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Power BI data visualizations help transform raw data into interactive charts, graphs, and dashboards that make insights easier to understand and act on. Since people process visuals faster than text, these visualizations support quicker decision-making and better tracking of key performance indicators (KPIs).
Microsoft Power BI offers a wide range of visualization types, from high-level dashboards that summarize performance to detailed reports designed for deeper analysis. Understanding how these visualizations work helps users select the right format for their data and business goals.
In this article, we explain what Power BI is and how data visualization works within the platform. You’ll explore common Power BI data visualizations types, real-world examples, and how to build interactive charts and dashboards. We also answer frequently asked questions to help you get the most out of Power BI visualizations.
Definition: Power BI data visualizations is the process of turning raw data into interactive charts, graphs, and dashboards using Microsoft Power BI. It helps users understand patterns, trends, and insights in data without needing advanced technical skills.
With Power BI, data from multiple sources is cleaned, modeled, and displayed visually so decision-makers can quickly analyze performance, compare metrics, and identify issues. These visuals update automatically as data changes, making Power BI data visualizations a reliable tool for real-time reporting and data-driven decision-making.
Learn how to create powerful Power BI data visualizations to explore trends, analyze data, and gain clear insights.
Power BI supports a wide range of visuals:
There are several kinds of Power BI visualizations and charts. In this section, we look at the best Power BI visualization types, including how the Power BI connector can enhance your data integration and visualization capabilities.
Your use case will have a major impact on the best Power BI data visualization type you choose.
Here are some Power BI data visualization examples you might consider:
One type of visualization in Power BI is the Area Chart, which helps observe trends and patterns over time.
Time is represented on the x-axis, while the data value is shown on the y-axis. To compare different data sets, they might be layered or overlapped.
An Area chart can be used to show profits over time. It will draw attention to the overall profit.
An illustration of an area chart is as follows:
One example of a Power BI data visualization is a doughnut chart. They have a hole in the middle and are round.
Each segment’s size corresponds to its share or percentage of the whole.
Pie charts and doughnut charts are similar. However, they do have a hole in the middle.
An additional piece of information, like a summary or total value, might be displayed in the hole.
Each section of a doughnut chart represents a type of data or a collection of data. Each segment’s size reflects the amount or percentage of that category.
The segments are arranged in a circular pattern. The total or summary value is visible through the center hole.
Doughnut charts help examine the relative sizes of various categories.
Additionally, they display how much each category contributed to the overall value.
The following is an illustration of a doughnut chart:
A Gauge Chart is used to display data in a circular format. It resembles a traditional speedometer or a gauge.
It is commonly used to show a single value within a specific range. A good example is showing progress toward a goal or a KPI.
The PBI Gauge chart allows you to visualize data as a gauge. It has a range of values that can be customized to fit specific needs.
You can present a range of values, colors, and data labels for the gauge, too.
In addition, you can:
The following is an example of a Gauge chart:
Hierarchical data is displayed as a group of nested rectangles on a treemap. Each rectangle’s size and color correspond to a numerical value or category. You can quickly and simply visualize complex data using a treemap to spot patterns and trends.
Treemaps are a powerful tool in Power BI for exploring and analyzing data from various angles. To further hone your analysis, you take advantage of interactive elements like slicers and tooltips.
Treemap use cases:
Here is an illustration of a treemap:
A Sankey diagram displays the flow of data or information through a system or process.
It consists of nodes and links, where nodes represent data categories, and links represent the flow of data between them. The width of the links is proportional to the amount of data that flows between the nodes, making it easy to identify the most important relationships. When comparing a Power BI dashboard vs. a report, this visualization method is often used in dashboards to highlight key data relationships and flow patterns.
Sankey diagrams can be used for a wide range of applications, including:
The following is an illustration of a Sankey diagram:
To create Power BI visualizations, follow these simple steps:
| Earnings Source | Revenue | Expenses & Profit | Departments | Categories | Amount |
| Providing services | Revenue | Expenses | Managerial | Training Sessions | 10,000 |
| Providing services | Revenue | Expenses | Managerial | Office rental | 16,000 |
| Providing services | Revenue | Expenses | Managerial | Wages | 9,400 |
| Providing services | Revenue | Expenses | Commercial | Wages | 11,300 |
| Sales of products | Revenue | Expenses | Commercial | Travel allowance | 10,000 |
| Sales of products | Revenue | Expenses | Commercial | Advertising | 12,000 |
| Sales of products | Revenue | Expenses | Production | Material Payment | 25,000 |
| Sales of products | Revenue | Expenses | Production | Loan Payment | 8,500 |
| Sales of products | Revenue | Expenses | Production | Wages | 19,500 |
| Loans | Revenue | Gross Profit | Taxes | 11,000 | |
| Loans | Revenue | Gross Profit | Net Profit | 13,000 |
To choose the right visualization, match the type to your data and business goal, for example, use bar charts for comparisons, line charts for trends, or pie charts for part-to-whole insights. Focus on clarity, simplicity, and audience understanding to make your visualizations actionable.
Yes, Power BI is a great data visualization tool. It allows you to visualize and analyze data from different sources. It also has a user-friendly interface, powerful data modeling capabilities, and a variety of visualization options. You can use these visualizations to create interactive dashboards and reports in Power BI.
There are several advantages to using Power BI for data visualization. It is easy to use and offers lots of interactive visualizations. It also integrates with a wide range of data sources and comes with collaboration features.
We have discussed Power BI data visualizations, their advantages, and their importance in decision-making and KPI achievement.
We began by defining Power BI (PBI) and what we mean by visualizations in PBI.
We then looked at the best Power BI visualization types and Power BI visualization examples. These include area charts, doughnut charts, gauge charts, and treemaps.
Sankey diagrams are another type of data visualization that you can create with PBI. We used Sankey charts to demonstrate how you would create a PBI visualization, step by step.
We also answered some FAQs related to PBI visualizations.
You should now be ready to take the plunge and try PBI data visualizations.
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