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Of course, the answer will depend on your industry and the audiences you are targeting. The support of these systems is in place to help the College communicate messages of general interest to the public. Digital signage presents an opportunity to enforce a sense of community. Digital signage is used to achieve specific communication goals. When deciding if you need this form of communication, consider your goals, audience, and editorial schedule for keeping the content fresh.
Support
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| title | Digital Signage Procurement |
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Departments are responsible for the funding of equipment, licenses and installation costs. Department’s digital signage requests must include their dean or department head / director’s approval for digital signage location and funding. Approval of the Department / Colleges Dean or VP of that unit confirming the project in writing Equipment purchases must be coordinated and approved through the OTC IT department in order to maintain consistent quality, technological and installation requirements. Equipment must be installed by OTC IT or approved representative. OTC IT will approve digital signage locations within buildings to comply with fire code, ADA requirements, and historical building and structural standards.
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| title | Digital Signage Maintenance |
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OTC IT will maintain server and server software. Digital Signage is NOT allowed for any General Scheduled Classroom Space OTC IT department will train the users on how to publish content and how to access the Digital Signage Repository.
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Basic Content Guidelines
In an effort to maintain consistency in message and branding, we have established some basic content guidelines that should be met before displaying content. By following these simple guidelines, your message will look more professional and reach more people.
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| title | Screen Design / Layout |
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All digital signage televisions must have a minimum resolution of 1920 x 1080 (1080x1920 for portrait). This is to ensure that all approved graphics are displayed correctly. Public Relations and the Creative Service Team will develop standardized templates for all campus monitors. User readability will be maintained between buildings and monitors. Approved graphics can be found on the R: drive (R:\Digital Signage Repository\Approved Graphics). Maximum of 40 words on any static graphic. Insufficient contrast between text and background can make reading difficult. For example, avoid using red type against the OTC blue or vice versa.
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We recommend video clips that are from 10-30 seconds in length for digital signage. All video clips to be posted on digital signage must be at a 16:9 aspect ratio, preferably at 1920 x 1080 pixels. The video should be saved in MPEG-4 (.mp4) format. Audio will not be available for video clips shown on digital signage displays. The IC Video Wall has audio capabilities Any digital sign has the ability to play sound but as of right now we are disabling that feature. You can propose why your signage needs sounds to your system administrator by submitting a ticket to the Help Desk and it will be taken into consideration.
Please use a text overlay for the entire duration of your video to briefly indicate to viewers what the video is promoting. You must follow the OTC Editorial Style Guide, OTC Social Media Style Guide, and Website Standards and Guidelines. These standards extend to the use of wordmarks, logos, signature colors, type fonts and other matters that affect OTC’s visual identity. Any video in violation of the OTC Style Guide will be removed.
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Design Tips – The Basics
While designing for signage can be similar in many ways to designing for other digital media - and in some cases, even print - there are a few major differences to consider. Digital signage is a powerful medium with the ability to distribute multiple ideas and messages at once. By following some simple guidelines, your displays become a powerful source of information-sharing.
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| title | Contrast and Legibility |
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If the eye can’t separate the words from the background due to color choice, the message is lost. Dark backgrounds or images should utilize light or white text, light backgrounds should utilize dark text. If it takes longer than 7 seconds to read the message, revising it or splitting it up over different slides should be considered. This allows the actual size of the font to be larger, which is imperative for a medium that may be viewed from a distance. Text that is too small, even if the message is short, will make it difficult to read. Above all, try to keep messaging simple and concise.
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Don’t pack the message with too much text. Keep the type size as large as possible, especially for headlines. Utilize either three lines of text with five words, or five lines with three words.  Image Added
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| title | Color and Perception |
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Use color for contrast and clarity. Don’t try to use too many colors at the same time. It confuses the space. Too many colors will cause the viewer to lose specific focus and reduce clarity. Use color to enhance or guide the viewer’s eye to the most important information or call to action within the message. Contrast and visibility are still foremost even when applying photo backgrounds and graphics to your messages. Make sure that you’re setting yourself up for success by working in the right colormode. RGB is designed for working with digital media such as screens.
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| title | Information Hierarchy |
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If done well, you can guide the eye to critical information through a visual hierarchy. The headline is the piece of information that most viewers will read first. They may not go on to read the rest of the information, so the headline should accurately represent the content of the message. This text should be the largest and boldest piece of information within the message. Remember also to include a “Call to Action” for each message. What should the viewer take away from it? What would you like the result to be? Clearly communicate what the intent is every time. Utilize bright colors and high contrast as well as size for emphasizing the most important information.
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Establish a campaign
Each campaign will have its own unique goals and strategy. Since we are a college campus, campaigns can be as simple as fall, spring, and summer. The majority of the information is apt to remain the same. However each semester usually has a slightly different focus. The style of each campaign should differ from one another. If the sign remains unchanged for too long the viewer will no longer notice the information being displayed. To avoid stagnant signage make sure each campaign has a unique style. Even if the information stays the same across campaigns the change in style will draw the viewers’ attention.
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