a good interactive index have?</h2>

Clear navigation: Users should be able to easily find and access the information they need.

Intuitive controls: Filtering, sorting, and visualisation tools should be easy to use.

Responsive design: The index should work seamlessly on all devices.

Data accuracy: The underlying data must be accurate and up-to-date.

Performance optimisation: The index should load quickly and perform smoothly.

<h2>Does your business need an interactive index?</h2>

Interactive indices are used across a wide range of industries and applications, and can help provide clarity and insight to the most complex datasets.

Financial Markets:

Platforms like those provided by &quot;Interactive Brokers&quot; allow users to create and customise indices, and then to use those indices for trading. This is a very good example of a very interactive index. Users can change the make up of the index, and then trade based upon that index.

Websites like Investing.com - Stock Market Quotes &amp; Financial News provide interactive charts of market indices, allowing users to analyse historical data and identify trends.
The interactive investor (ii) Index provides data on how their customers are performing with their investment portfolios. This allows users to compare their results to the averages.

Digital Information:

Online databases and libraries often use interactive indices to help users find relevant information. Users can filter and sort results based on keywords, authors, dates, and other criteria.

Online encyclopaedias and reference materials may use interactive indices to provide quick access to specific topics.

To speak to us about how a well-designed interactive index could enhance your business, email us at info@soak.co.uk. We&#39;d love to hear your ideas!

What is an interactive index?
Interactive Indices empower users to explore and analyse content and data in a dynamic and engaging way, leading to better insights and more informed decisions.

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Unlock Your Data's Potential: The Power of Interactive Indices

We&#39;re incredibly excited to share some fantastic news: our innovative IDRIC Decarbonisation Online Visualisation Tool, developed for Heriot-Watt University, has been officially Shortlisted for the prestigious Creativepool Annual 2025! 

This recognition is a huge honor and a testament to the hard work and dedication of our team, as well as the impactful collaboration with IDRIC and Heriot-Watt University.

This project sits at the forefront of digital solutions for a sustainable future. The tool we developed plays a crucial role in visualising complex decarbonisation data, making it accessible and actionable for researchers and policymakers alike. It&#39;s a prime example of how thoughtful design and powerful technology can contribute to solving some of the world&#39;s most pressing environmental challenges.

Dive Deeper into the Project:
For those interested in the intricacies of this project and the challenges we overcame, we invite you to explore our dedicated case study:

Read the Full Case Study: <a href="https://soak.co.uk/our-work/visualising-industrial-decarbonisation">Visualising Industrial Decarbonisation</a>

Your Vote Can Make a Difference! Here’s how you can help us win:

<ol><li>Visit the shortlist here: https://creativepool.com/annual/2025/shortlist/</li><li>Scroll to find the ‘Web’ category </li><li>Locate Soak Digital</li><li>Click on the &quot;Vote Now&quot; button.</li><li>You&#39;ll need to be logged into Creativepool to cast your vote (it&#39;s quick and easy to create an account if you don&#39;t have one).</li><li>You can only vote once, so make it count!
Voting closes in just 13 days.</li></ol>

Thank you for your continued support. We truly appreciate you taking the time to vote for us!

Celebrating Innovation: Our IDRIC Decarbonisation Tool Shortlisted for Creativepool Annual 2025!

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We've Been Shortlisted!

Why are Portals Important?

Portals serve several crucial purposes:

<ul><li>Centralised Access: Portals simplify access to information and applications, reducing the need for users to navigate multiple systems.</li><li>Enhanced User Experience: Portals provide a personalised and consistent experience, improving user satisfaction.</li><li>Increased Productivity: Portals can streamline workflows and improve efficiency by providing quick access to relevant resources.</li><li>Improved Communication: Portals can facilitate communication and collaboration among users.</li><li>Data Integration: Portals integrate data and content from diverse sources, providing a holistic view of information.</li><li>Self-Service: Portals often empower users to perform tasks independently, reducing the burden on support staff.</li></ul>

Why Portals Need to be Designed Correctly:

A poorly designed portal can lead to frustration, inefficiency, and security risks. Proper design is crucial for:

<ul><li>Usability: A portal should be easy to navigate and use, with a clear and intuitive interface.</li><li>Information Architecture: Content should be organised logically and easy to find.</li><li>Personalisation: A portal should provide relevant and personalised content to each user.</li><li>Security: Access controls should be robust and protect sensitive information.</li><li>Performance: A portal should load quickly and perform reliably.</li><li>Accessibility: A portal should be accessible to users with disabilities.</li><li>Responsive Design: A portal must function correctly on all devices, such as mobile phones, tablets, and desktop computers.</li></ul>

A good Portal has:

<ul><li>Aggregation: Pulls together information from disparate systems.</li><li>Personalisation: Tailors content and functionality to individual users.</li><li>Single Sign-On (SSO): Allows users to access multiple applications with one set of credentials.</li><li>Content Management: Enables the creation and management of content.</li><li>Collaboration: Facilitates communication and collaboration among users.</li><li>Security: Controls access to sensitive information.</li></ul>

Does your business need a Portal?

