09. Audience Dimensions

Dimensions of Target Audience

1. Strategic vs. Tactical
2. Years of experience
3. Level of motivation
4. Technical expertise
   
   It is important to know if our audience can hold a conversation accurately discussing statistics or do we need to communicate more generally. This impacts the level of details we add to the dashboard.
5. Importance of design
   
   Think about whether the design guidelines are important for the brand and how it is included and paid attention to in the dashboard. This should inform how you approach the design element of your dashboard.

Again, to start you off, these are some questions to consider asking the stakeholder about Design:

Design

• What devices will the dashboard be viewed on most frequently?
• Do you have style guides we can use?
• Can you provide examples of dashboards or the style you would like this dashboard to imitate?

Cultural background

• Be culturally sensitive when adding colors and specific designs. Red can have a negative connotation in some cultures. There can be script differences (e.g., Arabic scripts are written left to right). You can’t avoid all of these, but it helps to know where your audience is coming from so you can design a dashboard that is culturally sensitive.