[ INVESTMENT_RESEARCH ]

Drag-and-Drop Report Builder

2024Data Pipelines & AutomationCapability

What it is

A visual editor where analysts compose print-ready reports themselves.

Client work is shown without identifying imagery

[ THE_PROBLEM ]

Why this existed

Research desks need branded, consistently laid-out reports, and get them either by occupying a designer or by exporting to a page-layout tool nobody else can open.

[ WHAT_WE_BUILT ]

What we built

A component-based page builder with resizable, draggable elements on A4 page boundaries, inline editing, a colour system, chart components and HTML-to-PDF export — with a layer panel so a complex page stays navigable.

Component-based page builder with resizable, draggable elements
A4 page boundaries for print fidelity
Inline editing
Colour system and chart components
HTML-to-PDF export
Layer panel for navigating complex pages

[ HOW_IT_IS_USED ]

How a company uses it

A research desk produces branded, consistently laid-out reports without a designer in the loop for every issue — and without exporting to InDesign.

Built with

Next.jsCraft.jshtml2pdfRecharts

[ COMMON_QUESTIONS ]

Questions clients ask

Why build on A4 boundaries?

Because these reports get printed and circulated as PDFs. A builder that ignores page boundaries produces documents that break awkwardly across pages, which is exactly the problem it was meant to solve.

Why a layer panel?

Because a real report page has dozens of nested elements and selecting the right one by clicking becomes impossible. The layer panel is what makes the tool usable past the third component.

Does this replace a designer?

It replaces the designer's involvement in every issue. Someone still designs the template and the component set; the analyst then composes within it.

[ RELATED_WORK ]