Libraries Digital Signage – Procedures & Guidelines
Please address any questions or concerns to Deborah.Fink@colorado.edu.
Purpose of digital signs
To provide timely information about the Libraries (especially in regards to significant changes), information about the campus, and to engage – primarily undergraduate users in alignment with best practices
Administration
The Outreach office will design, input, schedule, and manage screen content and format, with priorities determined by Associate Directors as needed
Content
Requests for content may be made to Deborah.Fink@colorado.edu. Requests generally will be filled within 24 working hours or sooner. On the form, you can check a box if the content is urgent (for example, “flooding on the third floor has caused E303 to close”), and every attempt will be made to create a slide immediately.
Please make text brief and to the point as your message has a better chance of being read if the content of the message is quickly and efficiently displayed. Submitted content generally will be formatted as brief bullets. In order to keep the number of bullets per slide at 3 or fewer, multiple slides may be created to convey a single request. See Guidelines below for best practices re: content.
Format
Outreach provides guidelines and templates. Options for formatting must be limited because any given slide must be developed within the context of an ever-changing array of slides in a variety of formats and in multiple play lists. Design choices are based on the following guidelines.
Guidelines for Creating Digital Signage Slides
To be effective, digital signage first must be perceived, and then the content must be received by viewers. A recent scan of literature on visual presentation media reveals some basic guidelines for achieving the perception and reception of digital signs and their content.
Perception
First and foremost, of course, those passing by digital signs must notice them. The design of slides must reflect the visual tastes of the target audience. The visual tastes of college students are considerably different than those of professionals over 40. Colors, images, icons, text sizes and language must appeal to the intended audience. Design trends from magazines and Web sites popular with target viewers are proven attention getters.
Reception
Once noticed, digital signs must convey a limited amount of clear, concise, compact information in a limited amounted of time, perhaps only seconds on a “pass by” basis as the viewer continues walking to the intended destination.
What’s on first?
The most important information must appear first and most prominently on a slide. Content at the beginning of a communication captures more attention than that at the end. A brief title or a question often creates attention and interest.
The Medium is the Message
All unnecessary words should be eliminated, including prepositions and unimportant phrases. The fewer words, the more impact they will have. It is more effective to increase font size than to expect viewers to read long sentences or paragraphs of information to glean meaning and relevance. Research shows that people learn better when information is presented in bite-size pieces.
"’Less is more’—the less you overload working memory with extraneous information, the more learning improves.”
Atkinson, C. (2005). Beyond bullet points: using Microsoft PowerPoint to create presentations that inform, motivate and inspire. Redmond, Wash. Microsoft Press.
The 3x5 Rule
Words on the screen are there to communicate clear concise information. Keep messages uncluttered. Keep the type size large for legibility at a distance, and present only the most important ideas.
Try not to use more than:
3 lines of text with 5 words each -- OR -- 5 lines of text with 3 words each
Use clear, simple, concise messaging to rotate slides more frequently, exposing viewers to more communications in less time
Text Styles
Keep fonts simple and legible. Never use more than two font styles in a single message and use italics sparingly, as they can be hard to read from a distance.
Contrast & Legibility
The best message may be lost if the viewer cannot easily see the information displayed on the screen.
Contrast is the primary factor for legibility:
Poor contrast reduces legibility.
Good contrast improves legibility.
Color
The human eye is most sensitive to GREEN, and RED is second for optical sensitivity. Our eyes are least sensitive to BLUE. Use this information about what draws the viewer’s eye to pull the viewer’s focus to critical information first. Also use contrasting colors to attract the eye. Very colorful items and/or high contrast will pull the eye first.
Visual Hierarchy
Graphics, flow, and white space also give visual "clues" to guide viewing patterns. Size will also play a part in determining what is considered high priority to the viewer.
“Research shows that people learn better when you use visual [or graphical] cues to highlight a presentation's organization.”
Atkinson, C. (2005). Beyond bullet points: using Microsoft PowerPoint to create presentations that inform, motivate and inspire. Redmond, Wash. Microsoft Press.
Messages should be previewed by noting where your eye goes first and adjusting the design to ensure that the most critical elements take priority, then checking for readability and visibility. Successful message design allows viewers to concentrate on the message, not strain for readability.
Backgrounds: Often Seen First
When creating visual messages, we often concentrate our efforts on the text and select the background as an afterthought. Of course, the design should always be secondary to the content, but people often notice graphics before text. This is especially important in digital signage, where the viewer is some distance away from the display and you have only seconds to grab their attention. Many times, your background may be the first thing to catch their eye.
Backgrounds should be considered in terms of what they can add to a message. They aren’t independent of the visual rules that apply to content design. The background is not merely a backdrop, but the foundation of the message.
The following questions and suggestions are considerations for choosing background:
- Will this background draw attention to my message?
- Use backgrounds to appeal and attract.
- Draw viewers in with bright colors and rich designs.
- Will the background overpower the content?
- Light text should be on darker backgrounds and vise versa.
- When a slide includes inserted graphics, keep the background simple.
- Will this be seen in concert with other content (other bulletins, videos, crawls, audio, etc.)?
- Consider the complete visual layout and what clashes or complements.
- Don’t clutter side-by-side content with “busy” designs. Mix and match for balance.
- Does the background contain graphics that work with the message?
- Background designs can suggest themes or moods.
- For example - don’t use a dark, sober background to announce a Spring Fling.
- Should my bulletin(s) follow a color scheme?
- Use background sets that work together for quality presentation.
- A consistent presentation of information over time can help to train the audience to look for important information in familiar formats. Developing design templates or guidelines to preserve continuity.
Overall Design Considerations
How clearly are key messages or themes identified?
Don’t bury the lead. Viewers tend to scan messages for important information. Use clear, concise headlines and don’t clutter messages with unnecessary text or graphics. Keep it simple and clean.
How well does the design work in juxtaposition with other graphics?
Consider your content in relationship to other items on the screen when you are designing it.
Remember: The better messages are received – the more the audience will rely on and look for them on a regular basis.
Guidelines compiled and adapted from Visix Newsletter Archives. Copyright 2006. Tech Electronics, Inc. (TEi) by Deborah Fink, CU Outreach Librarian, August 2008.
