When it comes to data visualization, it is obvious that if you frequently work with data, creating an actionable and interactive Dashboard has become your recurring task. Therefore, no sooner or later, data visualization is a skill that you should be adept at. 

A dashboard is where your data is told through visualization. On top of that, it is where your audiences grasp your stories and points to give out decisions and predictions. So, when you start working with your Dashboard, there are a few tips you should take into account to create an interactive dashboard, for seamless translation.

Let’s get started! 

Know who is your audience

When you complete forming your Dashboard, it seems to you that it is beautiful with highlighted text, radiant colors, and impressive pictures. But the fact is that it comes from your point of view. In some circumstances, you build your dashboards with a design based on your hobbies and personal aesthetic. And then you let yourself down because you can’t impress the audience throughout your data visualization. Hence, it’s so vital that you understand deeply about your audience. Start by asking yourself some questions about the position, working rules, and habits of your audience. Don’t put your Dashboard to waste because you don’t know who is your targeted audience 

Let me give out an example. You will create a dashboard to tell a story with your CEO, who is the decision-maker and doesn’t have too much time. She doesn’t like unrelated points, instead, she is into focusing on a Dashboard that goes straight to the points so that she could get prompt answers. Capturing this context, a dashboard should include crucial metrics that speak of its volume, trending chart, and filtered data.

Researching carefully some traits of your audience is certainly important. By doing so, you can save a great amount of time and effort when creating Dashboard, and the ultimate Dashboard release is incredibly efficient. 

Select proper KPIs

It can’t be denied that there is a sea of data used and processed daily. The ultimate purpose of your data visualization is to keep it easy to understand and come to solutions. Hence, you should choose the KIPs that matter. Don’t clutter your dashboard with irrelevant data which confuses your audiences.

Featuring actionable KPIs that are in line with your goal and your target audience is very important. By including intended and important metrics, you can find it easy to showcase your visual demonstrations with relevant insights based on specific spheres of your enterprise. By doing so, the audience will not be confused, and easy to view and come to quick solutions. 

Choose the right Data Visualization

Once you identify your target audience and data featured in Dashboard, it’s time to illustrate your data in proper visuals. Remember, this is very crucial to make an interactive dashboard. Imagine that you made an effort to sift through your important KIPs but you depict it with the wrong Data Visualization. How hard it is for your audience to cater to your point or even worse, they get misleading expressions and may give wrong decisions.

To decide which chart is the best compatible, you may know the usage of charts in data visualization. There are many kinds of charts such as bar charts, pie charts, line charts, and so on. Bar charts are used for comparisons. Pie charts are good for simple compositions with simple datasets. Line charts are well-used for showing trends,…

Carefully consider design elements in Dashboard

Your Dashboard needs to be impressive. Therefore, don’t ignore design elements to have a well-designed dashboard that impresses your audience. 

The first thing you should carefully consider is colors. Use tailored colors that depict your Charts. Some data analysts tend to overuse colors that sometimes make your Dashboard clustered and hard to digest. Below are some tips you should refer to:

• Don’t use too many colors without intention because it makes your audience won’t know which should be focused on first.
• Be consistent with colors that illustrate the same categories in different charts. For example, you assign blue for category 1 in the bar chart, and you have to do the same in the line chart.
• Obey color associations. For instance, red is used to describe negative things while green is for the positive

Another design that has an impact on your Dashboard is text. Try to select a suitable text font. There are a vast amount of text fonts you can take into consideration. You may choose the font that matches your Dashboard, is easy to read, or matches your branding’s project.

Moreover, don’t forget your title and annotation. They help the audience to grasp quickly what you intend to say throughout your data visualization. But these are not enough, make sure to write concise but sufficient text. Don’t make your Dashboard clustered with too much redundant text. Let’s check many times to ensure your text readability.

Keep evolving your Dashboard

When your Dashboard is finished and it meets all of your requirements, it can be considered a success. However, the digital world is ever-changing and you must continuously improve your Dashboard. Don’t let your inconsistencies become a serious hindrance to the success of your efforts.

Let's do these things regularly with your Dashboard:

• Asking for feedback from your stakeholders to better improve the layout, design, and balance of KPIs
• Never stop monitoring KPIs, tracking them regularly, and modify your strategy if necessary
• Stick close to your project to identify potential bottlenecks and make data-driven plans in case urgently.

What’s next? Keep reading 5 Dashboard Design Practices for data analysts to leverage your data visualization skill from today.

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