Crafting Compelling Visuals

Customizing Your Visulas

Learning Outcome

6

Design clean layouts using alignment and layering

5

Use themes for branding and consistency

4

Customize colors, titles, labels, and legends

3

Apply customization principles for clarity and readability

2

Understand why customization is critical for reports

1

Explain what visual customization means in Power BI

Recall

Basic visualization types (bar, line, table, card)

How visuals display data fields and measures

How visuals display data fields and measures

Basic interaction between visuals on a report page

Hook/Story/Analogy(Slide 4)

Transition from Analogy to Technical Concept(Slide 5)

Visual Customization as Visual Thinking

It provides responses to three inquiries:

Visual customization is about controlling perception

What should the user notice first

What should be secondary

What can remain in the background

Effective customization:

Poor customization:

Forces users to work harder to understand insights

Slows decision-making even when data is correct

Reduces cognitive load

Prevents misinterpretation

Minimizes visual fatigue

Readability and Visual Hierarchy

Readability depends on:

Font size

Spacing

Contrast

Visual hierarchy defines:

Primary insights (largest, boldest)

Supporting details

Background information

Steps to Improve Readability

Increase font size for key metrics

Reduce unnecessary text

Use contrast to separate foreground and background

Ensure consistent spacing between visuals

A well-designed visual guides the eye naturally, without instruction.

Data Colors – Beyond Aesthetics

Colors communicate meaning instantly

They should be:

Consistent

Purposeful

Limited in number

Advanced Use

Conditional formatting to highlight:

Threshold breaches

Performance categories

Outliers

Steps to Apply Meaningful Colors

Choose a base color palette

Assign colors consistently across pages

Apply conditional formatting only where insight matters

Avoid decorative or random colors

Design Principle

Color should explain, not decorate

Titles, Subtitles, and Context Awareness

Titles should answer:

  • What am I looking at?
  • Under what conditions?

Dynamic titles improve clarity by reflecting:

  • Filters
  • Slicer selections

Subtitles can provide:

  • Units
  • Assumptions
  • Time context

Steps to Apply Meaningful Colors

Replace generic titles (e.g., “Sales Chart”)

Include business meaning (e.g., “Total Sales by Region”)

Use dynamic titles when slicers affect meaning

Data Labels – Precision vs Clarity

Gridlines and Borders

Legends and Category Explanation

Themes and Branding as System Design

Layout (Page Structure)

Alignment (Visual Order)

Z-Order (Layering of Visuals)

Summary

5

Build strong branding

4

Use different marketing channels

3

Target the right audience

2

Create and communicate value

1

Understand customer needs

Choose cool, soft colors instead of vibrant colors
Max 5 Points for Summary & Min 2

Quiz

Which platform is mainly used for professional networking and B2B marketing ?

A. Facebook

B. Instagram

C. LinkedIn

D. Snapchat

Quiz-Answer

Which platform is mainly used for professional networking and B2B marketing ?

A. Facebook

B. Instagram

C. LinkedIn

D. Snapchat