{"id":15999,"date":"2016-04-28T14:00:00","date_gmt":"2016-04-28T21:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/devwww.3cloudsolutions.com\/post\/dashboard-design-why-a-smaller-canvas-is-better-2\/"},"modified":"2024-01-03T14:58:21","modified_gmt":"2024-01-03T22:58:21","slug":"dashboard-design-why-a-smaller-canvas-is-better","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/3cloudsolutions.com\/resources\/dashboard-design-why-a-smaller-canvas-is-better\/","title":{"rendered":"Dashboard Design \u2013 Why a Smaller Canvas is Better"},"content":{"rendered":"

I still remember completing my first \u201creal\u201d dashboard in early 2012. I was so proud of it until I tried to show it off to a colleague using my laptop. I had originally created the dashboard using Tableau on my 24\u201d Dell monitor with the dashboard size set to \u201cautomatic\u201d. In doing this, I had unwittingly created a super-sized dashboard that looked terrible after it was squeezed down to fit inside my laptop\u2019s much smaller screen.<\/p>\n

As someone who has always considered design to be as important as finding the right mix of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), I want my dashboards to be consistently rendered, and that includes minimizing the number of devices that need scroll bars to view the full dashboard. After researching the pros and cons of the \u201cRange\u201d size setting, a fixed set of dimensions seemed to be my only viable choice.<\/p>\n

\"dashboard-dimensions-photo.jpg\"<\/p>\n

When it came time to pick the new dimensions, the decision was heavily influenced by my recently purchased iPad 2. Although tablet adoption by the business community was only starting to take off in 2012, it was easy to envision the tablet becoming a key method for\u00a0business data\u00a0consumption in the coming years. So I chose the iPad Landscape (1020 x 765) preset as the new default size.<\/p>\n

From a prediction standpoint, if I was right, I would be future-proofing my existing work, as well as preparing for a time when tablet design requirements could become commonplace. On the other hand, if the prognostication turned out to be overly optimistic, I simply didn\u2019t see any downside to learning how to build mobile-friendly dashboards.<\/p>\n

With the new default chosen, the next step was to recreate my tabloid-sized dashboard inside the much smaller dimensions (see picture below). From the start, it was obvious I would not be able to keep all of the original content. The difference in canvas size was simply too great. I would have to decide what content to keep and what to discard as I rebuilt the dashboard.<\/p>\n

\"dashboard-dimensions2.jpg\"<\/p>\n

Looking back now, I couldn\u2019t have asked for a better start to my initial foray into dashboard building.<\/p>\n

For most new dashboard builders, the initial mindset is not one of \u201chow little\u201d but \u201chow much\u201d data can be packed inside. Among new (and more than a few not-so-new) users, this \u201chow much\u201d mindset all too often manifests itself in an oversized dashboard crammed full of charts and text. With a larger canvas, it is easy for a screen full of empty space to become a distraction and cause one\u2019s focus to shift from quality to quantity.<\/p>\n

But the decision to use the iPad Landscape preset pushed me in the opposite direction. Working with a smaller canvas, I almost always find myself with a surplus of great content rather than a deficit. Having a surplus is always the preferred outcome. With a surplus you have to evaluate all of the content and then decide which mix provides the most value to the user. As you incorporate client feedback and develop more content, the evaluation process has to be repeated. If you want to add something new, something old has to be removed.<\/p>\n

In order to make the right determination each time, you have to keep the dashboard\u2019s goals front and center, think like a user and, when necessary, challenge a client\u2019s assumptions.<\/p>\n

If all of this sounds like Dashboard 101, it is. This approach, this mindset, should be part and parcel of every dashboard project regardless of canvas size. This is how you build an effective dashboard.<\/p>\n

In practice,\u00a0consistently following this approach is rarely easy. And it only becomes harder as you push the mix of content from good to great.\u00a0It can become such a challenging exercise towards the end of the development process that\u00a0it’s easy to lose sight of the intial fun and excitement of dashboard building.<\/p>\n

Simply put, building a really effective dashboard isn\u2019t all fun. It\u2019s also hard.<\/p>\n

By \u201chard\u201d, I\u2019m not necessarily referring to the extra effort needed to create a complex calculation or an awesome looking chart or graph. For a lot of dashboard builders, this kind of \u201chard\u201d work is part of the fun \u2013 the fun of building something cool.<\/p>\n

It’s\u00a0\u201chard\u201d in the sense of having to maintain a dispassionate mindset every time you evaluate the content mix and then having\u00a0the wherewithal to discard that awesome-looking chart if you determine that a table, or even a single number, would convey the KPI in a faster, more effective manner.<\/p>\n

And this is the crux of my smaller is better<\/em> argument. With a larger canvas, the temptation\u00a0is greater to save the cool chart that doesn\u2019t add as much value. But all you have done is needlessly clutter your dashboard and turned the chart into a distraction. Every item on\u00a0your canvas requires cognitive processing power from your users, and that is a limited resource. A smaller canvas should actually make it easier (but no less frustrating) to let go of that awesome chart since the replacement table (or number) would require less space and may make it possible to add something new to the dashboard. As you struggle to make everything fit, it is now easier for effectiveness to trump eye candy.<\/p>\n

While it may be quicker to increase the canvas size\u00a0and avoid difficult conversations with users\u00a0by putting\u00a0in every chart they request, everyone gains by having\u00a0conversations about priorities, key metrics, and how\u00a0users employ\u00a0the information in your dashboard. When your users only have a limited amount of time and attention, every pixel counts. You want to create a dashboard that quickly communicates a clear message of what needs attention or requires action, which means it should be free of distractions.<\/p>\n

As Antoine de Saint-Exupery said, \u201cPerfection is achieved not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away.”<\/p>\n

If you\u2019d like to learn more about how to improve your organization\u2019s data visualization, join us May 17 for our Effective Communication through Data Visualization webinar.\u00a0If you have other questions or would like to schedule a call, please contact us<\/a> today.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For most new dashboard builders, the initial mindset is not one of \u201chow little\u201d but \u201chow much\u201d data could be packed into a dashboard.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":21,"featured_media":14810,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"content-type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[260],"tags":[326],"class_list":["post-15999","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-data-ai","tag-data-visualization","topics-blog"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/3cloudsolutions.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15999","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/3cloudsolutions.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/3cloudsolutions.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/3cloudsolutions.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/21"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/3cloudsolutions.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15999"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/3cloudsolutions.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15999\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/3cloudsolutions.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14810"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/3cloudsolutions.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15999"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/3cloudsolutions.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15999"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/3cloudsolutions.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15999"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}