Using Custom Fonts In Power BI

Want your Power BI reports to look more polished and on-brand?

Fonts play a big role in how your reports are perceived – impacting clarity, trust, and style.

But Power BI doesn’t let you upload custom fonts directly. So, what can you do?

There are workarounds to bring your brand fonts into Power BI, without compromising on visual appeal or performance.

Power BI supports a limited set of built-in fonts, which can be frustrating when trying to match your company’s brand.

But with a few techniques like image-based titles, HTML visuals, or SVG elements, you can still achieve a custom look.

Power BI’s Built-In Font Options

Power BI includes standard fonts like Segoe UI, Arial, and Times New Roman.

You can access these from the Format pane under text or title settings.

These fonts are convenient and compatible across all devices, which helps maintain consistent design.

They are a great starting point to make your dashboards and reports more appealing.

However, they often fall short when trying to reflect a brand’s distinct identity.

Pros

• Easy to use and available by default
• Consistent display across devices
• No impact on performance or compatibility

Cons

• Limited selection restricts branding flexibility
• Makes most reports look visually similar
• Lacks visual personality and tone customization

Workarounds for Custom Fonts

1. Use Background Images with Styled Text

Design headers or banners in PowerPoint, Figma, or Photoshop using custom fonts, export them as images, and add them to your report.

These are a great fit for a Q&A visual, as they rely more on text than other visualisations!

Pros: Full visual control, ideal for fixed titles
Cons: Not editable, not responsive to slicers

2. Embed Fonts via Theme JSON

Add CSS-like font names to your Power BI theme file.

This only works with fonts available on the viewer’s device or web-safe fonts.

Tip: Use only known fonts; this method doesn’t support uploading font files.

3. HTML Viewer Custom Visual

Use the HTML Viewer visual from AppSource to embed web fonts via HTML and CSS. You’ll need internet access and basic HTML skills.

For example, you can use this code snippet:

<link href=”https://fonts.googleapis.com/css2?family=Roboto+Slab&display=swap” rel=”stylesheet”>

<div style=”font-family: Cinze’; font-size: 24px;”>

  Custom Font Example

</div>

To get this output:

Pros: Editable, flexible, supports web fonts
Cons: May not work offline; support varies

4. SVG Graphics with Embedded Fonts

Design visuals as SVGs with fonts embedded, then add them to Power BI as images or via R visuals.

Pros: Perfect visual fidelity, scalable
Cons: Not dynamic, requires design tools

When to Use Custom Fonts

Use custom fonts when:

• You need to match corporate branding guidelines
• You’re building executive or client-facing dashboards
• Visual hierarchy or style plays a big role in usability

Design Best Practices

• Keep text clean, legible, and consistent throughout your report.
• Stick to one or two font styles, and ensure high contrast between text and background.
• Add space around image-based headers to avoid crowding.
• Always test visuals across different screen sizes.

Limitations And Considerations

While effective, custom font workarounds do come with trade-offs:

• No true font embedding in Power BI
• Image-based fonts are not editable
• HTML visuals require web access and may behave differently across environments
• SVGs require external design effort and aren’t dynamic

Using too many images or custom visuals can slow performance.

Custom fonts work best when used selectively, primarily in headers or titles.

Conclusion

Power BI doesn’t support custom fonts directly, but there are creative ways to incorporate them for a more branded and professional design.

Whether you use image-based headers, HTML visuals, or SVGs, the key is to apply these techniques where they’ll have the most visual impact.

Prioritize usability, test across environments, and keep maintenance in mind.

With thoughtful application, custom fonts can take your dashboards from standard to standout.