Dashboard (Design Challenge)
Client
HCL | Target
Background
HCL wanted to understand how I might approach designing a dashboard for a major retailer with limited direction / inputs. The short design brief given was as follows:
Design challenge criteria
• Choose a large retail organization like Macys / Wal-Mart / Target
• Design a dashboard to support enterprise analytics users
• Consider the color theme along with their corporate identity
• Identify any 3–5 core KPIs which would interest to users at glance from login
• Design a thematic login screen that aligns to the company's core brand
• Design a landing screen with KPIs to give the user option of a further drill-down
• Design a dashboard to support enterprise analytics users
• Consider the color theme along with their corporate identity
• Identify any 3–5 core KPIs which would interest to users at glance from login
• Design a thematic login screen that aligns to the company's core brand
• Design a landing screen with KPIs to give the user option of a further drill-down
Preliminary research
Applying a 'Analyze, Visualize' process model used by HCL, I conducted some quick preliminary research that included:
• Documenting high-level brand guidelines
• Developing enterprise personas
• Exploring investor and corporate directed metrics
• Developing enterprise personas
• Exploring investor and corporate directed metrics
The target logo mark is one of the most recognized symbols in retail; Perhaps because its use is so dominant in every ad campaign and Target's overall omniChannel strategy, it made sense to utilize the logo mark as a window into deeper data.
Digital Performance
On this screen, a user can see the 1-month view of performance comparing web and app based engagement for:
• Digital Traffic
• Digital Engagement
• Orders Completed
• Instore Returns
• Shipped Returns
• Digital Engagement
• Orders Completed
• Instore Returns
• Shipped Returns
Additional drill-down functionality is included within each tile for the user to explore further.
Market Performance
Here, users can see the day's corporate market performance. A tile-based display for key metrics displays prominently on the bottom for:
• Daily average
• Percentage change since last quarter
• Share's outstanding
• Average volume
• Market cap
• Percentage change since last quarter
• Share's outstanding
• Average volume
• Market cap
Finally, RAG based colors alert users to important changes, and prompt addition exploration into more granular detail.
Retrospective: What I'd do differently
• Having the welcome user, sign in/out, and settings below the logo as opposed to the top right where it is more intuitive and common.
• The color palette for the main and secondary timeline menu, would be revised as to follow the same design system rule for active state selections.
• I'd consider defining a design system rule for curved edges vs square edges for different page elements.
• The color palette for the main and secondary timeline menu, would be revised as to follow the same design system rule for active state selections.
• I'd consider defining a design system rule for curved edges vs square edges for different page elements.