The design and layout of your dashboard can affect how your viewers perceive the data you share. For this reason, it's important to design a dashboard that is as easy to interpret as possible. Below are our recommended ways to achieve this:
Be clear about what you want to achieve, as your dashboard's purpose will inform its design.
Everything should support your dashboard's intent, so only include what’s important and avoid including unnecessary metrics.
An ideal visualization is understood quickly, so use the most efficient visualization for your data.
Avoid decorative elements that don’t communicate data by considering the data-ink ratio.
Make it clear what’s most important by using size and position to show hierarchy.
Group related metrics together to clearly show their relationship.
Provide additional context with labels, comparisons, goals, or status indicators to help your viewers understand whether a number is good, bad, normal, or unusual.
Keep labels concise and self-explanatory.
Too much detail may make minor changes seem major, so consider rounding your numbers.
Be consistent across the dashboard by using the same visualizations and layouts so that your viewers can easily make comparisons.
Remember that your dashboard is for people, so it's okay to break the rules if it helps your team engage with the dashboard.
Keep evolving your dashboard over time to encourage the right behavior.
Interested in learning more? Visit our guide on how to design and build a great dashboard or watch the video below.