Interactive Prospectus Design
Create a richer digital prospectus experience for prospective students
An interactive prospectus can do far more than reproduce a printed prospectus online.
It can help prospective students explore courses, understand your institution and take the next step.
An interactive prospectus combines editorial design with digital functionality to create a more engaging, flexible and useful experience.
Students can explore courses, departments, facilities, accommodation, campus life and student stories through a browser-based publication that can include video, animation, interactive navigation, galleries, forms and direct calls to action.
At Toast, we design interactive prospectuses around the student journey rather than simply adding effects to a conventional publication.
That means considering what prospective students want to know, how they browse and what should happen when they are ready to enquire, book an open day or apply.
What makes a prospectus genuinely interactive?
Interactivity should help students discover, understand and engage with the information that matters to them.
A good interactive prospectus gives users control over the experience. They can move between course information, student stories, facilities, videos and supporting content without having to read the publication in a fixed order.
Interactive navigation
Make large amounts of prospectus content easier to explore.
- Course and subject navigation
- Clickable contents and menus
- Jump links between sections
- Tabbed and layered content
- Expandable information
- Guided student journeys
Good navigation helps different audiences get to the information that is relevant to them quickly.
Best for: large prospectuses, multiple course areas, undergraduate and postgraduate content, international students and institutions with complex information structures.
Rich interactive content
Bring the student experience to life with content that print cannot provide.
- Video
- Student interviews
- Campus and accommodation tours
- Image galleries
- Interactive maps and diagrams
- Animation
- Forms and enquiries
- Open day and application links
These features help prospective students understand what studying with you might actually feel like.
Best for: student recruitment, open day campaigns, international recruitment, course promotion and institutions looking to create a stronger digital experience.
What can an interactive prospectus do?
The value of interactivity is not the technology itself. It is what it enables prospective students to discover and do.
| Capability | Conventional PDF Prospectus | Interactive Prospectus |
| Clickable navigation | Limited | ✓ |
| Course navigation | Limited | ✓ |
| Embedded video | Limited / linked | ✓ |
| Student stories | Static | ✓ |
| Interactive campus content | ✓ | |
| Image galleries | Limited | ✓ |
| Expandable content | ✓ | |
| Forms and enquiries | Linked | ✓ |
| Open day booking links | ✓ | ✓ |
| Browser-based experience | ✓ | |
| Mobile-friendly interaction | Limited | ✓ |
We focus on interactions that improve discovery, engagement and conversion.
What should an interactive prospectus help students discover?
A prospectus should help prospective students build a clear picture of the course, institution and student experience.
Depending on your recruitment objectives, it could help them explore:
Courses
Make it easy to explore subject areas, course options, entry requirements and routes through your academic offer.
Student experience
Show what studying with you is actually like through stories, interviews, imagery and video.
Campus and facilities
Bring teaching spaces, accommodation, social areas and specialist facilities to life.
Outcomes
Communicate career opportunities, employability, progression routes, industry links and graduate success.
Why choose you
Use student voices, statistics, accreditations, rankings, facilities and distinctive strengths to build confidence.
What happens next
Give students clear routes to enquire, book an open day, request more information or apply.
Interactive prospectus design starts with the student journey
We do not begin by asking what we can animate.
We begin by looking at prospective students, the decisions they are making and the questions they need answered.
That allows us to use interactivity where it adds genuine value and keep the experience simple where it does not.
- Who is the prospectus for?
- What courses are they considering?
- What questions do they need answered?
- What information helps them compare institutions?
- Where would video, galleries or interactive content add value?
- What should they do when they are ready to take the next step?
How can an interactive prospectus be used?
An interactive prospectus can become a central part of your recruitment activity.
Because it is browser-based and easy to share, it can support campaigns, open days, enquiries, outreach and international recruitment.
Student recruitment campaigns
Use the prospectus as a destination from paid campaigns, email, social media and course marketing.
Open days
Give visitors a richer way to explore courses, facilities and student life before, during or after an open day.
Website and course pages
Link directly to relevant sections or embed interactive prospectus content within your wider digital recruitment journey.
Schools and outreach
Give careers advisers, teachers and prospective students a single, engaging resource they can explore independently.
International recruitment
Use video, student stories and visual content to help overseas students understand the institution without visiting in person.
Email follow-up
Send prospective students a relevant, engaging publication after an enquiry, event or open day registration.
Course launches
Create focused interactive prospectuses for new courses, specialist schools, postgraduate study or specific recruitment campaigns.
