Tips for a Great Dashboard UI

No matter how design advancements developed in our dynamic world- analytics and data visualization are necessary that no business can do without (unless, of course, you want to profit from it). That is why dashboards with excellent UI design are so important for every business. The advantage of dashboards when working with data is undeniable. It’s a win-win way to present critical metrics clearly and visually. Using dashboards allows you to simplify the perception of complex data sets and assess the current state of affairs at a glance. In other words, dashboards make the secret clear.

In this article, we suggest you get a general understanding of dashboard UI and decide what UI techniques are better for a dashboard user interface design.

Probably, few of us thought that almost from birth, we used dashboards. We received some information, analyzed, made decisions, or even experienced some emotions thanks to them. Yes, a thermometer measures temperature when you are sick; a watch; a speedometer hand – all these devices are dashboards or their elements.

A dashboard is a visual representation of data grouped in meaning on one screen for a more comfortable visual perception of information.

Visualization of data plays an essential role in any business, using different ways to display them – tables, charts, reports, and many others.

The problem is that there is a lot of information around. The information field is not a field anymore but an entire ocean. It is often incredibly challenging to understand. To help businesses understand the data, collect them on one screen, and continuously update them, and there are dashboards – visualization user interfaces.

1) Make it consistent

When you create a dashboard UI design, it’s essential to follow the consistency throughout. It is crucial during the design to remember the rules of interface creation, which can improve typical user behavior. As a result, layouts will be trusted and, through small visual cues, will begin to encourage visitors to use repeatable interaction templates, which in the end will allow anyone to interact with the site much faster. Your design must be flawless on all devices. It doesn’t matter what screen the user will interact with. It can be a massive ‘computer screen’ or a small smartphone screen or wristwatch screen; the main thing is that all the monitor panels are uniform in terms of both appearance and functionality.

Applying the consistency advice for the dashboards, you should follow the golden rule. Start designing from the smallest screen because it helps create visually attractive spaces for the most critical information and makes an excellent dashboard UI design, extending the great web or application UX design capabilities.

2) Place the critical data first

First of all, you must convey the most essential information. Important information reaches the user in the right and convenient form thanks to the visual design.

Here are some tips that are worth remembering:

• Place the information in the center, as users first perceive the information in the center, and then left and right;
• You should not make the font size more than 18 pixels;
• Use the card layout; it will provide short data and their classification, as well as scale and flexibility;
• Highlight the information with a characteristic color.

You can read more about UI colors in our article on how to choose UI colors for mobile and web design wisely.

3) Make it adjustable

It is important to use a one-size-fits-all approach to designing a dashboard. This is because we have multiple user roles with different needs and priorities; secondly, the design must be scalable. It is imperative to provide users with a design that can adapt to individual business needs – it can be as simple as adding or removing a column, or as complex as adding a new module.

No matter the complexity, a good dashboard design should always allow for easy customization.

• Try using simple drag and drop for a custom toolbar;
• Allow light changes as add/remove;
• Different color themes whenever possible;
• Give different options for viewing/loading data.

4) Make it simple

People get distracted, and it’s easy to overlook data when there is too much going on.

A few tips to keep in mind when designing your board:

• Choose multiple colors for your board;
• Choose one font for each client. Consistency is the key to preserving information;
• Keep images to a minimum. Add the customer logo if needed;
• Use size to express more important data points. Larger widgets attract more attention than smaller ones.

5) Choose the right fonts

For both app or web UI and UX design, the proper font is of the utmost importance. When creating a dashboard, use no more than two font styles to make your UI dashboard design more legible.

You need to create a visual hierarchy (in the style of an inverted pyramid) with all the written content presented in the toolbar. You can do this by putting the most essential ideas in the largest font and probably in a distinctive color, rather than the vital information in smaller font size.

When designing the toolbar’s user interface and user interface, it is very important to maintain consistency in style and font size. It is highly recommended to use no more than two font styles. With minimal variations in the font style, the control panel looks neater.

6) Consider suitable colors

Dashboard colors are much more important than you think.

Just as traffic lights are sent to us through red lights to signal us to stop and green lights to let us drive, the psychology of color is also important in user interface panels.

A useful dashboard must be designed with colors in mind, and any potential confusion must be avoided.

Points to remember:

• Don’t overdo the colors you use;
• Try using contrasting colors for better visibility.