Developed by German psychologists, the Gestalt (German word for form, shape, or figure) principles describe how we interpret the complexities of the world around us. 

Understanding how the human brain processes visual information helps guide our decision-making and enables us to create more effective and informative visualisations.

The human brain is excellent at recognising patterns and pattern anomalies. Data visualisation underpins our cognitive processes and taps into our visual system, making the complex understandable and accessible.

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Using science to help influence our approach is hugely beneficial, but other practical considerations allow us to define and scope each project in detail. 

Mission:

<ul><li>Why am I creating this visualisation?</li><li>Who is it for?</li><li>What do they need to understand?</li><li>What actions do I need to enable? </li><li>How will it be consumed? </li><li>What are the most important takeaways? </li></ul>

Content:

<ul><li>Is the data robust and correctly formatted? </li><li>Have I defined the metrics that really matter?</li><li>Have I identified the crucial relationships? </li><li>Will interactivity improve the experience? </li><li>Frequency of updates? </li><li>Is there a story to tell? </li></ul>

Structure &amp; Design:

<ul><li>Which visualisation techniques and chart types will provide the most focus and clarity? </li><li>How do we highlight what matters and remove the noise? </li><li>Which technologies and libraries will we use? </li></ul>

Delivery:

<ul><li>What levels of integration are needed? </li><li>How will we manage/automate updates? </li><li>Deployment workflows? </li><li>Hosting protocols? </li></ul>

Of course, data visualisation is nothing new (see our story about <a href="https://soak.co.uk/news-and-insights/ada-lovelace-the-mother-of-modern-computing?internal">Ada Lovelace</a>). However, time-poor audiences with ever-decreasing attention spans now make it an essential part of your customer experience and communications strategy. 

Technology has revolutionised how we can analyse, organise and visualise data in recent years, and this trend shows no sign of slowing down. 

Working with an international client base, we are well-versed in deploying and integrating our data solutions into an array of IT infrastructures and have the <a href="https://soak.co.uk/showcase?internal">case studies</a> to prove it. 

If you would like to harness the power of your data, please <a href="https://soak.co.uk/contact?internal">get in touch</a>; we&#39;d love to hear from you - The opportunities are endless!

Why a picture can be worth a thousand words

As a specialist <a href="https://soak.co.uk/data-visualisation?internal">data visualisation agency</a>, we are armed with a wealth of expertise and experience, offering a distinct advantage in transforming your raw data into intuitive and visually appealing representations. By collaborating closely with our clients, we craft visual narratives that speak directly to your unique requirements and target audiences.

One of the primary reasons to commission SOAK as a specialist data visualisation agency is our unparalleled expertise. The field of data visualisation demands a deep understanding of data analysis, design principles, and human perception. We have a comprehensive knowledge of cutting-edge techniques, tools, and best practices, ensuring that any visualisation project we undertake delivers accurate, informative and visually engaging outcomes.

Effective data-vis serves as a vehicle for enhanced communication. Complex data, often overwhelming and perplexing on its own, can be transformed into intuitive visuals that convey key insights and trends with remarkable clarity. Through strategic design choices and attention to detail, SOAK helps organisations communicate their message more effectively to stakeholders, clients, and decision-makers, enabling informed choices to be made against reliable data.

Harnessing expertise and unlocking the power of visual communication.

Deciphering complex data sets and conveying insights in a clear and compelling manner has become a crucial challenge for organisations across industries. As <a href="https://soak.co.uk/data-visualisation?internal">data visualisation</a> is established as a powerful tool for effective communication, forward-thinking organisations turn to specialists like SOAK to unlock the true potential of their data.

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We recognise that no two organisations are the same, so we work closely with clients to understand their data, goals, and desired outcomes. This collaborative approach ensures that the visualisations produced are tailored precisely to address our client&#39;s unique challenges and objectives, providing meaningful and actionable insights.

The true power of data visualisation lies in its ability to facilitate data exploration and analysis. By transforming complex datasets into interactive visual representations, we have empowered organisations to uncover hidden patterns, correlations, and trends that might otherwise have remained elusive. 

