Data Visualization with Microsoft Power BI: How to Design Savvy Dashboards 1st Edition

Kolokolov and Zelensky's "Data Visualization with Microsoft Power BI: How to Design Savvy Dashboards" is a must-read for anyone looking to unlock the storytelling power of data. This book provides a comprehensive overview of chart types, from the familiar line chart to the more intricate chord diagram. But what sets it apart is its insightful guidance on chart selection, ensuring you always choose the most effective visual for your message.The authors excel at demonstrating best practices through real-world examples. By showcasing both effective and ineffective visualizations side-by-side, they provide clear visual cues that highlight common pitfalls and inspire design choices. For instance, I learned why tornado charts are a poor choice for comparing projected vs. actual values - a valuable lesson!Beyond individual charts, the book delves into dashboard design, offering practical advice on element positioning and configuration within Power BI. This makes it an invaluable resource for data analysts and business professionals in finance, sales, and marketing, especially those without coding experience.While the book boasts a companion GitHub repository with sample data, I found the link format somewhat cumbersome. Instead of direct links to file names, the authors use shortened URLs that are case-sensitive and redirect to the repository. Direct GitHub links would improve accessibility.The book's structure, with three sections of increasing chart complexity and challenging quizzes, reinforces learning and encourages deeper understanding.Overall: This book is a fantastic guide to data visualization with Power BI. Its clear explanations, practical examples, and focus on effective design make it a valuable asset for anyone seeking to transform data into compelling visual narratives.

OMG! It truly seems that this book was written not by another technical nerd, but by a person who has real business experience!As for me, I always struggled when technical persons trained me and my team how to work with corporate reporting platform. I felt myself stupid trying to understand WHY they tell me about data models and other stuff, but never about dashboard design and user experience...This book have met and even exceeded my expectations! It's written from manager's perspective. I don't want to become data scientist, I want to quickly build interactive reports.Thanks to clear step-by-step guides I have built sales dashboard using recommended layout and charts. My team was excited and IT colleagues were envious :) They assume I know secret magic of reporting.So I highly recommend this book, even if you found yourself stupid trying to understand BI tool like Power BI or Tableau. Start from this book and it really may change your career!

O’Reilly book series are very well written.

This book covers a ton of ground and is packed with examples, which makes it super helpful if you're using Power BI a lot. The visuals are well chosen, and I liked that they didn't just show how to make them, but also why to use each one. Some of the chapters felt a bit heavy, though—I had to reread parts to let it sink in. Still, for someone serious about improving their dashboards, it’s a solid ressource.

Exceeded my expectations and here is why. I got a paper copy - 400 pages of colorful chart examples and guides on how to work with Power BI. I skipped basic barcharts and started from the middle: waterfall, gantt and bullet charts. These chapters are well-structured and easy to follow. The author does an excellent job of balancing theory with practical examples, which made learning the concepts engaging and hands-on. I found myself constantly referring back to it during my projects, and I’ve already noticed a significant improvement in how I present data. If you're looking to deepen your understanding of visual storytelling through data, this book is a must-read.

This book is exactly what I needed to level up my Power BI dashboards. The author does a great job explaining when to use different chart types and actually shows you how to build them step-by-step.What I really appreciate is how it's organized into three parts - starting with basic charts, moving to useful advanced ones like waterfall and Gantt charts, and then covering the "risky" visuals that look cool but might confuse users. That last section alone saved me from making some bad design choices.The 400 color pages make it easy to follow along, and the quizzes at the end of chapters help reinforce what you've learned. Even though I'm not super technical, the explanations are clear enough that I could follow everything.If you're working with Power BI and want to create better-looking, more effective dashboards, this book is worth it. The tips on data preparation are a nice bonus too.

I loved this Power BI guide! It transformed my dashboard game with clear, step-by-step instructions and vibrant, real-world examples. The breakdown of chart types—from basic bar charts to advanced waterfall and Gantt—helped me choose visuals that tell compelling data stories. The focus on manager-friendly design, not just techy data models, made it super accessible. Though some chapters were dense, the quizzes and tips on avoiding risky visuals kept me engaged. Despite clunky GitHub links, it’s a must-read for anyone wanting to craft savvy, impactful dashboards!

Data visualization is a powerful way to convey meaning beyond words, and so often, people who are not in fields that require data visualization overlook the potential to tell stories with the information that they have. This book helped me take numerical data out of paragraphs and into forms to show meaning in new ways. It speaks to more people, and in deeper ways. Recommend!