From Numbers to Narratives: 6 Pro Tips for Dashboard Design

• Growing Data: With technology today, we're gathering data faster and in huge amounts.
• Making Sense of It: Dashboards help us understand this data by showing it visually.
• Tools Everywhere: From simple spreadsheets to tools like Power BI, there are many ways to make dashboards nowadays.
• Easy But Tricky: Just because anyone can make a dashboard doesn't mean it's always helpful.
• The Challenge: Without the right approach, dashboards can be confusing or even misleading.

This Guide: I'll give you 6 expert tips to create a great dashboard and walk you through a real example from start to finish.

1. Understand the Context:(Know Your "Why" and "Who") Before you start drawing fancy charts, stop and think: Why are you making this dashboard and who's gonna look at it?

Basically, you need answers to:

• Who's gonna use this dashboard?
• What do they need to learn from it?

Let's say you're making a dashboard for a big boss. That's gonna look different than the one you'd make for the folks working in sales, right?

And if you're scratching your head, not sure why you're even making a dashboard, maybe take a step back and think if you need one.

For instance, picture this: You're a school counselor trying to help students figure out college and careers. You've got some cool job data from a website called Glassdoor. You want to make a dashboard that shows what jobs are out there, where they're located, and how much they might earn.

So, who's this dashboard for? Students are trying to pick a college and career path. And

what's the main point? To show them potential jobs and how much they could earn in those jobs.

2. Choose an Appropriate Visual Data:(Pick the Right Info)

Once you know who's looking at your dashboard and what they need to learn, you've got another big question: What's the best info to show them?

You might want to dump all the info you've got onto that dashboard, but hold on! Only show what really matters. It's like when you pack for a trip - you don’t want to overstuff your suitcase with things you won’t need.

Think of it like this:

Dashboard Cartoon

Funny, right? But here's the thing: Making something short and sweet is actually harder than going on and on. There's a quote that goes something like:

"If I had more time, I would have written a shorter note."

So, when you're making that dashboard, take the time to keep it simple.

Back to our example with the students. Let's say you've got info about:

• The kind of job (like Design, Teaching, or Engineering)
• Specific job titles (like Designer, Teacher, or Engineer)
• Where the job is (like Boston or New York)
• How much they might earn
• If the job's getting more popular or not

Students usually have an idea of the job area they like, but might not know how it stacks up to others. If they're into, say, Design, they'd wanna know where Designers get paid the most. Maybe they'd even think about studying there! They'd also wanna know what specific Design jobs are booming.

So, we'd probably want to show:

• How much each job area pays, on average
• For a chosen job area, which cities pay the most
• For that job area, the hottest job titles right now

3. Choose effective visuals (Picking the Right Pictures for Your Info):-

After you've got your data ready, it's time to think about how you're going to show it. You've got to pick the right kind of pictures (or charts) to make it easy for everyone to get the point.

Usually, these few charts do the trick:

• Bar & column charts: Like a race, you can easily see who's in the lead.
• Line charts: Picture a journey. Where did you start? Where are you going?
• Scatterplots: Connect the dots! How do two things relate?
• Maps: Who doesn’t love maps? They show info by location.
• Tables & heatmaps: Think of these as organized lists with cool colors.

Back to our example. We need to pick the right charts for:

1. What each job type pays.
2. What cities pay the best for a chosen job type.
3. The top 3 job titles that are growing fast in a chosen job type.

Guess what? Bar charts will work for all of these. They're like the Swiss Army knife of charts.

Now, some might think, "Using the same chart repeatedly? Boring!" But here's the thing: making stuff look fancy shouldn't come at the cost of clarity. It's like using big words when small ones will do.

Everyone knows bar charts. That's a good thing. You don't want people scratching their heads, trying to figure out what they're looking at.

So, I made these charts using Excel and used "Industry" as a filter. Oh, and a quick heads-up: Excel made a tiny mistake on the YoY % Growth chart. It didn't start at 0%. We need to fix that so everything's on the same page.

4. Eliminate clutter: (Clear the Mess)

• We've got our charts, but sometimes they can look messy because of "clutter". Clutter is stuff in our visuals that doesn't really help anyone understand better.
• Enter the Gestalt Principles of Visual Perception. Think of them as our guide to tidy up our visuals. They help us know how people see and group things. One cool tip is called closure. It means if we see a bunch of things close together, our brain kind of "fills in the gaps". So, if we ditch the borders around our charts, people can still tell they're separate charts.
• Want your main points to pop? Here’s how: Toss out those tiny gridlines or any busy backgrounds. This makes our main info stand out more. Make use of empty spaces or whitespace. How? Make the bars and the gaps between them even. Plus, it'll show all the labels for the “Average Salary by Industry” chart. Pop on clear labels and keep everything lined up [alignment]. This just makes it easier for everyone to get what they're looking at.
• After using these tips, our dashboard will look cleaner and more polished!

5. Focus attention: (Think Like a Designer:)

• Why focus matters: Viewers get lost when there's too much to see. Help them by highlighting what's essential.
• Using position: People often read in "Z" or "F" shapes. Start your info at the top left, where eyes typically begin.
• Size matters: Make important charts bigger. For instance, a larger “Salary by Industry” chart will naturally draw attention.
• Ordering can help: Sort bars from highest to lowest, making it easier to compare and understand.
• Play with colors: Use bold colors for key data and muted ones for less critical info. For instance, highlight a chosen industry with a bright shade.
• Labels are clues: Add labels only to the most relevant data points. This way, viewers instantly know what's crucial.
• Use lines for clarity: In the "Salary by City" section, an average line can show which cities perform above or below average.
• Guide to the end: After they've taken in the main details, viewers should end up at the growth section. Sorting and labels can guide them there.

When done right, these tactics steer your viewers smoothly from start to finish, making your dashboard both informative and user-friendly.

6. Tell a story (Craft a Narrative):

• Visuals + Words: While visuals capture attention, the right words give context. Both are needed to tell a full story.
• Start with context: Remember Step 1? It’s now time to bring that context to the forefront. Your dashboard isn't just data; it's a story waiting to be told.
• Rethink the title: Instead of just "US Jobs Dashboard," try "Navigating the US Job Market: Opportunities and Insights."
• Use subtitles: These can guide the viewer. Think of them as chapters in a book, leading the reader from one point to the next.
• Guide, don't dictate: Your words should guide viewers, allowing them to conclude while providing enough context to understand the visuals.

• With the right touches of text, your dashboard isn’t just a collection of charts—it's a narrative, offering insights and guiding decisions.

To recap:

1. Understand the Context:(Know Your "Why" and "Who")
2. Choose an Appropriate Visual Data:(Pick the Right Info)
3. Choose effective visuals: (Picking the Right Pictures for Your Info)
4. Eliminate clutter: (Clear the Mess)
5. Focus attention: (Think Like a Designer:)
6. Tell a story: (Craft a Narrative)