Our expertise is in selecting the most appropriate visualisations and interactive features to enhance data analysis combining that with aesthetics and design to capture and retain attention. We excel in the art of visual design, leveraging appropriate colour schemes, typography, layout, and other design devices to create visually stunning and impactful solutions. 

Commissioning SOAK as a specialist data visualisation firm also offers a time and cost-efficient solution for our clients. Developing high-quality data visualisations requires significant time, effort, and technical expertise. By partnering with us, our clients can tap into our hard earned expertise, saving valuable resources and freeing up internal teams for other critical tasks. We efficiently handle the entire process, from data analysis and design to implementation and maintenance (should you need us to), ensuring that you can make the most of your data within the constraints of time and budget.

See some of our <a href="https://soak.co.uk/showcase?internal">client work</a> or how SOAK can help your organisation.

Why organisations should entrust data visualisation to specialist companies

Great data design makes data accessible and can transform a business or organisation on many levels, delivering improved understanding, informed decision-making, efficiency, and profitability. 

The fundamentals of great data design stem from having a coherent strategy, a clear understanding of the brief and a team that can thoroughly interrogate the data to find trends, patterns and surface information that may otherwise remain hidden.

Our designers and data engineers understand the mechanics of data and the vast vocabulary of charting styles, libraries and 3rd party software applications that enable us to design and integrate it as effectively and efficiently as possible.

At a glance, <a href="https://soak.co.uk/data-visualisation?internal">data visualisation</a> is about making data work harder. But in reality, it&#39;s much more than that. Data visualisation involves transforming raw data into meaningful insights that can be easily understood by others.

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Many of the data experiences we create must also be contextualised or require a strong supporting narrative. Data storytelling can be a compelling, immersive and emotive way to engage an audience whilst surfacing important information and statistics.

Suppose the <a href="https://soak.co.uk/data-visualisation?internal">data visualisation</a> or tool is interactive. If this is the case, the data can be further developed and underpinned with an experience that facilitates easy exploration and optimised levels of interactivity across all touchpoints. 

So, much like the data itself, the solutions we design and develop come in many shapes and sizes. They&#39;re often bespoke and always optimised to deliver information in the most accessible, attractive and innovative ways possible.

Data visualisation and design

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

Queen Mary University of London

HSBC

Harvard University

GoStudent

Games Workshop

AmDocs

Selected work

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.

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The economics of climate change

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

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, 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.

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European education survey

The fluid, scrolly-telling experience guides users through a series of visually-driven narratives that surface key findings using data visualisation underpinned by case studies focussing on practical, real-world situations.

We’ve been working closely with TotalJobs to bring their latest Social Mobility research study to life. Partnering with The Social Mobility Foundation, the research delves deep into the challenges and hurdles faced by people from lower socioeconomic backgrounds when applying for jobs in the UK.

The campaign’s primary goal was to help raise awareness and provide practical, data-driven advice to employers and recruiters.

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Data-driven scrollytelling

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

Digital & data design agency

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

Innovative services and solutions that improve communication, increase revenue and connect brands with their audiences.

<ul><li>Digital strategy</li><li>UX and design</li><li>Development &amp; integrations</li><li>Digital campaigns</li></ul>

Digital

digital

Engage, educate and improve business efficiency by harnessing the power of your data.

<ul><li>Data strategy</li><li>Data design &amp; visualisation</li><li>Data tools &amp; animations</li><li>Reporting &amp; presentations</li></ul>

Data

data

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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Human capital animation

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

/ What we do

Selected work

The economics of climate change

European education survey

The power of play

Data-driven scrollytelling

The economics of climate change

The power of play

European education survey

Data-driven scrollytelling

/ Our Clients

/ News and insights

Why a picture can be worth a thousand words

Why organisations should entrust data visualisation to specialist companies

Data visualisation and design

/ Just Launched

Human capital animation

Closing the protection gap