FORGE DASHBOARD — Data-Dense SaaS Design Skill

> Dashboards fail in two ways: too much clutter, or too little clarity. > This skill enforces the third path: information architecture that makes data readable at a glance.

DIAL CONFIGURATION

DATA_DENSITY:     8   (1=Airy metrics / 10=Cockpit-level data saturation)
VISUAL_CLARITY:   8   (1=Decorative charts / 10=Precision data tables)
INTERACTION_DEPTH:6   (1=Static view / 10=Drill-down, filter, real-time)

SECTION 1 — DASHBOARD IDENTITY RULES

Typography for Data UIs

• Display font: Satoshi or Geist. NEVER serif on dashboards.
• Numeric data: ALWAYS font-mono (Geist Mono or JetBrains Mono).
• Label text: 0.6875rem uppercase, letter-spacing: 0.1em, muted color.
• Table data: 0.875rem, regular weight, tabular-nums (font-variant-numeric: tabular-nums).

Color for Data

• Background: hsl(220 14% 97%) (not pure white — reduces eye strain)
• Card surface: hsl(0 0% 100%) with 1px solid hsl(220 13% 91%)
• Positive delta: hsl(158 60% 40%) — no neon green
• Negative delta: hsl(0 72% 50%) — no neon red
• Neutral: hsl(220 8% 58%)
• Chart palette: accent + 4 harmonious HSL rotations (±40° hue steps)

SECTION 2 — LAYOUT ARCHITECTURE

Grid System

• Dashboard uses CSS Grid sidebar + main layout:

css
.dashboard {
  display: grid;
  grid-template-columns: 240px 1fr;
  grid-template-rows: 56px 1fr;
  min-height: 100dvh;
}

• Sidebar: fixed width 240px (collapsed: 64px icon-only mode)
• Header: 56px height, sticky, backdrop-blur-md
• Content: p-6 padding, max-w-[1600px]

Metric Cards (KPI Row)

• Use divide-x divide-border or inline border-right — NOT boxed cards
• Each metric: label + large number + delta badge + sparkline
• Numbers: clamp(1.5rem, 2.5vw, 2.25rem), font-mono, font-bold
• Delta badge: ±X% with directional arrow icon — colored accordingly

Card Usage Rules

• Cards ONLY when elevation communicates hierarchy (modals, overlays, floating panels)
• At DATA_DENSITY > 6: separate sections with border-t or divide-y, NOT cards
• When cards are used: rounded-xl, p-6, diffusion shadow (0 4px 24px -4px hsl(220 20% 8% / 0.06))

SECTION 3 — DATA VISUALIZATION STANDARDS

Chart Library

Check package.json for recharts, nivo, or @tremor/react. Use whichever is installed. If none: install recharts as default (npm install recharts).

Chart Anti-Patterns (BANNED)

• 3D charts of any kind
• Pie charts with > 5 segments (use a bar chart instead)
• Charts without axis labels or tooltips
• Charts with default library colors (always remap to project palette)
• Missing loading/empty states for charts

Chart Skeleton

Every chart must have a shimmer skeleton matching its bounding box:

jsx
// Shimmer skeleton for charts
<div className="h-[200px] rounded-lg bg-surface-2 animate-pulse" />

Table Standards

• Sticky header row
• Row hover: bg-surface-2 transition
• Sortable columns: arrow icon that rotates on sort direction change
• Pagination: < 1 2 3 ... 14 > compact style
• Empty table: centered illustration + "No results match your filters" + Clear filters CTA
• Loading: skeleton rows matching column count

SECTION 4 — SIDEBAR NAVIGATION

Structure

[Logo / Brand]
─────────────
[Primary Nav Group]
  Home
  Analytics
  Projects
  Customers
─────────────
[Secondary Nav Group]
  Settings
  Help
─────────────
[User Avatar + Name]
[Logout]

Behavior

• Active state: accent color left border + accent-dim background fill
• Hover: bg-surface-2 transition 150ms
• Collapsed mode (icon-only): tooltip on hover showing label
• Mobile: off-canvas drawer, AnimatePresence slide-in from left
• Keyboard navigation: full arrow-key + Enter support

SECTION 5 — INTERACTION PATTERNS

Filters & Search

• Global search: ⌘K command palette (not inline search bar)
• Table filters: popover with checkbox groups, date ranges
• Active filters: badge row below search with × to remove each
• Filter state: persist in URL params (?status=active&sort=asc)

Real-Time Updates (when INTERACTION_DEPTH >= 7)

• Websocket data: use optimistic updates — update UI before server confirms
• New row animation: slide-in from top with AnimatePresence
• Metric updates: number transition animation (useMotionValue counter)
• Status indicators: CSS keyframe pulse (@keyframes ping)

Drill-Down Flow

• Table row click → slide-in detail panel (not new page) with framer-motion layout
• Back navigation: breadcrumb trail always visible
• URL updates on drill-down (deep-linkable)

SECTION 6 — QUALITY GATE (DASHBOARD SPECIFIC)

• ] Is font-mono used for ALL numeric data?
• ] Are charts remapped to the project color palette?
• ] Are all charts/tables showing loading, empty, AND error states?
• ] Is the sidebar keyboard-navigable?
• ] Does the layout use CSS Grid for sidebar+main (not flexbox hacks)?
• ] Are KPI metrics separated by borders (not individual cards at density > 6)?
• ] Is global search available via keyboard shortcut?
• ] Are positive/negative deltas using calibrated (non-neon) colors?