Perception is reality: 5 easy wins for use with Power BI
In data storytelling, perception often becomes reality. You might have the cleanest data model, the most advanced DAX measures, or the most accurate forecasting logic—but if your visuals aren’t clear, your audience may walk away confused or unconvinced. Great dashboards aren’t just about data accuracy; they’re about how insights are perceived. Perception of your visuals makes a difference.
1. Create a theme file.
Not only does this have the major benefit of showing some corporate polish for little effort, but these files are reusable for all future reports with minimal clicks. There is no coding involved as they can be created in a single pbix using Power BI’s builder and exported for future use. Time to ditch the dreaded blue and orange and use your corporate colours consistently across visuals and reports to make them feel consistent and sharp.
2. Dynamic Titles and measures.
Static chart titles often leave users guessing what data they’re looking at. With Power BI, you can bind titles to DAX measures or field values so they update automatically as slicers change. A tidy trick.
3. Conditional formatting, sparklines and icons.
We often see a trade-off between the chart-loving executive audience and those that love a table (accountants, I’m looking at you!). For information that really does lend itself to a table or has a heavy finance lean, use sparklines, icons or conditional formatting to add some visual kick and keep the audience engaged without necessarily needing to digest the entire table.
4. Custom Tooltips or Drill Throughs
Default tooltips provide numbers, but custom tooltips can add context without overwhelming your main visual. This allows you to keep reports clean but sneak in that extra layer of data for those you know will look for it!
5. Make your slicers intuitive
Slicers are one of the most recognisable Power BI features, but poor design can frustrate users. By refining how they’re presented, you make reports more intuitive.
Use the “Sync slicers” feature to keep filters consistent across pages.
Turn on drop-down slicers for long lists to save space.
Use a relative date slicer instead of fixed ranges for time-based reporting.
