From Data to Dashboard: Visuals That Matter Most in Power BI

Humans are visual learners—more than 50% of the brain is involved in visual processing. Good visuals help with pattern recognition, memory retention, and communication across language barriers. The general concept of "visualization" and "visual" relates to the use of imagery or visual representations to convey information, ideas, or data in a way that can be quickly and effectively understood by the human mind. Here's a breakdown:

Visualization:

•  The process of creating images, diagrams, or animations to communicate a message, represent data, or illustrate concepts.
•  Common in fields like data science, art, science, engineering, education, and more.
•  Purpose: to simplify complexity, aid decision-making, and enhance cognitive understanding.

Visual:

•  Anything related to seeing or sight.
•  Includes static images (photos, paintings, graphs) and dynamic visuals (videos, animations).
•  Helps in perception, recognition, and interpretation of information.

In Power BI, the concepts of visualization and visuals are central to how data is presented, explored, and understood. Here's a clear explanation:

Visualization

• The representation of data in graphical form to help users understand trends, patterns, and insights.
• In Power BI, a visualization refers to how data is shown using charts, graphs, maps, tables, KPIs, and more.
• Goal: Turn raw data into actionable insights through an interactive visual interface.

Visual

• A single element on a Power BI report page (e.g., a bar chart, pie chart, matrix, card).
•  Each visual is powered by a data model and can be filtered or sliced interactively.
•  Users can create visuals by dragging fields onto a canvas and choosing the type of chart.

Business Use of each Power BI visual

1. Stacked Bar Chart – Compare category-wise contributions across multiple groups over time.

2. Pie Chart – Show percentage share of a whole at a single glance.

3. Funnel Chart – Visualize stages in a process and identify bottlenecks or drop-offs.

4. Donut Chart – Display part-to-whole relationships with room for labels inside.

5. Pie Chart – Highlight segment proportions clearly and effectively.

6. Scatter Chart – Explore correlations and outliers across two quantitative variables.

7. Area Chart – Track cumulative values and trends over time.

8. Funnel Chart – Monitor lead-to-conversion progress through sales or service stages.

9. Line Chart – Visualize trends and patterns over continuous intervals.

10. Ribbon Chart – Track ranking changes of categories across different time periods.

11. Decomposition Tree Chart – Drill down into hierarchical data to analyze root causes.

12. Key Influencer Chart – Identify factors that significantly impact a business outcome.

13. Smart Narrative Chart – Automatically generate insights and summaries from visual data.

14. Q&A Chart – Ask questions in natural language and get instant visual answers.

Power BI provides a diverse range of visuals that are essential for effectively representing and analyzing data. These visuals can be broadly categorized into three types: core visuals, custom visuals, and R-powered visuals.

1. Core Visuals: These are the built-in visuals that come pre-packaged with Power BI. They include standard charts, graphs, and maps, such as bar charts, line charts, pie charts, scatter plots, and geographical maps. These visuals are designed for simplicity and versatility, allowing users to quickly create interactive reports and dashboards that display data in clear, intuitive formats. Core visuals are ideal for most general use cases and can be customized to suit specific data storytelling needs.
2. Custom Visuals: Power BI also supports custom visuals, which are user-created or third-party visuals that can be imported into reports to offer more specialized or unique data representations. These visuals are available through the Power BI marketplace, and they range from advanced chart types (like heatmaps or waterfall charts) to innovative visuals designed for specific industries or data scenarios. Custom visuals allow for greater flexibility and customization, enabling users to cater to niche requirements or create more complex visualizations.
3. R-powered Visuals: Power BI integrates with R, a powerful programming language used for statistical computing and graphics. R-powered visuals enable users to leverage R scripts within Power BI to create advanced and highly customizable visuals that go beyond the standard offerings. These visuals are particularly useful for displaying complex statistical analyses, predictive models, or custom data visualizations that are not available in core or custom visuals.

Together, these visuals enhance Power BI’s capabilities, making it a robust tool for creating interactive, data-driven reports and dashboards. The combination of core, custom, and R-powered visuals allows users to present data in diverse formats, enabling better insights, informed decision-making, and improved business outcomes.