Digital Signage Content – What Are You Looking At?
This article is the third in our series of The Four Pillars of Digital Signage.
What are you looking at?
This should be the first question that comes to mind when considering the type of content that will be displayed on your Digital Signage and it should be asked specifically with the viewing audience in mind.
Why is that so important?
Often, Digital Signage content is designed on the premise of what an organization or company would like to have playing on the screen or think is en vogue, as opposed to what does the audience want or need to see. What messages are important to them or what will they find interesting.
Without this insight, you end up producing content that you feel proud of when you see it, because “Wow!This is exactly what I envisioned!” But at the same time anyone not you looks at it they view it as more flotsam and jetsam in the digital information streams that gets dumped into their already overly data-saturated lives.
An even worse fate is to have a great message, yet have its meaning lost because the content just looks horrible. I’m sure you can tell when someone with little to no graphics design knowledge has put together a webpage with an over abundance of ClipArt and glittery fonts. It hurts your eyes and brain to look at it, let alone read it. What a disaster if people felt like that about your showcase Digital Signage piece.
In order to get the most from your Digital Signage content, AKA your message, it is going to take forethought, planning, an eye for design and most importantly, an understanding of the psychological effect different types of content have on audiences. In fact, psychology for digital signage is discussed in pillar 4 article.
For instance, if your content is filled with multiple regions with a mixture of still images, video and scrolling text, will your audience interpret that as being a good thing, as they can get all the info they need on one screen, and they have time to assess what bit they are interested in? Or are they busy and only have enough time to glance at the screen, and therefore will see your busy content as a distraction not worth giving their attention to? If you put yourself in place of the audience in either case, it becomes evident that there is not a one size fits all content solution.
To get a better grasp on these topics, there are many resources available online, and you can discuss best content practices with your Digital Signage provider. To help you prep for that conversation, you might benefit from considering the eBook 5 Steps For Successful Content Design In Digital Signage Systems.
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