Course content and goals

You have been tasked with squeezing a huge amount of data into one tiny dashboard and now you feel like pulling all of your remaining hair out. We have sympathy for you, that is why we have put together 'Information Visualization: Getting Dashboards Right', which will lead you through some of the key considerations when designing dashboard displays.

Some design choices may seem arbitrary, such as the colour of the background display or the size of the company logo, but almost every decision can potentially ruin the viewing experience. We are here to help you identify many of the design pitfalls your competitors have already fallen into and equip you with a deeper understanding of your users, so you know how to reduce their burden of responsibility and promote insight; the main reason for using dashboards as the chosen display method.

Within this course you will cover

• An introduction to the subject of dashboard design
• Key considerations, such as using the pre-attentive attributes:
• Colour
• Form
• Orientation
• Spatial location
• Visual perception, encompassing:
  • How we see
  • What we see
  • Why we see what we do
  • Using colour
  • Using Images
  • The Gestalt principles of perceptual organisation
• Key concepts within the subject, such as:
  • What is meant by the 'Data-Ink Ratio'
  • Using summaries and exceptions
  • The benefits of customization
  • Promoting insight
• Some of the psychological aspects of dashboard use, including:
  • Attention
  • Short-term memory
  • Problem-solving
• Examples of good and bad design to help you avoid common mistakes
• The importance of viewing experience over aesthetics

By the end of the course you will

• Have a clear understanding of how to design for your intended users
• Be able to save yourself the effort of endless edits
• Avoid the common faults blighting your competitors' designs, and...
• Be equipped with the necessary information to design products that provide your users with the best possible viewing experience and, in turn, increase sales.

You will also take away some of the best resources currently available and a consolidated list of recommended reading materials, videos and useful links to relieve you of the task of trawling the internet searching for that vital piece of information.

The course contains the following lessons which will be published weekly and include questions, activities, useful links and some essential reading.

Recommended background: What should you know

This course is designed for students as well as professionals who want to understand the key considerations, design pitfalls, and how to promote insight and increase sales when designing dashboard displays.