Session Abstract

Designing Production-Grade Custom Visuals in Power BI with Deneb As Power BI practitioners mature, many eventually hit the same wall: native visuals are powerful, but they impose structural limits. Layering complex KPIs, building precise layouts, or controlling visual behaviour beyond the format pane often requires compromise. This session explores how to move beyond those constraints by designing production-grade custom visuals using Deneb and the Vega-Lite grammar of graphics. Rather than focusing on basic syntax, we will examine: How to think in layers, marks, and encodings When in-visual transformations outperform DAX measures Structuring maintainable and reusable visual specifications Handling dynamic scaling, conditional logic, and controlled interactivity Avoiding common performance and maintainability pitfalls Through real-world examples, we will rebuild complex reporting scenarios that native visuals struggle to represent cleanly — such as layered KPI cards, dynamic bullet charts, and composite visuals that would otherwise require multiple visuals stitched together. This session is aimed at experienced report creators, data architects, and consultants who already understand Power BI modelling and DAX, and want to take control of the visual layer itself. Attendees will leave with a clear framework for deciding when Deneb is appropriate, how to architect custom visuals responsibly, and how to elevate their reporting craft beyond default components.

Duncan Boyne

I’m a Power BI and Power Platform consultant with a background in turning messy, real-world data into something people actually want to use. I spend most of my time working with Power BI, Dataverse, Power Apps, and Power Automate, helping organisations move from “we have data” to “we trust our data”. I’m particularly interested in report design, semantic models, governance, and making complex concepts feel simple. Outside of client work, I’m heavily involved in the Power Platform community. I run the Norfolk Power Platform User Group, help organise regional events, and regularly speak at user groups and conferences across the UK. My sessions are practical, honest, and based on lessons learned the hard way, with a focus on things you can apply the next day.