We’re talking about those Power BI dashboards with terrible colour schemes and incredibly confusing layouts. You’ve probably grimaced at a few of these before, admit it. You should never build one that makes someone else feel that way. Thankfully, dashboard errors are common and simple to fix. It’s not the end of the world, and you don’t need a graphic design degree.
1. An uneven background design
You do realize that your dashboard was meant to look good? At the very least, stand slightly above the standard flat-effect background. However, you’ll find that your Power BI dashboard design immediately becomes more…interesting when you submit a business photo or are asked to “brighten things up.” And not in a good way. Of course, adding a unique backdrop for your photos could help draw attention. It might, however, occasionally get a little too much attention. Additionally, it might make your visualizations harder to understand, depending on the image.
2. Overly complex
We are aware that a Power BI report cannot contain all of the information on a single slide. Because some businesses are more complex than others, oversimplification may be a very bad idea. But in the process of trying to avoid oversimplifying things, you run the risk of inadvertently complicating your image. For instance, before you even read the data, your brain shuts down.
You might also wonder if all of this information is necessary. Do your recipients care about temperature and wind speed? Or what, you could get by without it?
3. Making use of superfluous images
You may have what most people refer to as an “exhaustive” dashboard, which contains all the information one could require about the topic. I would like to know if you are using different ways to express the same idea. Are you saying the same thing over and over again, or worse?
This usually happens as a result of accidental editing. In cases like those, it is easy to fix. However, that isn’t always the case. You might unavoidably end up with several data categories that contain identical information, which would clog your dashboard and unintentionally confuse your readers.
5. Too much or too little white space
Knowing when to create and where to leave space is half the battle, as it is with any artwork. Consider masterpieces like the Mona Lisa, where your eyes are drawn to the woman’s eyes, hands, and smile. This is not to say that your Power BI dashboard needs to be as exquisite as a work of classical art. However, this illustrates how important space is to the human eye, and its absence could distract viewers.
6. Differences in hues or measurements
There should be a purpose for everything on your dashboard. This holds for both your colours and charts. Even if your colour scheme looks great from a distance, consider what that shade of persimmons means. Does it use the same scale or axis as another visualization, or is it merely a cosmetic one?
