23. Report and Dashboard Design Principles
23.2 Layout
- Z-pattern / F-pattern: people read from top-left to right, then down. Place the most important KPIs (cards) at the top-left/top row, trends in the middle, details at the bottom.
- Overview → detail: summary page first, then deeper pages (by city, dark store, product, customer), then detail tables via drill through.
- Grid and alignment: use View › Gridlines and Snap to grid; keep equal spacing between visuals; align edges.
- Less is more: roughly 6–8 visuals per page is a practical upper limit for readability (and performance).
- Consistency: same position for slicers and titles on every page; same colour for the same meaning.
- Whitespace: empty space is not wasted – it helps the eye separate groups.
HeaderReport title · date range · logo · navigation buttons | |||
KPI cardTotal Sales | KPI cardTotal Orders | KPI cardAOV (₹) | KPI cardAvg Delivery Time |
TrendLine chart: Sales vs Sales LY by month | ComparisonBar chart: Sales by Category | ||
GeographyMap or bar: Orders by City | DetailMatrix: Dark Stores with KPIs | ||
Kagdavar layout aadhi kadhun bagha – mag Power BI madhe banvayla khup vel vachto.
Ravindra Bagale's Tip
A common layout mistake is scattering visuals without alignment, so the eye doesn't know where to start. Put the most important KPIs at the top-left, align everything to a grid, and keep consistent gaps. Use View › Gridlines and Snap to grid. Remember this rule.
Ravindra Bagale's Tip – मराठी
Layout मधली एक common चूक म्हणजे alignment शिवाय visuals इकडे-तिकडे ठेवणं, त्यामुळे डोळ्यांना कुठून सुरुवात करायची ते कळत नाही. सगळ्यात महत्त्वाचे KPIs वर डावीकडे ठेवा, सगळं grid ला align करा, आणि अंतरं सारखी ठेवा. View › Gridlines आणि Snap to grid वापरा. हा नियम लक्षात ठेवा.
Ravindra Bagale's Tip – हिंदी
Layout की एक common गलती है बिना alignment के visuals इधर-उधर बिखेर देना, जिससे आँख को पता नहीं चलता कि कहाँ से शुरू करे. सबसे ज़रूरी KPIs ऊपर बाईं ओर रखो, सब कुछ grid पर align करो, और gaps एक जैसे रखो. View › Gridlines और Snap to grid इस्तेमाल करो. यह नियम याद रखो.