Now, one well-designed card can do the job more efficiently. In fact, Microsoft’s vision is for this modern Card Visual to eventually replace the old Card, Multi-row Card, and KPI visuals.

It’s always encouraging to see BI tools adding features, that evolve the BI dashboard design. It makes the data storytelling process easier which leads to greater adoption and better decisions. The new Card Visual is one more way to bring clarity and context to your dashboards, ensuring that each KPI on screen is meaningful, not just a pretty number.

Anatomy of the new Card Visual

Imagine a single KPI card that includes all the details a leader needs. It starts with a clear Title (Core KPIs) to identify the metric, a subtitle (Finalized at last SteerCo) and a bold Callout Value displaying the headline number. The Callout Value Next, a Reference Label can showcase a comparison or target. For example, a benchmark, goal, or prior period value for. A Detail text field adds another layer of explanation or footnote to the KPI. There’s even an option to incorporate an Image (like an icon or symbol) to reinforce the message. All these elements are wrapped in a customizable card container, where you can adjust background colors, borders and shapes to fit your design.

The result is a KPI visual that provides not just a figure, but the narrative around that figure, in one clean view.

In the example below, each element plays a specific role in delivering clarity:

• Title & Subtitle → “Core KPIs – Finalized at last SteerCo (2025-06-30)”
  Provide immediate context on what the card represents and for which period.

• Callout Values → The main values of the visual. Highlight callout values, i.e. the headline metric in larger font size (e.g., 22.19K invoices). These are the numbers executives or managers will look at first. They consist of Labels & Values.

• Label → “Net Sales”, “Avg. Net Sales”, “# Invoices”
  Ensure the number is clearly understood, without ambiguity.

• Value → “19.37M Net Sales”, “113.96K Avg. Net Sales”, “22.19K # Invoices”
  The headline numbers that decision-makers care about most.

• Reference Labels → Underneath the main value, reference labels like Previous Year values are provided. These reference values provide extra context like “PY: 17.55M”, “Diff: 1.83M”, “% Diff: 10.41”, “# Customers” 

• Detail: Additional detail text expands the analysis, e.g., “Incl. Returns”. This layer ensures transparency about what the metric includes or excludes.

• Divider → Separates the main metric from its context, keeping the card clean and easy to read.

• Image → Icons (e.g. invoice symbol) instantly reinforce meaning for each Callout Value.

• Background & Shape → Light backgrounds, rounded shapes, and accent styling highlight importance and align with design standards.
  
  

Conclusion

Each component of the new Power BI card visual, from the title at the top to detail on the bottom plays a role in making data more communicative

Instead of just displaying a number, stakeholders see a number in context with its explanation and significance. The new card’s anatomy is purpose-built for storytelling. It highlights what’s important, adds meaning to the figures and does so in an aesthetically clean way that aligns with how busy professionals consume information.

The trade-off: Yes, the new card requires more clicks and configuration. But when guided by data visualization best practices, the end result is worth it: a clean, context-rich KPI that speaks directly to decision-makers and elevates the storytelling power of your dashboards.

When used with solid data visualization practices, the new Card Visual can transform how leaders read and act on your dashboards.

It’s not just a number anymore — it’s a story.