Here is how to deliver an impressive UI with Power BI
What is Power BI?
Power BI is a cloud-based business analytics service. It is a tool for visualizing data, as well as for creating and managing reports and dashboards. It is used for extracting data from different sources, analyzing and visualizing it, and sharing it with others in the form of dashboards and reports. Users can either use the provided visualizations or create their own visualizations by connecting to data sources, performing data transformations (when necessary), and then designing their desired reports. Power BI is available in two versions — Free and Premium. The Free version is a fully functional version with limitations, while the Premium version comes with some additional features.
How to code with Power BI?
This article is not about coding with power BI, but rather about how to enhance UX with it. However, we will first look at some ways to code with power BI. You can change the visuals of a report or dashboard by modifying the fields, data tables, charts, or visualizations. You can also change other elements such as the general appearance of the page, fonts, and colors. You can write code in two ways with Power BI: — Using the code editor — The code editor is a Visual Studio Code editor that is integrated into the Power BI service. You can use this editor to write code in a variety of different programming languages. — With the Query editor — You can also write code in a variety of different programming languages by using the Query editor. This editor lets you write code that is directly applied to the data that is currently visible in the report or dashboard.
Strategies to advance User Interface with Power BI
In order to advance the user interface with Power BI, it is best to make use of the data that you are visualizing. The Power BI data visualizations make it easy to quickly create an appealing and intuitive UI. However, there are a few key strategies which can be used to further enhance the UI. Using color to enhance user experience — Data visualization is one of the most important aspects of creating a report. It helps the users understand the data they are analyzing much better. You can use different colors to indicate the source of data, the type of data, or any other relevant information. In order to do this, you will need to transform the data into columns. Afterward, you can select the desired columns and assign colors to them. Enhancing usability with gestures — Power BI supports the following gestures: Tap, Double tap, Pinch, Rotate, Swipe, and Drag. Although these gestures were designed for touchscreens, they can also be used with a mouse. These gestures can be used to perform various actions within the Power BI report, such as expanding or collapsing columns, changing the visualization, and more.
Strategies for better navigation
There are two ways in which you can create better navigation within your Power BI report. The first is by adding a navigation section to your report. To do this, go to the Design tab, click on the section in which you want to add the navigation, and select New navigation section. Next, go to the drop-down menu and select Navigation. The other way is by using the Card functionality. This functionality can be used to create pages that can be easily navigated through, as well as to display different types of data.
Using responsive design to adapt the UI to different screen sizes
The user experience of a report will likely vary depending on the device that the report is being viewed on. This is why it is important to make use of responsive design, which allows the UI to change based on the screen size. There are a few ways to implement responsive design in Power BI. You can use the built-in responsive report tiles in order to get a basic responsive design, or you can use a framework such as React or Angular to create a more advanced design.
Utilize responsive design together with Cards API and Animation API
Cards API — The Cards API is used for creating card-based reports, which are very popular and are used by many businesses. They are a great way of organizing information. You can create cards either in code or in the report itself. If you create them in code, they can be reused across different reports. You can also use different types of cards, such as sections and tabs. Animation API — The Animation API is a new feature that was added to Power BI in July 2018. With the Animation API, you can add animation and interactivity to your visualizations and reports. This can be done by creating animations, which are basically sequences of events. These animations can be applied to a variety of different visuals, such as images, shapes, and even data.
Conclusion
The user experience is an important part of any report or dashboard. While Power BI makes it easy to create an appealing UI, there are several strategies that can be used to further enhance the experience. These strategies include using color, gestures, navigation, responsive design, the Cards API, and the Animation API. By making use of these strategies, you can improve the user experience of your reports and dashboards.