Portals are used in various industries and applications:

Employee Portals (Intranets):

<ul><li>Provide access to company news, policies, benefits, and internal applications.</li><li>Facilitate communication and collaboration among employees.</li></ul>

Customer Portals:

<ul><li>Allow customers to manage accounts, track orders, access support, and view personalised offers.</li><li>Enhance customer satisfaction and loyalty.</li></ul>

Partner Portals:

<ul><li>Enable partners to access sales information, marketing materials, and support resources.</li><li>Facilitate collaboration and communication with partners.</li></ul>

Government Portals:

<ul><li>Provide citizens with access to government services, information, and resources.</li><li>Improve transparency and efficiency.</li></ul>

Educational Portals:

<ul><li>Provide students and faculty with access to course materials, grades, and administrative information.</li><li>Support online learning and communication.</li></ul>

Healthcare Portals:

<ul><li>Allow patients to access medical records, schedule appointments, and communicate with healthcare providers.</li><li>Improve patient engagement and care coordination.</li></ul>

E-commerce Portals:

<ul><li>These can be very large scale, and offer a wide range of vendors to sell their goods, and allow customers a single place to purchase many different goods.</li></ul>

To learn more about how Soak can support all of your portal requirements, email us at info@soak.co.uk. We&#39;d love to hear your ideas!

What is a Portal?

Portals provide a centralised and personalised gateway to digital resources, streamlining access to information and enhancing user experience.

Portals are web-based platforms that bring together information from diverse sources in a unified way. They provide a single point of access to various applications, data, and services. A good portal is a personalised gateway to relevant digital resources.

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Exploring The World of Digital Portals 

BETFRED

Ezra

Royal Society

World Wide Fund for Nature

Totaljobs

The World Bank

The London School of Economics and Political Science

The Economist

The Adecco Group

Swiss Re

HSBC

Harvard University

Games Workshop

Selected work

We designed fully responsive prototypes that evolved through several iterations, resulting in a flexible, modular interface that could accommodate the large number of activities on offer and the unique requirements of each venue. 

Complex, multi-tenant applications must be technically robust and adaptable to the ongoing requirements of the business. The underlying architecture was carefully considered to dovetail with Gravity&#39;s IT infrastructure and numerous 3rd party software solutions.

Gravity

Gravity are an international active entertainment brand offering immersive gaming, e-karting, trampolining and climbing activities across 20+ sites, including the UK, Germany and Saudi Arabia.

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The power of play

Central to our design is an interactive landscape that familiarises users with the interconnected facets of industrial decarbonization. This includes areas like green energy generation, manufacturing industries, the national grid, ports, transportation, and the environment.

The tool features three interactive pathways tailored to different audience needs. These include a public engagement tool to build understanding of the net zero pathways and the impact of decarbonisation, a learning tool to guide school leavers toward potential training routes for a career in decarbonisation and for policy-makers to view relevant research findings.

IDRIC

In collaboration with IDRIC (the Industrial Decarbonisation Research and Innovation Centre), we designed and developed an immersive visualisation tool that allows users to explore what a green industrial future looks like.

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Visualising industrial decarbonisation

The interactive tool was seamlessly integrated into GoStudent&#39;s existing website infrastructure and needed to consider several crucial requirements from a UX and technology perspective, including the approach for multiple languages.

The tool carries a considerable volume of data that powers all the indices, country profiles, survey results and analysis. A wide variety of data views meant developing a data structure that ensured optimal speed and accessibility for the end-user. An innovative client-side rendering mechanism was used to achieve a fast and efficient experience.

GoStudent

GoStudent, the #1 rated global tutoring school, conducted a survey spanning seven countries that gained deep insight into education trends from both parent and student perspectives.

Our brief was to work with the static survey data, indices data, and a written report to create an engaging, intuitive, informative, and easy-to-understand interactive experience delivered in an ambitious timescale.

Selected Work - GoStudent

European education survey

The data index and campaign featured in several global publications, including the New York Times and underpins a key report that kicks off Swiss Re&#39;s Climate Resilience Campaign for 2021, leading to the COP26 UN climate change conference later this year.

