Tailor Your Data Visualization Approach: Dashboards vs. Communication

In the data age, visualizing data is not just about making charts; it's about telling a story or guiding a decision. However, the way you visualize data should vary significantly depending on the context. Two key applications are interactive dashboards and data communication through storytelling. While both involve displaying data, they require different approaches to be effective.

Too often, organizations approach data visualization with a "one-size-fits-all" mentality. A beautifully designed dashboard is created, but when presented, it fails to connect with the audience. Similarly, a data report with carefully crafted charts may look impressive, but it doesn't guide decision-making. The core issue? Many fail to recognize that data visualizations for dashboards and those for data stories are not interchangeable. This lack of differentiation can lead to confusion, missed insights, and ultimately, ineffective communication.

Imagine this: You're tasked with building an interactive dashboard for a company. After hours of hard work, you present it to the team, but instead of a "wow" moment, you're met with blank stares and confusion. The insights are there, but the presentation is overwhelming. Users struggle to find what’s important because of inconsistent chart types and a colour scheme that distracts rather than clarifies.

Now flip the scenario. You’re in a meeting presenting the same data, but this time, you’ve organized it into a story. Yet, instead of a clear message, your audience is left trying to figure out what the various pie charts and bar graphs mean. You’re reading off numbers instead of emphasizing the underlying message. In both cases, the potential of your data is lost.

What went wrong? Simply put, the approach wasn’t tailored to the purpose. To unlock the full power of data visualization, you need to understand that dashboards and data stories serve very different purposes and require unique approaches.

Data visualization for Dashboards

Dashboards are designed to give users a broad, interactive view of data. They allow stakeholders to explore, compare, and monitor various metrics on their own. Here, simplicity is key:

Choose easy to read charts – whenever possible choose chart forms that are universally understood and require minimal cognitive effort such as bar or line charts
Consistency is critical - Use the same chart types and colours across different parts of the dashboard. This minimizes confusion and allows users to easily cross-reference information.
Focus on Interactivity - A good dashboard lets users drill down into data, revealing deeper insights as needed without overwhelming them.

The goal of a dashboard is to provide flexible access to multiple data points, making it easy for users to answer their own questions. Your job is to minimize the barriers between the user and the data, ensuring they can extract insights effortlessly.

Data visualizations for Communication

On the other hand, when using data visualizations for communication, such as in presentations or reports, you need to tell a story with a clear message. Data stories should be deliberate, guiding the audience from point A to point B:

Start with the message - Identify what you want to convey—this is more than a description of the data. For instance, rather than just showing a chart of fertility rates, the message should be "Fertility rates have been falling for 20 years."
Select the right chart for each message - A pie chart might work to show proportions, but a line graph would better illustrate trends over time. The chart should serve the message, not the other way around.
Design for Clarity - Use colours, labels, and other visual elements to draw attention to the key message. The audience should see the intended conclusion with minimal effort.

Most importantly, when presenting, don’t fall into the trap of reading the chart aloud. If the visualization is well-designed, the audience will understand it. Instead, spend your time explaining why the data is behaving the way it is—this is where true insight lies.

Conclusion

The key to successful data visualization is understanding the context in which it will be used. Dashboards require simplicity and consistency to make exploration easy, while data stories need to be purposeful and message-driven to effectively communicate insights. By tailoring your approach based on the application, you ensure that your visualizations are not just attractive but impactful and meaningful.

Both contexts have their own nuances, and mastering the art of switching between these approaches will unlock the full potential of your data.