Start from the question, not the canvas
Before you place a visual, write down who reads the report, which decision it supports, and the three questions it must answer in the first ten seconds. That's what the requirements template is for. A beautiful report that answers the wrong question is still the wrong report; Sprint 01 starts exactly here.
Report types
| Type | Reader and question | Layout that works | Avoid |
|---|---|---|---|
| Executive dashboard | A leader: "Are we on track, and where should I look?" | 3–5 KPIs with target and trend across the top, one or two "why" visuals, no detail | Tables, more than one page of scrolling, unexplained abbreviations |
| Operational dashboard | A team: "What needs action today?" | Exceptions first (late orders, low stock), status colours, short refresh intervals | Year-to-date trends nobody acts on daily |
| Analytical report | An analyst: "Why did this happen?" | Slicers, drill-through, decomposition, a few linked visuals | Locking everything down; too many slicers on one page |
| Detail report | Anyone who must check rows: "Which exact orders?" | A table or paginated report with filters, export enabled | Charts; pretending a 10,000-row table is a dashboard |
| Mobile report | On the go: "One number, now" | The mobile layout: KPIs stacked vertically, one visual per screen | Shrinking the desktop page |
| KPI scorecard | Management: "Which goals are on or off track?" | KPI, target, status, owner, trend per row (or Metrics/goals) | Status colours without the rule that sets them |
| Finance report | Finance: "Does it tie to the ledger?" | Matrix with account hierarchy, period columns, variance, totals that reconcile | Rounded numbers that don't sum; missing currency labels |
| Sales report | Sales leaders and reps: "Who, what, where is growing?" | Trend vs target, top and bottom performers, region and product breakdowns, drill to customer | Rankings without context (size, prior period) |
Principles
Visual hierarchy
The most important number goes top-left (where readers start) and largest. Supporting visuals get smaller as they get more detailed. If everything is bold, nothing is.
Spacing and alignment
Use a grid (for example 8 or 16 px units), equal gaps between visuals, and align edges. Misaligned visuals look like mistakes and make readers distrust the numbers.
Contrast and colour
- One accent colour for "look here"; greys for everything else.
- Red and green only for bad and good, never as decoration, and never as the only signal (about 1 in 12 men have some colour-vision deficiency): add icons, labels or position.
- Text contrast of at least 4.5:1 against the background. Set the palette once in a report theme.
Information density
Enough to answer the question, no more. If a visual doesn't change a decision, remove it. If readers need detail, give them drill-through, not a denser page.
Chart selection
| To show | Use | Avoid |
|---|---|---|
| Change over time | Line chart (column chart for few periods) | Pie charts over time |
| Comparison across categories | Bar chart, sorted | 3D, unsorted bars |
| Part of a whole | Stacked bar, or a pie with 2–3 slices | Pies with many slices; donuts as decoration |
| Actual vs target | Bullet-style bar, KPI visual, variance column | Two unrelated gauges |
| Distribution | Histogram, box plot | Averages alone |
| Relationship between two measures | Scatter | Dual axes with unrelated scales |
| Exact values | Table or matrix | Charts with data labels on every point |
Accessibility
Set alt text on visuals, a logical tab order, titles on every visual, sufficient contrast, and avoid conveying meaning by colour alone. Test with the keyboard and a screen reader (Microsoft's accessibility guidance; practise in mobile layouts and accessibility).
Titles
A title should say what the reader should conclude, or at least exactly what is shown: "Net sales vs target, Q1 2026, by region" beats "Sales". Dynamic titles (a measure using SELECTEDVALUE) keep the title true when slicers change.
Navigation
Few pages, each with one purpose. Use page navigator buttons or a consistent left menu; put the page's filters in the same place on every page; use drill-through for "show me the detail of this".
Tooltips
Use report-page tooltips to answer the first follow-up question (trend for this region, top products for this month) instead of adding another visual to the page.
Before you publish
Run the before publishing a report checklist. For inspiration, third-party galleries such as PowerBI.tips have themes and layouts; treat them as starting points, not standards.