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Gradient Card Custom Visual for Power BI

This custom card and this doc were written using Copilot in VS code.

1. What It Is

The Gradient Card is a custom Power BI visual that displays key metrics as visually appealing cards with customizable gradient backgrounds. It supports single cards or small multiples (multiple cards in a grid layout), making it ideal for KPI dashboards, scorecards, and executive summaries. Each card can display a primary value, comparison/target value, progress bar, badge indicator, and optional icon.

Inspiration: This visual was inspired by Charles Edward's SVG card concept. Thank you Charles for sharing your creative approach!

2. Key Benefits

  • Visual Impact – Gradient backgrounds and customizable styling create professional, eye-catching KPI displays
  • At-a-Glance Insights – Combines value, target, progress, and status in a single compact visualization
  • Flexible Data Binding – Supports field parameters, allowing dynamic switching between metrics
  • Small Multiples – Automatically generates multiple cards from categories or multiple measures
  • Fully Accessible – High-contrast mode support and keyboard navigation for accessibility compliance
  • Highly Customizable – Extensive formatting options for colors, fonts, sizes, and layout
  • Interactive – Supports selection, cross-filtering, drill-through, and tooltips

3. Features

Data Roles

Field Description
Primary The main metric value displayed prominently on the card
Comparison Target/comparison value for progress calculation and display
Category Groups data into multiple cards (small multiples)
Icon Data-driven icon field for dynamic icons per card
Tooltips Additional measures to display in tooltips

Card Layout & Styling

  • Gradient Background – Two-color gradient with customizable angle (0-360°)
  • Border Radius – Rounded corners (adjustable)
  • Card Border – Optional border with customizable width, color, and style (solid, dashed, dotted)
  • Padding & Spacing – Control internal spacing between elements
  • Small Multiples Grid – Automatic responsive grid layout with configurable minimum card width and padding

Title Section

  • Show/hide title
  • Custom title text (or auto-generated from data)
  • Font customization (family, size, color, bold, italic)

Badge Indicator

  • Displays percentage of target achieved
  • Three-Tier Conditional Coloring – Matches progress bar colors for below/above marker/100%
  • Customizable background, border, font, and padding
  • Adjustable fill lightness for background tint

Main Value Display

  • Large, prominent metric display
  • Display units (Auto, None, Thousands, Millions, Billions, Trillions)
  • Decimal places control
  • Thousands separator toggle
  • Full font customization

Icon Support

  • 12 Built-in Icons: Star, Heart, Checkmark, Trophy, Target, Chart, Dollar, Users, Thumbs Up, Lightning, Fire, Rocket
  • Custom Image URL – Use any image via URL
  • Data-Driven Icons – Bind icon selection to a data field
  • Customizable size, color, spacing, and border radius

Details Section (Target/Comparison)

  • Shows "Target: [value]" and variance when comparison data exists
  • Three-Tier Variance Labels:
    • "To go:" when below target % marker
    • "Exceeded:" when at/above target % marker but below 100%
    • "Achieved:" when actual ≥ target (100%)
  • Customizable labels for each state
  • Show/hide +/- sign on variance values
  • Separate colors for labels, values, and exceeded amounts
  • Optional color matching with progress bar (three-tier colors)
  • Separator styling

Progress Bar

  • Visual progress indicator comparing actual vs. target
  • Data-Driven Mode – Automatically calculates from Primary and Comparison fields
  • Manual Mode – Set fixed max value and marker position
  • Three-Tier Color System:
    • Color when below target % marker
    • Color when at/above target % marker (but below 100%)
    • Color when at/above 100% (actual ≥ target)
  • Customizable marker (position, color, width, height) – auto-hides when > 100%
  • Progress label with percentage display
  • Adjustable bar height and border radius

Tooltips

  • Standard Power BI tooltips with custom tooltip fields
  • Canvas (report page) tooltips supported
  • Configurable tooltip trigger zones:
    • Primary value
    • Icon
    • Header/title
    • Badge
    • Comparison section
    • Progress bar
    • Anywhere on card

Interactivity

  • Selection – Click to select/filter; Ctrl+click for multi-select
  • Cross-Filtering – Selections filter other visuals
  • Drill-Through – Right-click context menu for drill-through pages
  • Keyboard Navigation – Tab between cards, Enter/Space to select, Esc to exit

Accessibility

  • High-Contrast Mode – Automatically adapts colors for Windows high-contrast themes
  • Keyboard Focus – Full keyboard navigation support with visible focus indicators
  • Screen Reader Compatible – Proper element structure

Field Parameter Support

  • Use field parameters in Primary and/or Comparison fields
  • Automatically expands to multiple cards based on parameter selections
  • When Primary has fewer measures than Comparison, Primary value repeats across cards

4. Recommended Use Cases

Executive Dashboards

Display top-level KPIs (Revenue, Profit, Customer Count) with gradient styling that matches corporate branding. Progress bars show performance against targets at a glance.

Sales Scorecards

Show individual salesperson or region performance with small multiples. Each card displays actual sales, target, and % achieved with conditional coloring.

Financial Reporting

Present budget vs. actual metrics with exceeded amounts highlighted. Use icons to categorize expense types or departments.

Operational Metrics

Monitor production, quality, or service metrics with progress indicators. Color coding immediately shows which KPIs need attention.

