Lesson 8 - Card Visual in Power BI Desktop

The Card visual is one of the most commonly used visuals in Power BI for displaying key business metrics and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). It presents important values in a clear and visually appealing format, enabling report consumers to quickly understand business performance at a glance.

Card visuals are ideal for displaying metrics such as Total Sales, Revenue, Profit, Customer Count, Average Rating, Order Count, and other summary values. They dynamically respond to filters and slicers, allowing users to interactively analyze data based on their selections.

The Card visual also provides rich customization options, including support for displaying one or more cards within a single visual, reference labels, images, icons, flexible layouts, and extensive formatting capabilities. These features help create professional and interactive dashboards that effectively communicate key insights.

In this lesson, you will learn how to create, format, and customize Card visuals in Power BI Desktop, along with best practices for presenting business metrics effectively.

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How to Proceed?

Step 1: Import the Data

Launch Power BI Desktop and open a new report.

Import the required dataset by selecting Home → Get Data and choose the appropriate data source.

Download Raw files -Dataset

Download .pbix files -.pbix file (.pbix file populated with Raw data ready to use for visualization)

Step 2 Insert a Card Visual

From the Visualizations pane, select the Card visual as shown in the figure below.

Step 3 Add Data to the Card Visual

Drag the required field or measure into the Value field well of the Card visual.

In this example, the Region field is added to the Card visual to display the Count of Regions, and the category label is renamed to Participating Countries.

The Card visual displays the total number of participating countries in the Olympic Games. Since Card visuals respond dynamically to filters and slicers, the displayed value automatically updates based on user selections.

Display Multiple Metrics: 

You can also add additional fields or measures to the Value field well to display multiple business metrics within the same Card visual. Power BI automatically creates separate cards for each metric, making it easy to present related KPIs together in a single visual.

For example, the Card visual below displays Participating Countries and Total Medals together.

Display Metrics by Category: 

To display metrics for each category, drag the required field into the Categories field well. The Card visual automatically groups the data and creates separate cards for each category.

In the example below, Region is added to the Categories field, while Participating Countries and Total Medals are added to the Value field. The Card visual displays these metrics separately for each region, making it easier to compare business metrics across different categories.

 

Although this lesson uses Olympic data, Card visuals can be used to display a wide variety of business metrics, such as Total Sales, Revenue, Profit, Customer Count, Order Count, Percentages, and other important summary values.

Step 4: Customize the Card Visual

Select the Card visual and open the Format pane. The formatting options are organized into Visual and General sections.

The General section contains formatting options that are common to all Power BI visuals, such as Position, Size, Title, Effects, Header Icons, Tooltips, and Alt Text. Refer to the Power BI Formatting lesson to learn more about these options.

The Visual section contains formatting options specific to the Card visual. Depending on the fields added to the visual, you can customize:

• Multi-category Layout: Configure how cards are displayed when the visual is grouped by categories.
• Category Header: Customize the category labels by changing the font, size, color, alignment, and other text properties.
• Multi-card Layout: Arrange multiple cards by adjusting the layout, spacing, orientation, and alignment.
• Cards: Customize the appearance of individual cards, including borders, backgrounds, padding, and spacing.
• Callout: Format the primary metric by changing the font, size, color, display units, and decimal places to make important values more prominent.
• Image: Add images or icons to improve the visual appearance of the Card visual.
• Reference Labels: Display additional supporting values that provide more context for the primary metric.
• Reference Labels Layout: Control the placement and appearance of reference labels within the Card visual.

Customize these formatting options based on your reporting requirements to create clear, interactive, and visually appealing Card visuals. Watch the video below to see how to customize the appearance of a Card visual using the Format pane:

When to use Card visual?

The Card visual is best suited for displaying key business metrics and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) in a simple, clear, and visually appealing format. It provides an at-a-glance summary of important information and is commonly used in dashboards to highlight business performance.

Advantages

• Displays one or more key business metrics in a clear and visually appealing format.
• Supports interactive filtering with slicers and other report visuals.
• Allows multiple cards to be displayed within a single visual.
• Supports reference labels, images, and flexible layouts for enhanced presentation.
• Easy to customize using a wide range of formatting options.
• Helps users quickly understand business performance.

Limitations

• Best suited for displaying summary metrics rather than detailed data.
• Not suitable for visualizing trends or comparisons over time.
• Displaying too many cards in a single visual can reduce readability.
• May require additional visuals, such as charts or tables, to provide detailed analysis.

Conclusion

The Card visual is one of the most effective visuals in Power BI for presenting key business metrics and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) in a clear and visually appealing format. Whether displaying a single metric or multiple related metrics within the same visual, Card visuals help report consumers quickly understand important business information at a glance.

With its flexible layout, extensive formatting options, support for reference labels, images, and interactive filtering, the Card visual enables you to build informative and professional dashboards. By following the best practices covered in this lesson, you can effectively use Card visuals to highlight meaningful insights and enhance the overall reporting experience.

User Information

Tags	Power BI
Useful links	https://www.geeksforgeeks.org/power-bi-how-to-format-a-card/ https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/power-bi/visuals/power-bi-visualization-card https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/power-bi/create-reports/service-visual-elements-for-reports https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/power-bi/visuals/ https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/power-bi/fundamentals/desktop-getting-started
MS Learn Modules	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/power-bi/visuals/power-bi-visualization-card?tabs=powerbi-desktop https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/training/paths/get-started-power-bi/ https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/training/modules/design-effective-power-bi-reports/
Test Your Knowledge	Quiz