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Last modified by Ian Covey on 06/11/2025, 14:24
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2 Learn more about how to design your Pages reports to enhance their look and feel and to increase their effectiveness.
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4 Designing your Pages reports is about more than making them adhere to your brand guidelines (thought that’s important too). It’s about ensuring that they work effectively as reports – clearly communicating their information to report users. This means making is easy for users to understand what information is important, and how this information is related to other information in the report.
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6 Below we introduce you to the concepts of good information design to help guide you when creating your Pages reports.
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8 .
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10 == How to create a visual hierarchy ==
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12 A visual hierarchy allows you to communicate the importance of a component, and the information it contains, by making it stand out from other elements on a report.
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14 Applying this concept to your Pages reports enables you to:
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16 * Draw users’ attention to the most important information.
17 * Indicate how that information is related to other information in the report.
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19 When creating a visual hierarchy consider:
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21 * Size
22 * Colour Contrast
23 * Position & Proximity
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25 === Size ===
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27 As a rule of thumb, the larger something is on the page, the more important users perceive it to be. It’s why H1s (heading ones) are typically bigger that H2s (heading twos).
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29 === Colour Contrast ===
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31 Our eyes are naturally drawn to components that stand-out from the rest of the page.
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33 It’s why on a white page, it’s the black dot that catches our attention. And why it’s the menu option with a different coloured background that we notice first.
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35 === Position & Proximity ===
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37 Our brains tend to be group together objects that a close to each other – creating a relationship between those objects.
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39 .
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41 == What makes a good dashboard design? ==
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43 Good dashboard design is crucial for effectively presenting information and enabling users to make informed decisions.
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45 Here are some key principles and considerations for creating a successful dashboard design:
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47 === Clarity and Simplicity: ===
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49 * Keep the design simple and avoid clutter.
50 * Use clear and concise labels for data points.
51 * Prioritize important information and avoid unnecessary elements.
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53 === Consistency: ===
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55 * Maintain a consistent design throughout the dashboard to enhance user understanding.
56 * Use a consistent colour scheme, typography, and layout.
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58 === Relevance: ===
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60 * Include only relevant information that aligns with the dashboard's purpose and the user's needs.
61 * Avoid unnecessary details that may distract from key insights.
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63 === Hierarchy and Organization: ===
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65 * Establish a clear hierarchy of information. Important data should be more prominent.
66 * Organize information logically, considering the flow of user attention.
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68 === Use of Visual Elements: ===
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70 * Use charts, graphs, and other visual elements to make data more accessible.
71 * Choose the right visualization type for the data being presented.
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73 === Contextual Information: ===
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75 * Include contextual information to help users interpret the data correctly.
76 * Provide clear annotations and explanations for key data points.
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78 === Use of White Space: ===
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80 * Use white space strategically to improve readability and highlight important information.
81 * Don't overcrowd the dashboard with too much information.
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83 === Goal-Oriented Design: ===
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85 * Understand the goals and objectives of the users and design the dashboard to support those goals effectively.
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87 .
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89 == Creating Pages report templates ==
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91 Creating templates for your reports make the creation process quicker, easier and more consistent.
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93 [[Learn how to create a Pages report template>>doc:Technical Documentation.CXAIR.User Guide.02\. Reporting.2e\. Pages.05\. Creating Pages Report Templates.WebHome]]
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95 === Why create a template? ===
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97 ==== Consistency: ====
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99 Templates ensure a consistent look and feel across all documents created from the template. This consistency helps maintain a professional and cohesive visual identity for a brand or organization.
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101 ==== Time Efficiency: ====
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103 Templates save time by providing a pre-designed structure. Users can focus on content creation without the need to start from scratch or recreate formatting elements for each new document.
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105 ==== Brand Identity: ====
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107 Templates can include predefined styles, fonts, colours, and logos that align with the brand identity. This helps in reinforcing the organization's branding across all communication materials.
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109 ==== Ease of Use: ====
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111 Templates simplify the document creation process, making it more accessible to individuals with varying levels of design or technical expertise. Users can follow a standardized structure without the need for advanced formatting skills.
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