Juliana

Smith

Performance & Data Visualisation Specialist

What Does Cognitive Inclusion Have to Do with Dashboarding?

30th Jan 2025

We all know that dashboards and reports are powerful tools for visualising data and extracting insights efficiently, but their design can either empower users or overwhelm them. Recently, I came across the Microsoft’s Inclusive Design For Cognition Guidebook, which highlights two interesting concepts. The first is cognitive exclusion—when products don’t account for the different ways people perceive and understand the world. The second is cognitive load, defined as the amount and type of mental effort required to successfully complete a task.

These concepts became quite personal for me as a mother of a neurodivergent child. I’ve witnessed how my son struggles when faced with overwhelming information. Decorative fonts that are hard to read, overly bright colours, and cluttered designs can make it nearly impossible for him to process and focus, creating significant barriers to understanding.

For those trying to make sense of dashboards, cognitive load can lead to similar challenges.

That’s why I have decided to write this post, where I’ll try to address some common issues that can hinder our understanding of data, with a special focus on cognitive inclusion, and how to address them when designing dashboards.

I’ll try to address some common issues that can hinder our understanding of data, with a special focus on cognitive inclusion

Simplify and Organise

Nobody enjoys a chaotic dashboard! Overloading users with too many charts in random places create confusion. Here are a few things we can do to prevent this to happen.

Break information down: Use smaller sections, drill-through pages, or tooltips to present complex data without overwhelming the main view.
Limit visuals: Display 6–8 visuals per page to keep the report digestible.
Highlight summaries: Provide clear, high-level summaries or KPIs to draw attention to key insights.
Guide users: Include text boxes, tooltips, header help tooltips, or instructions to aid navigation and understanding. If you have never used header help tooltips, check out this article written by James Reeves. However, it’s important to note that tooltips are not compatible with screen readers, so ensure essential information is also available through other accessible means.
Logical flow: Arrange visuals in a predictable sequence (e.g., top-to-bottom or left-to-right) to enhance focus and clarity

Streamline Visual Design

Imagine a dashboard that’s a cluttered mess, with charts, graphs, and numbers scattered everywhere, like a chaotic puzzle. It’s overwhelming and frustrating, making it hard to find the information you need. By streamlining visual design, we can reduce cognitive load, making it easier for users to process and interpret information quickly. To do that, you can:

Declutter layouts: Remove unnecessary visuals, decorations, or animations to maintain focus.
Use emphasis strategically: Highlight important data points with colours, bold fonts, or size to draw attention.
Consistent layouts: Place elements (e.g., filters, titles) in the same position across pages to ensure a smooth user experience.

Simplify Language and Communication

Now think about a dashboard full of jargon, dense text, and complex labels. Navigating through it feels like deciphering a cryptic code, frustrating and confusing! That is why simplifying language and communication can make a world of difference. When designing your dashboards and reports consider the following:

Plain language: Avoid jargon or technical terms in labels, titles, and tooltips. Use clear, concise text.
Readable fonts: Choose Sans Serif fonts (e.g., Verdana Georgia, Open Sans) and ensure a font size of 12pt or larger.
Visual aid: Use icons, charts, or diagrams to support and clarify textual information.
Consistent terminology: Apply the same terms throughout the report to minimise confusion.

Simplify Data Interpretation

You’ve probably seen dashboards loaded with complex visuals and lacking a clear data hierarchy. This makes it hard to understand and navigate through all the information, leading to confusion and frustration. To improve numerical and visual data interpretation, we need to simplify this chaos. Here are a few things we should keep in mind:

Choose intuitive visuals: Use familiar formats like bar charts or line graphs instead of complex ones (e.g., scatter plots). Scatterplots are often needed but we can always offer an alternative way to showcase the insight.
Add context: Provide labels, tooltips, or annotations to explain the data. For example, clarify trends like “Sales increased by 15% in Q1.”
Offer alternatives: Enable toggling between visual and tabular formats to cater to different preferences.
Logical grouping: Organise visuals logically by grouping related information.
Information Hierarchy: Structure data hierarchically (e.g., region > country > city) to improve comprehension.

Facilitate Navigation

Ever felt lost in a report? Exploring a dashboard without clear navigation aid can feel like wandering through a labyrinth without a map. It’s disorienting and frustrating, making it difficult to find the information you need. To improve your user journey, consider:

Clear navigation tools: Include buttons, bookmarks, and menus for seamless movement between pages. Let’s not forget to label them appropriately!
Reset options: Add a “Reset Filters” button to allow users to return to the default view easily.

Reduce Sensory Overload

Dashboards with excessive colors, images, and visuals can cause sensory overload and frustration. To prevent that we should consider:

Minimalist design: Use clean layouts with ample white space to reduce visual clutter.
Consistent colours: Stick to a cohesive colour scheme, avoiding harsh contrasts or overly vibrant colours.
Avoid distractions: Limit transitions and illustrations to keep interactions smooth and focused.
Offer flexibility: use Smart Narratives or include raw data tables for users who want to dive deeper. You can also show users how to access Power BI’s “Show Data Table” option for added flexibility. It is important to note that ‘smart narratives’ are not compatible with screen readers, so ensure essential information is also available through other accessible means.

Seek Feedback and Iterate

Inclusive design is a journey, not a one-and-done task. Gather feedback from diverse users to understand their needs. Ask them about colour choices, navigation, and overall usability. Use this input to refine and improve your dashboards over time.

As designers, it’s not our place to diagnose or label conditions, but it is our responsibility to understand the challenges our users might encounter when interacting with our reports and dashboards. I know I haven’t captured every possible hurdle or fully conveyed their complexity, but my aim is to highlight the importance of considering cognitive inclusion in our designs. By focusing on creating clear, accessible, and user-friendly solutions, we can help ensure that everyone can process and interpret the information with ease.

If you want to dig deeper, Microsoft’s Inclusive Design for Cognition Guidebook is a fantastic resource that will transform the way you think about design.

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