# Rethinking Data Visualisation: A UX Approach To Dashboards That Actually Drives Decisions

DevFeed: [Rethinking Data Visualisation: A UX Approach To Dashboards That Actually Drives Decisions](<https://devfeed.tech/articles/rethinking-data-visualisation-a-ux-approach-to-dashboards-that-actually-drives-decisions-4325.md>)

Original publisher: [Read original article](<https://smashingmagazine.com/2026/08/rethinking-data-visualisation-ux-approach-dashboards/>)

Author: hello@smashingmagazine.com (Meriem Benhabiles)

Published: 2026-08-26T13:00:00Z

Content type: article

Language: en

Sources: [Articles on Smashing Magazine -- For Web Designers And Developers](<https://devfeed.tech/sources/articles-on-smashing-magazine-for-web-designers-and-developers.md>)

Topics: [dashboards](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/dashboards.md>), [User experience (UX)](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/ux.md>), [data](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/data.md>), [datasets](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/datasets.md>)

Tags: [dashboards](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/dashboards.md>), [data](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/data.md>), [data-visualization](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/data-visualization.md>), [design](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/design.md>), [insights](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/insights.md>), [ux](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/ux.md>)

## AI overview

This article argues that effective dashboards require UX thinking, not just available data. It explains how designing for a specific audience, question, and intended decision can turn charts into functional tools for insight and action. Examples including Anscombe's datasets show how visualisation can reveal patterns and communicate meaning that raw numbers conceal.

## Source excerpt

Data visualisation sits at the intersection of two disciplines that rarely talk to each other: data and design. Meriem Benhabiles explores what changes when you bring structured UX thinking to dashboards and data presentations, from the questions you ask before opening any tool to the decisions that determine whether an insight actually lands.