You have the digital signage displays, you have the ambition, but do you have what it takes to create must-see content?!
If this question keeps you up at night, then you’re not alone! Content may be king, but creating engaging, high-impact digital signage can be challenging, especially when it’s an ongoing task. The good news? With the right approach and tools, designing compelling content is easier than you think. No graphic design or coding skills required!
This quick-read guide will walk you through everything you need to know to create compelling digital signage content.
First thing’s first. Before you even open your laptop, think about your audience. Who are you targeting and why? When you’re creating digital signage content, you need to consider what your business objectives and goals are.
Where will your on-screen content be displayed? This may seem irrelevant to content creation, but it can actually make or break the success of your designs.
For example, if your digital signage displays are going to be viewed from up close, then you’ll probably need to ensure that you produce content in Full HD or 4K resolution on compatible digital signage displays. At close proximities, lower resolution content is likely to look pixelated.
Also, don’t forget about the lighting! Too much bright lighting in the environment will wash out your on-screen content. Too little will make it impossible to see.
For window digital signage displays, or harshly lit spaces, you might need to consider investing in high brightness digital signage displays, with 1000-2500 cd/m².
The length of your content should be timed to suit your digital signage location. Here’s a quick guide to the kind of dwell times you should aim for:
● Short-term viewing for passers-by in a mall - 30 seconds.
● Mid-term viewing for receptions and cafes - 45 seconds - 2 minutes.
● Long-term viewing for restaurants, offices and waiting areas -2-21/2 minutes.
This brings us to what you’ll need to ensure your on-screen content is clear and legible. Digital signage is most often viewed from around seven - ten feet away. At this viewing distance, we’d recommend using:
● 36-54 point font for body text.
● 72-144 point font for your headlines.
● Using sans-serif typefaces (e.g., Arial, Helvetica, Open Sans,Avenir, Roboto) for clarity and legibility.
It’s also a good idea to use contrasting colours for anything you create on-screen.
● Use high-contrast color combinations (e.g., dark text on a light background or vice versa).
● Avoid low-contrast pairings like light gray on white, which strain the eyes.
● If overlaying text on images, apply a subtle dark tint to improve legibility.
Overloaded screens can confuse viewers and weaken your message. To keep viewers’ eyes on the prize, stick to these best practices:
● Leave space around the edges of your content, so that it’s not cutoff by the screen.
● Make sure that you incorporate white space into your designs to guide viewers’ focus.
● Follow the 3 x 5 text rule.For clarity, create 3 lines of text with a maximum of 5 words, or 5 lines of text with a maximum of 3 words.
Now, for what you’ve been waiting for - how to create the content itself! If you’re short on time, you can actually bypass the process entirely by publishing content that’s ready to go!
With a service like Screenfeed, you can upload live entertainment and helpful information, like:
● Reuters News in any language
● Reuters sports
● Weather forecasts
● Traffic maps to help customers plan their journeys home
Why not also make the most of the content you already have? Through the display of curated social media feeds, you can reach new people, and make viewers feel a valued part of your community.
Share business updates and positive customer exchanges from:
● X.
What if you want to design your own content from scratch? Well, that’s also easy. You can do so in minutes with tools, like Screenfeed Connect. You won’t need any graphic design skills or coding experience.
Our tool lets you design with data, enabling you to pull pictures, gifs, text and statistics from any content source you connect to the platform, including Google Sheets.
Create advertising, using your latest product images,or celebrate employee achievements by displaying pictures of them, alongside details of their incredible work.
How you present your content is almost as important as what you present. Often referred to as content management systems (CMS),digital signage software, such as Signagelive give you the flexibility to choose exactly the right layout to suit your messaging and draw more eyes to the screen.
With such digital signage software, you can:
● Create full-screen content
● Incorporate messaging into multi-zone layouts
● Schedule content remotely in real-time
● Pre-programme content to appear at specific dates and times
● Find out which content performs best
Don’t forget that you’ll need to ensure that your designs fit either:
Creating digital signage can often feel like a tall order, but it’s actually a surprisingly simple process. With a few easy-to-follow guidelines, and the right tools, you can cost-effectively create and deliver genuinely engaging content. Whatever the size of your business or budget, it’s possible to generate round-the-clock material that appeals to exactly the right target audience.
Reach out to us today to find out more about how Screenfeed can help with your content creation strategies.
- Post by Signagelive
