Designing an attractive and /informative pages

A few “rules of thumb" that you should keep in mind to make them the most effective…

StrandVision online signage creation center makes it easy to enter and upload content for your signage pages and select the type of information, such as local news and weather. The challenge is to make your slides attractive, entertaining and effective. Here are a few things to keep in mind:

Consider the display units: Traditional televisions and older computer screens have a 4:3 aspect ratio (the ratio of the width to the height) while LCD and plasma displays and some computer and laptop displays use a wider, more movie screen-like 16:9 aspect ratio. This affects all of your designs and means that you should not mix traditional and wide screen digital signs on the same network if possible.

Text: Keep it short. Each page should present only one idea or list and do it clearly and succinctly. Use a large, readable text font that will be readable by your audience from their normal viewing distance. Use text colors that contrast well.  For instance, you would use a larger font with very high contrasting colors for a senior center than you would for an office or health club.

Dwell time: Make sure that screens and scrolls are on the display long enough for them to be read by the average reader.  Although our system attempts to determine the best setting based on your content, you can override it by setting your account profile to the Advanced user setting.

Graphics: One of the nice things about StrandVision digital signs is that they can use existing photos and graphics. Either upload the digital file, or scan an image and upload it and you’re in business. However, just because a graphic works in a brochure doesn’t mean that it will work in a digital sign. Make sure that the graphics (and any text on the image) are bold enough to be viewed from a distance. A lot of times people want to take graphics, especially charts with numbers and legends, and convert them to digital sign content.If the text elements are not bold enough, the slide will become incomprehensible and may cause your viewer to lose interest in all of your signage content. It’s better to take a few minutes and adjust the image appropriately for the digital signage application.

Split screens: Remember, if you are using the split screen option to present more than one set of content on the screen, the overall size is significantly reduced.  You will have to check to make sure that the text or graphics, dwell time and overall presentation remain effective.

Help with design: There are many resources available to you that can help with your design. Your installer may provide design services or be able to recommend someone; StrandVision has recommendations of people who can help you too. You may have a Web, marketing or in-house graphic designer who can also help. Sometimes it makes sense to develop and work with a template to make your designs consistent and faster to update new content. That way you have an attractive, consistent design throughout your digital signage presentation to continue to build your company image.

Remember, with StrandVision Digital Signs, it’s easy to change and add to your digital sign so you don’t have to worry about getting it perfect the first time. You can easily make changes, add or delete pages and adjust your presentation at a moments notice.