Goal Tracking

Track progress toward quarterly or annual goals. The progress bar and badge provide instant visual feedback on achievement status.

Dynamic Metric Selection

Use field parameters to let users switch between different metrics (e.g., Revenue/Units/Margin) without creating multiple visuals.

Marketing Dashboards

Display campaign performance metrics with custom icons representing different channels. Tooltips provide detailed breakdowns.

HR Analytics

Show headcount, turnover, satisfaction scores with department categories creating a grid of cards for easy comparison.

5. Step-by-Step Setup Guide

Step 1: Import the Visual

  1. Download the .pbiviz file (e.g., gradientCard.1.2.4.0.pbiviz)
  2. In Power BI Desktop, go to Home → Get Visuals → Import a visual from a file
  3. Select the .pbiviz file and click Open
  4. Click Import when prompted
  5. The Gradient Card icon will appear in your Visualizations pane

Step 2: Add the Visual to Your Report

  1. Click the Gradient Card icon in the Visualizations pane
  2. A blank visual placeholder will appear on your canvas
  3. Resize and position the visual as needed

Step 3: Add Your Primary Metric

  1. In the Fields pane, find your main measure (e.g., "Total Sales")
  2. Drag it to the Primary field well
  3. The card will display your metric value

Step 4: Add a Target/Comparison Value (Optional)

  1. Drag a target or comparison measure to the Comparison field well
  2. The card will now show:
    • Target value in the details section
    • "Exceeded" amount (actual minus target)
    • Progress bar (if enabled) showing % of target

Step 5: Create Small Multiples (Optional)

Option A: Using a Category Field

  1. Drag a dimension (e.g., "Region", "Product") to the Category field
  2. Multiple cards will appear, one for each category value

Option B: Using Multiple Measures

  1. Add multiple measures to Primary (e.g., Revenue, Units, Margin)
  2. Each measure will display as a separate card

Option C: Using Field Parameters

  1. Create a field parameter in Power BI (Modeling → New Parameter → Fields)
  2. Add the field parameter to Primary or Comparison
  3. Use a slicer to let users select which metrics to display

Step 6: Configure the Progress Bar

  1. Open the Format pane (paint roller icon)
  2. Expand Progress Bar
  3. Toggle Show to On
  4. Configure settings:
    • Bar Color Below Marker: Color when below target % marker
    • Bar Color: Color when at/above target % marker
    • Bar Color at 100%: Color when actual ≥ target (default green)
    • Show Marker: Toggle the target line (auto-hides if > 100%)
    • Show Label: Display percentage text

Step 7: Customize the Appearance

General Settings:

  • Set gradient colors (Color 1, Color 2)
  • Adjust gradient angle
  • Set border radius and padding

Title Settings:

  • Show/hide title
  • Set custom text or use data-driven title
  • Customize font family, size, color, bold/italic

Badge Settings:

  • Show/hide the percentage badge
  • Enable "Match Progress Colors" for conditional coloring
  • Customize badge appearance

Main Value Settings:

  • Set font family, size, color
  • Configure display units (K, M, B, T)
  • Set decimal places

Icon Settings:

  • Toggle icon on/off
  • Select a built-in icon or enter a custom image URL
  • Adjust size, color, and spacing

Details Settings:

  • Show/hide target and exceeded values
  • Customize labels (e.g., "Goal" instead of "Target")
  • Enable conditional coloring

Step 8: Configure Tooltips (Optional)

  1. Drag additional measures to the Tooltips field well
  2. In Format pane → Tooltips:
    • Toggle which elements show tooltips
    • Enable "Show Anywhere" to trigger on any card area
    • Enable "Show Only Tooltip Fields" to hide default values

Step 9: Add an Icon (Optional)

Static Icon:

  1. Format pane → Icon → Show: On
  2. Select a built-in icon from the dropdown
  3. Or enter a custom image URL

Data-Driven Icon:

  1. Create a column in your data with icon names (e.g., "star", "trophy")
  2. Drag that field to the Icon field well
  3. The icon will change based on your data

Step 10: Adjust Small Multiples Layout

  1. Format pane → Small Multiples
  2. Set Minimum Card Width (default: 200px)
  3. Set Padding between cards (default: 10px)
  4. Cards will automatically arrange in a responsive grid

6. Quick Start Examples

Example 1: Simple KPI Card

  • Primary: Total Revenue measure
  • Format: Choose gradient colors, set display units to "Millions"

Example 2: KPI with Target

  • Primary: Actual Sales
  • Comparison: Target Sales
  • Progress Bar: Enable, set colors for above/below target

Example 3: Regional Scorecard

  • Primary: Revenue
  • Comparison: Target
  • Category: Region
  • Result: One card per region showing performance

Example 4: Dynamic Metric Selector

  • Create a field parameter with Revenue, Profit, Units
  • Primary: Field parameter
  • Add slicer for the parameter
  • Users can toggle between metrics

7. Version History

Version Date Changes
1.2.4.0 Dec 2025 High-contrast mode, keyboard navigation, three-tier progress system (below marker/above marker/100%), card border options, customizable variance labels
1.2.3.0 Dec 2025 Field parameter support for Primary and Comparison fields

Author: Zoe Douglas
Support: https://datazoepowerbi.com