Turn an existing prospectus into a richer digital experience
If you already have a printed prospectus or PDF, it can provide a useful starting point.
Existing editorial content, photography, student stories and course information can often be reused.
However, simply placing the same pages online misses much of the opportunity.
A digital prospectus can reorganise content around student needs, introduce better navigation, add video and galleries, surface supporting information at the right time and connect readers directly to live course pages, open day booking and application routes.
We can assess your existing prospectus and identify opportunities to add:
- Interactive course navigation →
- Video and student stories →
- Campus and accommodation content →
- Expandable information →
- Open day and enquiry routes →
- or a complete redesign around the digital student journey
Designed for digital student recruitment from the start
The strongest interactive prospectuses are planned differently from printed publications.
We consider structure, navigation, media, interaction and calls to action before the visual design is finalised, so the finished publication feels intuitive rather than like a PDF with digital features added afterwards.
That means thinking about:
- Student journeys
- Course and subject navigation
- Mobile-first browsing
- Video and student stories
- Campus and accommodation content
- Expandable information
- Accessibility
- Open day and enquiry routes
- Links to live course and application pages
The result is a prospectus designed to be explored, not simply read.
Our interactive prospectus design process
Interactive prospectuses need editorial thinking, UX and design to work together.
We combine prospectus design experience with digital design and development so the finished publication works as one coherent recruitment tool.
01. Discovery
We understand your audiences, recruitment objectives, course structure, existing content and wider admissions journey.
02. Content and student journey
We organise courses, student stories, facilities and supporting content around the way prospective students browse.
03. Interaction planning
We identify where navigation, video, galleries, animation, forms and other functionality will improve the experience.
04. Design
We create the visual language, page layouts, navigation and interactive states around your brand and recruitment objectives.
05. Development
We build and test the interactive functionality across appropriate screen sizes and devices.
06. Launch
Your prospectus is prepared for campaigns, your website, open days, outreach and direct sharing with prospective students.
Why choose Toast for your interactive prospectus?
We combine nearly 30 years of publication design experience with digital design and development expertise
Interactive prospectus design is about much more than adding digital effects.
The publication still needs strong editorial structure, clear communication and considered design.
We bring together:
- Prospectus and publication design
- Information architecture
- Student journey planning
- Digital UX
- Interactive design
- Video and motion integration
- Brand understanding
- Web development
We can work from an existing prospectus, website content and recruitment material or develop a completely new digital publication.
The objective is to create something that feels useful, engaging and easy to explore while supporting your wider recruitment goals.
When should you choose an interactive prospectus?
Interactivity is particularly valuable when a conventional prospectus cannot communicate the whole student experience effectively.
Choose an interactive prospectus when you want students to explore courses, facilities, campus life and supporting content in a more flexible and engaging way.
It is especially useful when video, student stories, galleries, interactive navigation and direct routes to open days or applications can improve the recruitment journey.
Frequently asked questions about Interactive Prospectuses
If you cannot find an answer on this page, get in touch and we will be happy to help
What is an interactive prospectus?
An interactive prospectus is a browser-based digital publication that combines prospectus content with features such as interactive navigation, video, galleries, animation, forms and direct calls to action.
How is an interactive prospectus different from a PDF?
A PDF is primarily a document format. An interactive prospectus is designed as a digital experience, allowing students to move through content more freely and engage with richer media and functionality.
Can an interactive prospectus include video?
Yes. Campus films, student interviews, course videos, facility tours and other video content can be embedded directly into the experience.
Can students navigate directly to specific courses?
Yes. We can create course, subject and department navigation so users can move directly to the content that is relevant to them.
Can it link to open day bookings and applications?
Yes. Open day registration, enquiries, course pages, application systems and other recruitment calls to action can be integrated into the journey.
Will an interactive prospectus work on mobile?
It can be designed responsively for desktop, tablet and mobile, with touch interaction and smaller screens considered throughout the design process.
Can you convert our existing printed prospectus?
Yes. We can reuse existing content and assets, but we will usually recommend adapting the structure so the digital version takes proper advantage of navigation, media and interaction.
Do we need lots of interactive features?
No. The aim is not to add as many effects as possible. We recommend the interactions that make content easier to explore, bring the student experience to life or make it easier for prospective students to take the next step.
Create a prospectus students can actually explore
If your prospectus needs to do more than reproduce printed pages online, we can create an interactive experience built around prospective students and the recruitment journey.
From course navigation and student stories to video, galleries, open day links and richer browser-based content, we will recommend the functionality that genuinely improves the experience.
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