You might want to provide summary information but not in a full-blown visualization. The text area allows you to mix calculated values, conditional icons, bullet graphs, and sparklines with other text area elements. Furthermore, you can use the full range of formatting options, including HTML.
The use of these summary elements in the text area is not much different from their use in the Graphical Table visualization. You insert them using the Insert Dynamic Item dropdown list.
Once inserted, you configure the dynamic graphical elements in exactly the same way as in a graphical table, specifying the source data table, columns, and any rules you want to define. You can additionally do some visual formatting through the Format Control… dialog.