Improve your Qlik reporting visually in 10 steps without a script

Step 3: Add background image

In a design tool such as Figma, Adobe XD, Adobe Illustrator or Adobe Photoshop, simply create a background image. Keep the size 1920 x 975 pixels. We have arranged the background image so that there is space for the logo and time-based filters in the dark grey area. The white area contains the page filters and the light grey area contains the visualisations. You save the image as a .png and add it to the media library. You add the image as follows:

Edit sheet -> Sheet properties -> Styling -> Background switch from auto to custom -> Background image -> Media library -> Select image -> Upload media -> In App -> “Imagename.png” -> Insert.

Notice how the grey area in the background immediately creates dimension:

Step 5: Scaling elements and putting them in the right place

This already makes the report look much better. However, a lot of containers are still printed on top of each other. We are going to give the cramped spaces between the white areas some more air, which also brings in an emotional aspect. It is important to arrange the dashboard in a logical way for the user/reader, so you put the logo in the top left corner. You do this as follows:

Edit sheet -> Click Logo (the selected visualisation gets a green border) -> Scale the logo to the desired size.

You then apply these steps to the time filters, the page filter column, the visualisations on the canvas until everything has some space. The golden rule here is to stay away from the edge as much as possible. An example of how you could format it is shown below:

Step 7: Give colour to time filters buttons

The default colour of the filter buttons is Qlik green. That can fit in, but for this theme we are going to 'track' it. What matters here is the colour of the button when it is selected. You do this as follows:

Edit sheet -> Time filter click 2020-2022 (the selected visualisation gets a green border) -> Appearance -> Colors -> Selected background (Qlik Green) -> type #BBA476 in the bar.

Then do the same with the time filter January to December.

Step 9: Adjusting colours in visualisations

Now that we are already very far in the right direction, we need to talk about colour usage. The Qlik Sense app theme has bold colours like blue, yellow and red by default. These colours are picked so that categories can be distinguished well. So basically, these are already good by themselves. Nevertheless, we'll show you an example of how you can adjust these colours to your desired tastes. You do this as follows:

Edit sheet -> Master Items (menu bar on the far left) -> Dimensions -> Right-click Collection -> Edit -> OK -> Value Colors.

Here you can adjust the colours as you like. We personally always recommend a greyscale palette. But for this example, we'll also add a gold colour. When you move your mouse over the palette, you can choose a code for each value in collection:

Qlik: #ABA7A7, Sense: #D0CECE, Victa #BBA476 -> Save.

You can then do the same for measures in the same way. Only check "Measures" instead of "Dimensions".