Creating Comfortable Data Spaces: Using Interior Design Principles

Have you ever walked into a room and felt instantly comfortable and relaxed? It probably wasn’t accidental. It was likely the result of someone following the seven principles of interior design well. Interestingly, these principles can also be applied to data visualisation. If designed well, a similar feeling of comfort can be placed onto the audience of a dashboard or report, encouraging them to stay a while and pay attention to the content.

Let's see how the seven design principles can be applied:

1. Balance: In interior design, balance gives the impression of equilibrium, ensuring a space feels visually and physically stable. This involves distributing furniture, décor, and lighting evenly so that the room feels balanced. Similarly, in data visualisation, balance can be achieved by distributing elements evenly across the canvas, paying attention to the spacing between objects, the size and weight of lines, and the use of colours.

2. Unity and Harmony: Unity is the cohesion of all furnishing, style, and decoration as a whole, ensuring patterns, hues, and textures flow smoothly throughout the space. Harmony coordinates objects and colours to convey a sense of integrated design. In data visualisation, this can be achieved by using a consistent colour palette, font style, and design elements throughout your visual, creating a seamless and cohesive experience for the viewer.

3. Rhythm: Just as rhythm in music involves a pattern, rhythm in interior design involves the visual repetition of form. This can be achieved through repetition, progression, transition, or contrast. In data visualisation, rhythm can guide the viewer's eye through the visual, enhancing the overall impression and making the data easier to follow.

4. Emphasis: Emphasis in interior design involves using an accent, such as colour, texture, or pattern, to draw attention to a focal point. In data visualisation, emphasis can be created by highlighting key data points or trends using bold colours, larger fonts, or distinct shapes, ensuring that the most important information stands out.

5. Contrast: Contrast provides visual interest and helps define spaces. In interior design, this can be achieved by pairing light and dark colours, or different textures and patterns. In data visualisation, contrast can be used to differentiate between data sets or highlight key information, making the visual more dynamic and engaging.

6. Proportion and Scale: Proportion and scale ensure that objects in a room are in balance with each other and the space. In data visualisation, this principle can be applied by ensuring that the size of charts, graphs, and text are proportionate to the overall visual, making the data easy to read and understand.

7. Details: Attention to detail is crucial in interior design, adding the finishing touches that make a room feel complete and personal. In data visualisation, details such as clear labels, legends, annotations, and tasteful icons or visual elements can enhance the overall effectiveness of the visual, ensuring that the data is accessible and understandable.

By applying these interior design principles to data visualisation, you can create visuals that are not only informative but also engaging and aesthetically pleasing. This approach helps to ensure that your audience can easily interpret and interact with the data, leading to better insights and decision-making.