Shortly after being appointed Swiss Re&#39;s global data design partner, the team asked us to design and develop a new, data-driven experience and a suite of campaign assets that helped raise awareness of the global economic impact of climate change.

Selected Work - Swiss Re

The economics of climate change

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We help businesses and organisations unlock the true value of digital and data.

Digital & Data Design Agency

Latest Project - Swiss Re - Background

Latest Project - Swiss Re - Foreground

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We help businesses and organisations unlock the true value of Digital and Data.

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The world bank

Human capital animation

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Closing the protection gap

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Insurance Information Institute

Dynamic economics dashboard

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Digital toolkit

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Queen mary university london

Research highways

<ol><li>Data strategy</li><li>Data analysis</li><li>Infographics</li><li>Data storytelling</li><li>Dashboards</li><li>Corporate reports</li><li>Interactive Indices / indexes</li><li>Dynamic data tools</li></ol>

<a href="https://soak.co.uk/what-we-do#data-visualisation">Find out more about our data vis services</a>

Data visualisation 

<ol><li>Digital strategy</li><li>Discovery &amp; planning</li><li>UX &amp; prototyping</li><li>Conceptualisation &amp; design</li><li>Branding</li><li>Development &amp; build</li><li>Integration</li><li>Content Management</li></ol>

<a href="https://soak.co.uk/what-we-do#ux-design--development">Find out more about our UX and design services</a>

UX, design & development

<ol><li>Strategy &amp; planning</li><li>Ideation &amp; conceptualisation</li><li>Custom illustration</li><li>Copywriting</li><li>Asset production</li><li>Internal comms</li></ol>

<a href="https://soak.co.uk/what-we-do#campaign--communications">Find out more about our campaign services</a>

Campaign & communications

<ol><li>Conceptualisation</li><li>Illustration</li><li>Storyboarding</li><li>Narrative development</li><li>Animation</li><li>Post-production</li></ol>

<a href="https://soak.co.uk/what-we-do#animation--video">Find out more about our animation services</a>

Animation & video

Our award-winning digital solutions span the simple to the complex. We&#39;re Creative, UX and Data specialists, always user-focused and not restricted by any one single platform or technology.

What we do

The summit was in response to close engagements with governments across Sub-Saharan Africa on the need to highlight the vital role of human capital in economic growth. It was also the first Human Capital Summit at a Heads of States level in Africa. 

Sub-Saharan Africa entered the last decade with significant deficits in human capital (the knowledge, skills, and health that people accumulate over their lives). The region’s average Human Capital Index (HCI) was the lowest across all the world’s regions, with a significant proportion of African countries at the bottom of the HCI.

The animation, ahead of the keynote speaker, was played at the start of the final day and uses a narrative centred around three core themes: Economic Growth, Resilient Systems and Social Cohesion. 

Data visualisation and storytelling are used throughout the sequence to emphasise and clarify important facts and figures that would resonate with the audience of Heads of State, Leaders, and Policymakers. In a first of its kind data-based and policy integrated storytelling, the innovative approach was very well received by online and in-person viewers.

The World Bank asked us to produce a data-driven animation for The Africa Human Capital Heads of State Summit held in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, on the 25th - 26th of July 2023.

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The financial burden of such events is enormous, but despite this threat, many people and businesses remain uninsured, leaving them vulnerable when a natural catastrophe strikes.

Swiss RE asked us to develop an interactive data tool illustrating the protection gap and losses from various natural disasters across five continents and twelve countries.

The interface centres around a stylised (mapbox) 3D globe. Clicking on regions and countries reveals the protection gap and total economic losses over the last ten years with the option to deep-dive into more in-depth analysis.

The fully integrated tool is a perfect example of how information can be more accessible, understandable and interesting using interactive data visualisation and information design.

Catastrophes such as hurricanes, earthquakes, floods and winter storms have become more intense and frequent, threatening people and economies worldwide.

Digital & Data Design Agency

We help businesses and organisations unlock the true value of Digital and Data.

Selected work

The power of play

European education survey

Visualising industrial decarbonisation

The economics of climate change

The power of play

Visualising industrial decarbonisation

European education survey

The economics of climate change

/ Our Clients

/ News and insights

Unlock Your Data's Potential: The Power of Interactive Indices

We've Been Shortlisted!

Exploring The World of Digital Portals

Human capital animation

Closing the protection gap

Dynamic economics dashboard

Digital toolkit

Research highways