Insight Stream
Step 2 of 3

Design the page

Most reports fail at layout, not at chart choice. A page with the right charts in the wrong places, or twelve charts where six would do, still gets skimmed and ignored. This guide covers the decisions that make a page readable in ten seconds.

Decide the story first

Before you place a single visual, write one sentence that the page must let a reader say out loud. For example: "Northern region is behind target because two depots are over capacity." If you cannot write that sentence, you do not yet know what the page is for, and no amount of layout will fix it.

Then write the sentence at the top of the page as its title. Every visual on the page either supports that sentence or does not belong there.

Try it: open a report you built recently and, for each page, write its one sentence. Pages that need two sentences are two pages. Pages that need none can be deleted.

One question per page

A page answers one question. "How are sales doing?" is not one question. "Which regions missed target this quarter, and by how much?" is. When a page tries to answer several questions it becomes a data dump, and the reader has to do the analysis you were paid to do.

Split by question, not by data source. A "Sales" page and a "Marketing" page usually become a "Why did pipeline drop in Q3?" page and a "Which campaigns pay back?" page.

How people read a page

Eye-tracking studies of screens consistently show two patterns. Readers of dense, data-heavy pages scan in an F pattern: across the top row, then down the left side, glancing right less and less as they go. Readers of a simple page with one message scan in a Z pattern: top-left to top-right, then diagonally down to bottom-right.

Either way, the top-left corner gets the most attention, the top-right next, the bottom-right least. That gives you the rule:

  • Top-left: the headline number or the single most important visual.
  • Top row: the other key figures, left to right in order of importance.
  • Left column: the visuals that explain the headline.
  • Bottom-right: supporting detail, tables, footnotes, the last-refreshed timestamp.

Filters and slicers go along the top or down the left edge, never scattered between visuals. They are controls, not content.

The three-tier layout

Most well-designed report pages settle into three horizontal bands. It is not the only layout, but it is the one to start from.

Tier 1 · top

Headline figures. Three or four KPI cards across the full width: the number, its change against target or last period, and a colour or arrow that says whether that is good. This is the ten-second read.

Tier 2 · middle

Trend and comparison. One or two larger visuals that explain the headline: usually a trend over time on the left and a comparison across categories on the right. This is the "why".

Tier 3 · bottom

Detail. A table or matrix, small multiples, or a breakdown a reader can drill into. Only readers who want the detail reach this far, which is the point.

Limits: visuals and colours

  1. Six to eight visuals per page, at most

    Count KPI cards as visuals. Beyond eight, each visual shrinks until its labels are unreadable and the page has no focal point. If you need more, you need another page.

  2. Five colours per page, at most

    Grey for context, one accent for the point you want the reader to see, and at most three more for categories that recur across the report. Same colour, same meaning, on every page. See the colour palette guide.

  3. One accent object per page

    One thing on the page should be visibly the most important: a highlighted bar, a coloured KPI card, a callout. If everything is emphasised, nothing is.

  4. Show comparisons, not raw numbers

    A number on its own means nothing. "£1.2m" becomes useful as "£1.2m, 8% below target". Every KPI card carries its comparison.

  5. Remove what does not earn its place

    Gridlines, borders, shadows, logos, backgrounds and decorative icons all compete with the data. Remove them, then add back only what a reader needs to read the chart.

Grid, spacing and alignment

Misaligned visuals look careless even when the reader cannot say why. Use the tool's grid and snap to it. In Power BI the default canvas is 1280 × 720; a 12-column grid with 8-pixel gutters fits it cleanly and gives you halves, thirds and quarters.

  • Equal margins on all four sides of the page.
  • Equal gutters between visuals, and the same gutter everywhere.
  • Visuals in the same row share a top edge and a height.
  • Titles inside visuals sit at the same offset in every visual.
  • Whitespace is a design element. Do not fill it.

Titles as sentences

A visual titled "Sales by Region" makes the reader work out the message. A visual titled "North missed target by 12%; all other regions on plan" gives it to them. Write the finding, not the field names. Keep axis titles and legends as the place for field names.

If a chart's title cannot be written as a finding, ask whether the chart has one. Often it can be cut.

Good and bad wireframes

Both pages below hold the same data. The first can be read in ten seconds; the second cannot be read at all.

Good layout: title, four KPI cards, trend and comparison, detail table North missed target by 12%; two depots are over capacity Q3 2026 · refreshed 09:00 daily Region ▾ Quarter ▾ Revenue vs target −12% Orders shipped 48.2k On-time delivery 91% Depots over capacity 2 of 9 Revenue tracked target until August Only North is behind target East South West North target Depot detail DepotCapacityUsedLate orders Leeds12,00013,400318 Newcastle8,0008,600204 1 2 3 4 5
Do: one story, three tiers, one accent
  1. 1 The title is the finding. Filters sit top-right, out of the reading path.
  2. 2 Four KPI cards, each with its comparison. The two that matter are the only red on the page.
  3. 3 Trend explains the headline. Grey dashed target line, one coloured actual line.
  4. 4 Comparison sorted by value; the single accent bar is the point of the page.
  5. 5 Detail at the bottom for readers who want it.
Bad layout: twelve small visuals, rainbow colours, no titles, KPIs bottom-right Sales Dashboard Year ▾ Region ▾ Cat ACat BCat C Cat ACat BCat C Cat ACat B Cat ACat BCat C £1.2M 48,215 91.4% 2 £312k 1 2 3 4 5
Don't: twelve visuals, six colours, no message
  1. 1 "Sales Dashboard" is a label, not a finding. Filters scattered between visuals.
  2. 2 Four pies in a row with tiny slices. Nothing can be compared.
  3. 3 Rainbow bars where the colours mean nothing.
  4. 4 Six-line spaghetti chart, 3D bars, a gauge: three visuals that cannot be read.
  5. 5 The headline numbers, buried bottom-right with no comparison and five colours.

Checklist before you publish

  1. The page title is a finding

    Someone who reads only the title knows the story.

  2. One question, answered

    Every visual supports the title. Anything else is cut or moved.

  3. Headline numbers top-left, each with a comparison

    Against target, last period, or benchmark.

  4. Eight visuals or fewer, five colours or fewer

    Count the KPI cards. Count the legend entries.

  5. One accent object

    The reader's eye has exactly one place to land first.

  6. Everything snaps to the grid

    Equal margins, equal gutters, shared edges.

  7. Ten-second test passed

    Show it to someone who has not seen it. Ask what it says. Time them.

Next step

With the page laid out, pick the colours: colour palettes and how to use them →