01Introduction

Inquiro

Refining the Audience Dashboard

Inquiro helps advertisers understand their audience using data. One of our enterprise clients found the dashboard hard to navigate, so I redesigned it to help them find their data more easily, choose which charts to see, and export the data for their own reports. I was the only designer.

  • B2B
  • UX design
  • Data visualization
The new audience dashboard on a laptop, with a side menu for the Demographic, Interest and Purchase Intent sections and the Life Stage and Wealth Class charts

The problem

One of our enterprise clients told us the dashboard was hard to navigate. They had trouble finding the data they needed.

They also asked for a way to export the dashboard, so they could use the charts in presentations to their own stakeholders.

The old dashboard with three notes: no menu to find data, every chart in one long grid, and no export option.

Design audit

When I reviewed the old dashboard, I found the reasons behind the feedback.

Old dashboard

The old Dashboard Overview with numbered markers: 01 on the page title, 02 on the Civil Status, Life Stage, Wealth Class and Region charts, 03 on the bar colors, and 04 on the Build An Audience button.

  1. No navigation. All charts sat in one long grid, so users had to scroll and scan the whole page to find one chart.

  2. Related data was scattered. Civil Status, Wealth Class, Life Stage and Region are all demographic data, but they sat in different places.

  3. Charts did not look consistent. Some used one color, and others used a new color for every bar, even when the colors had no meaning.

  4. No export. Clients had to take screenshots to use our data in their reports.

  5. It could not grow. Every new chart made the grid longer and messier.

Research

The PM, the client relations team and I worked together to understand the clients’ needs. We worked closely with a small group of enterprise clients, so we could talk to them directly instead of running large studies.

I also looked at how other products show a lot of data on one screen.

Simply Wall St

Uses a side navigation that highlights the section you are viewing. This matched the amount of content in our dashboard, so we used this approach.

Simply Wall St stock report, with a side navigation listing sections like Valuation, Future Growth and Past Performance.

Google Analytics

Uses a sidebar with a separate page for each type of content. This could work for us later, when the dashboard grows.

Google Analytics reports snapshot, with a sidebar that opens a separate page for each type of report.
We were a startup, so we needed something good that we could also build quickly. The side navigation gave us the best balance.

Ideation

I ran a session with the PM, some developers and the data team. We agreed on four things to solve.

  1. A new layout for the dashboard

  2. Letting users choose which charts to show

  3. Better chart visualizations

  4. An export function

After this, I made the user flow and paper wireframes to review the ideas with the team before moving to UI.

User flow: home page, match type selection, cohort selection, chart selection, summary, then the new dashboard, which can export audience data as CSV or visualizations as PDF or JPG.
User flow. Chart selection and the new dashboard were the new parts.
Three paper wireframes: the dashboard with a side menu and chart grid, the chart selection step, and an export dialog with JPG, PDF and CSV.
Paper wireframes of the dashboard, the chart step and the export dialog.

The design

Side navigation layout

The new layout shows all dashboard sections in a side menu. Users can see the full content of the dashboard at a glance and jump straight to the data they need. Related charts now sit together in one section, and new charts can be added to the menu without making the page harder to use.

Before

The old dashboard with notes: no side menu, demographic charts in different places, and colors that change from card to card.
All charts in one grid, with no way to jump to a section.

After

The new dashboard with notes: export and actions at the top, matched customers at a glance, and a side menu for every section.
A side menu, and related charts grouped in one section.

Choosing charts while building the audience

Users can now select only the charts they need, instead of seeing all available charts. They can still change which charts are shown after creating the dashboard.

New flow

Three screens of the new flow: select cohorts, select charts, and the dashboard with only the picked charts.
Users choose their charts before they see the dashboard.

Export dashboard

Users can export the dashboard as a PDF or PNG for their presentations. They can also export the data as a CSV file so they can make their own charts.

The Export Audience Result dialog for 'Apple Users age 20-29', with three options: Export to PDF, Export to PNG and Export to CSV.

New chart visualizations

I worked with the data team to redesign the charts, so the data is easier to read. Each section now uses one color, so users do not have to guess what each color means.

The new Top Interest chart: five purple bars in one color, for Software, Prepaid Line Users, Social Media Addicts, Entertainment Subscribers and Video Streamers.

Outcome

The redesign was shipped and used by our enterprise clients. We did not track metrics because our user base was small. Instead, we kept in close contact with our clients and asked them directly.

  1. Can clients find the data they need?

    Yes. They told us they could now find and understand their data more easily.

  2. Which feature did they value most?

    Export. They could use our data directly in their own reports.

What I learned

Key takeaways

  • A layout that can grow is as important as a layout that looks good today.
  • Working closely with the data team helped me design charts that are accurate.
  • In a startup, the best solution is often the one that balances good UX with what the team can build quickly.