Dashboard UI Guide

Pie / Donut Chart

Shows a small number of parts that make up one meaningful whole.

What question it answers

How is one meaningful whole divided among a few parts?

Where to use it

Compact composition cards showing a few meaningful shares such as plan mix or traffic-source mix.

When to use it

Use it for a small number of mutually exclusive parts that add to one meaningful whole.

When not to use it

Avoid it for precise ranking, many slices, negative values or categories that do not add to one total.

Responsive design

Keep the chart compact, move labels into a readable list when necessary, and never shrink slices until labels become ambiguous.

Arabic and RTL

Place Arabic labels and legend text in RTL order, but do not reorder slices merely to imitate page direction; preserve data mapping consistently.

Anatomy

Chart context
Defines the whole (for example total revenue = 100%) so each share has a clear meaning.
Slices
Angle and arc length encode each share. Use few slices, start at 12 o'clock and order them by size.
Center summary
The donut hole carries the total or the key share, which pie charts cannot do.
Legend with values
Labels each slice with name and value, so the exact numbers do not depend on judging angles or colour.

Accessibility

  • Provide slice names and values in text and ensure the chart remains interpretable without color.

All lessons

  1. Bar Chart — Compares values across categories using length on a common scale.
  2. Line Chart — Shows change across an ordered sequence, most often time.
  3. Area Chart — Emphasizes magnitude over an ordered sequence by filling the area under a line.
  4. Pie / Donut Chart — Shows a small number of parts that make up one meaningful whole.
  5. Scatter Plot — Reveals relationships, clusters and outliers between two numeric variables.
  6. Histogram — Shows the distribution of a numeric variable across value ranges.
  7. Box Plot — Summarizes distribution, median, spread and potential outliers compactly.
  8. Heatmap — Uses color intensity across a matrix to reveal patterns and concentration.
  9. Treemap — Shows hierarchical part-to-whole relationships through nested rectangles.
  10. Funnel Chart — Shows how a population changes through ordered stages of a process.
  11. Waterfall Chart — Explains how positive and negative contributions produce a final total.
  12. Sparkline — Shows a compact trend without the full framing of a standard chart.
  13. Gauge — Shows one value within a bounded range when position against a threshold matters.
  14. Combo Chart — Combines compatible visual marks when two related measures need coordinated comparison.
  15. Geographic Data Map — Maps values to locations or regions when geography is part of the question.
  16. KPI / Stat Card — Presents one important metric with enough context to judge its current value and change.
  17. Data Table — Presents structured records in rows and columns, with table-level search, filtering, sorting, selection and pagination treated as parts of the whole component.
  18. Dashboard Card / Panel — Groups one coherent dashboard task, metric or visualization into a bounded region with clear hierarchy.
  19. Filter Bar — Places the most important scope controls close to the data they affect.
  20. Filter Panel — Collects a larger set of filtering controls in a dedicated surface.
  21. Date Picker / Date Range Picker — Lets users choose one date or a bounded time range for reports, filters and analytics.
  22. Sidebar Navigation — Provides persistent access to major dashboard destinations and groups.
  23. Top App Bar — Holds page identity, global actions and high-priority controls at the top of an application.
  24. Breadcrumbs — Shows hierarchy and provides a path back through nested dashboard levels.
  25. Tabs — Switches between peer views inside the same dashboard context.
  26. Alert / Banner — Communicates important contextual or page-wide information that should remain visible until understood or resolved.
  27. Toast — Confirms a brief asynchronous outcome without blocking the current task.
  28. Notification Center — Collects system and workflow updates that users may need to revisit.
  29. Dropdown / Overflow Menu — Moves lower-priority or contextual actions into an on-demand menu.
  30. Modal / Dialog — Creates a focused temporary task that may block interaction with the underlying dashboard.
  31. Drawer / Side Panel — Opens contextual controls or details from an edge while preserving the page behind it.