Dashboard Design Principles

What You'll Learn

• Dashboard design principles
• Layout best practices
• Color and typography
• User experience

Key Design Principles

1. Clarity Over Cleverness

Keep it simple!

• Clear > fancy
• Useful > beautiful
• Fast > complex

Bad: 20 visuals, all colors, 3D charts Good: 5-7 visuals, clean, easy to understand

2. Most Important Info First

Top-left = prime real estate

• Put key metrics here
• Eye naturally goes there
• Cards for KPIs

Layout flow: Top-left > Top-right > Bottom

3. Consistent Design

Use:

• Same fonts throughout
• Consistent colors
• Aligned visuals
• Standard spacing

Looks professional!

Layout Best Practices

F-Pattern Layout

Users read in F shape:

• Top row: Key metrics (cards)
• Left column: Filters/slicers
• Center: Main charts
• Right: Supporting detail

Grid System

Use grid: View > Snap to grid

Benefits:

• Aligned visuals
• Professional look
• Easier to maintain

Common grid: 12 columns

White Space

Don't crowd!

• Leave gaps between visuals
• Padding around edges
• Let visuals breathe

White space = clarity

Mobile Consideration

Design for mobile too:

• Simplified layout
• Larger touch targets
• Vertical scrolling OK
• Test on phone!

Color Usage

Limit Your Palette

3-5 colors maximum

• Brand colors
• Accent color
• Gray for neutral

Too many = chaos

Color Meaning

Green: Good, growth, positive Red: Bad, decline, alert Blue: Neutral, information Gray: Reference, inactive

Be consistent!

Accessibility

Colorblind friendly:

• Don't rely on red/green alone
• Use patterns/icons too
• Test with colorblind simulator

High contrast: Text readable on background

Typography

Font Hierarchy

Titles: 20-24pt, bold Subtitles: 14-16pt, semibold Body: 10-12pt, regular Labels: 8-10pt

Font Choice

Use 1-2 fonts max

• Segoe UI (Power BI default)
• Or your brand font
• Consistent throughout

Avoid:

• Comic Sans (unprofessional)
• Too many fonts
• Fancy scripts (hard to read)

Visual Hierarchy

Size Matters

Important = bigger

• Key KPIs: Large cards
• Main chart: Takes most space
• Supporting: Smaller

Grouping

Related visuals together:

• Sales metrics in one area
• Filters on left
• Time series at bottom

Visual boxes: Use background color to group

Dashboard Types

Executive Dashboard

Focus: High-level KPIs Visuals: 3-5 cards, 2-3 charts Updates: Daily/weekly Users: Executives, managers

Operational Dashboard

Focus: Day-to-day metrics Visuals: Real-time data, tables Updates: Hourly/real-time Users: Operations team

Analytical Dashboard

Focus: Deep analysis Visuals: Complex charts, drill-down Updates: As needed Users: Analysts, data team

Best Practices

Do:

• Start with mockup/sketch
• Get user feedback early
• Test with real users
• Iterate based on usage
• Keep it simple!

Don't:

• Cram everything on one page
• Use all available visuals
• Ignore mobile view
• Forget about performance
• Make assumptions about users

Try This Exercise

Design a sales dashboard:

1. Sketch layout first (paper/whiteboard)
2. Top row: 4 cards (Revenue, Orders, Customers, Avg Order)
3. Left: Date and Region slicers
4. Center: Sales trend line chart
5. Bottom: Sales by product bar chart
6. Format consistently
7. Test on mobile

Common Mistakes

Too much information: Information overload

Inconsistent design: Mix of styles and colors

Poor labeling: Unclear what metrics mean

No white space: Cramped and cluttered

Wrong chart types: Pie chart for 20 items

Next Steps

Learn about Report Layout & Navigation!

Tip: Good design = invisible. Users focus on data, not the dashboard!