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Zero To Beautiful PBI Best Practices

The document provides tips for creating effective data visualizations, including embracing clarity by avoiding unnecessary formatting and ensuring labels are clear, being consistent in design elements like colors, supporting readability with easily legible text, achieving balance by leaving white space and limiting relationships shown per chart, getting input from others, and pursuing truth by using visualizations that best represent the data relationships.

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Francisco Javier Gomez Hernandez
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35 views16 pages

Zero To Beautiful PBI Best Practices

The document provides tips for creating effective data visualizations, including embracing clarity by avoiding unnecessary formatting and ensuring labels are clear, being consistent in design elements like colors, supporting readability with easily legible text, achieving balance by leaving white space and limiting relationships shown per chart, getting input from others, and pursuing truth by using visualizations that best represent the data relationships.

Uploaded by

Francisco Javier Gomez Hernandez
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Learn data visualization best practices

Modeling, monitoring, and analyzing information are analytical skills. But when it’s time to
share visualizations, think like a designer to get your point across with memorable and
compelling graphics. Mastering design elements:
• Assists you in building a more articulate and persuasive case.
• Helps viewers understand and connect with data, through support for clear insights.
• Encourages people to share and use your visualizations.
Embrace clarity
Just as a strong narrative helps structure a story, having
a purpose behind every aspect of a chart or graph
helps support your point. It’s best to:

• Avoid adding more formatting than is needed to


achieve data clarity.

• Avoid clutter or elements that draw too much (or


too little) focus.

• Label data points and put clear titles on charts


and graphs.
Embrace clarity
Drop shadows and 3D formatting draw Title provides vital context.
focus and add no value to the visual.

Text and background contrast is too low.*


*In Power BI, you can import color schemes, to ensure that casual
users won’t be able to choose certain color combinations.
Be consistent
Inconsistency can make a visualization confusing or
hard to interpret. Be sure to:

• Keep design elements such as color and line


weight uniform.

• Make certain the name and color representing a


particular data point across a dashboard or related
charts stays the same.
Be consistent

The color
representing the
chains differs in
related charts.

Using colors
consistently aids
comprehension.
Support readability
Make words as legible as possible:

• Use light and dark values to create contrast instead of


relying on different colors. Low-contrast text-and-
color combinations don't provide enough visual cues
for people with low vision or color blindness. For
specific guidance, use the WebAIM contrast checker
or Altervista Accessibility Color Wheel.
• Use font types, font sizes, and text orientation that
are easy to read. Avoid serif fonts, which tend to
lessen readability on displays.
• Choose shape fills and backgrounds that support, not
obscure, numbers and text.
Support readability

Use fonts, text sizes, and copy Avoid using italics, all caps, or decorative fonts.
orientations that are clear and legible. Stick to sans-serif fonts, such as Arial and Calibri.

Limit the number of fonts and Avoid shape fills or backgrounds with Lighter-weight fonts are good for chart
font sizes to three in your reports. patterns, as they can distract from the data. elements. Heavier-weight fonts are good
for titles.
Achieve balance
Simplify and make sure that what’s important is easy
to see. Be sure to:

• Leave the right amount of “white space” between


chart elements.

• Show the right number of data relationships per


chart. In general, cap data-set relationships at six
per chart or graph.

• Note that in cultures where people read from left


to right, most viewers focus on the center and
top left of a chart, giving the upper right, lower
left, and lower right areas less visual importance.
Achieve balance
Too many relationships, like several product lines, broken
out by SKU and tracked over more than one time period are
hard to read. Break them out into multiple charts per period.

Avoid crowding.

Displaying the data in two charts helps highlight and


center the important information.
Get input
When you work alone, it’s easy to miss something
important. What seems clear to you could be confusing
to your audience. Top tips:

• Get feedback on your visualization, to see if your


message is getting across—ask a colleague what she
thinks your chart shows, to see how her impression
fits with the underlying data.

• If your message didn’t come through, adjust your


visualization or try a different approach.
Get input
Title should provide more context.

Axis needs a label for context.


Pursue truth
Choose a visualization that clearly shows the
relationships in your data:

• Pick the type of chart that best represents the data.

• Start from zero on the y axis for graphs to avoid


misinterpretation—unless you have a clear reason
not to.
Pursue truth

Pie charts work well for proportion


comparison, but aren’t good for showing
changes across time.

A line chart or combination chart shows


trends well.
Take the next step
For more information on the basics of good visualization principles:
• Grab The DIY Guide to Dazzling Data
• Check out this video by data expert Alberto Cairo.
• Sign up for Power BI and make some beautiful visualizations yourself.

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