The concept of dashboard has existed for many years. However, the connotation of this concept has undergone great changes over the years. The earliest manufacturers sought the toy interface of the beautiful dashboard. By this year, the clear and pragmatic viewpoint promoted by the research field prevails, and dashboard has already come into the mainstream Bi applications, it has also become an important tool for reporting.
Steve few summarized a series of issues to consider when designing a dashboard in early 2010. Here is a brief introduction. We also use some examples to demonstrate the performance of these ideas in practical application.
· When you first see a dashboard, whether your attention is immediately attracted to the most important part.
Avoid attracting attention from readers to other places, or unnecessary dispersion. First, avoid using too many components of different colors on the dashboard. In many different colors, human vision is often concentrated on one point.
If we use a color and only use a different color for the highlighted part, the highlighted part will naturally attract the reader's attention.
This principle is the same on the dashboard. Therefore, whether we use dashboards, charts, or other forms of display, we should try to keep the interface as concise as possible. Then properly apply the color changes to highlight the most important things.
· Can readers easily identify the organizations and shards displayed by information.
The most efficient way for people to process information is to divide and conquer it. In the design of dashboard, we should also help users organize some information. In this way, you do not need to partition the information yourself.
One of the most common mistakes made in information organization is the excessive use of the demarcation line or background color. In fact, the simplest and most effective way is to adjust the spacing and achieve the goal of sharding through the blank interval between parts. In this way, the display of the interface will not be very complex, and it can be very natural (almost subconscious) to help readers split.
· Is the most important information placed in the most prominent position?
Information emission should not only be organized and divided, but also be prioritized. The most important information should be placed in the most prominent position, and so on. From the visual point of view, in the context of reading from left to right, the priority of the positions can be arranged in order.
Normally, the upper left corner is the most conspicuous. If you take some measures to make him stand out, it is the next choice. Others are from left to right, from top to bottom.
· If the data is related to the time, is there a clear indication of the corresponding time of the data?
· If data needs to be compared, dashboard should provide a concise method.
In addition to directly querying data, the comparison between data is probably the most common requirement. Without direct support, you must do this manually or in your mind. This method is often not the most efficient and accurate.
In the dashboard design, if we already know the data comparison requirements, we can directly display the data in the form of comparison. For example, if we want to compare the profit margin of two products, we should not show the profit margin, but directly show the profit percentage. In this way, the reader can directly see The comparison results without computing in his mind.
If the dashboard needs to support different comparisons, the dashboard designer should provide a mechanism on the interface for users to directly select different comparisons. For example, you can select a comparison method using a single sequence.
· If there is a certain order of information, it is best to understand whether the dashboard provides a method to guide readers to observe in the Chinese order.
The most natural way is to arrange the content according to the program from left to right and from top to bottom. If the reading procedure is very important, add an arrow to clearly indicate the reading procedure.
· Can users see all the information without scrolling or clicking.
As a comprehensive display interface of information, it is very important to see at a glance. Of course, in practical applications, it is unrealistic to completely avoid any scrolling and clicking. However, when possible, users should be prevented from performing any unnecessary operations to access information.