One of the trickiest parts of digital signage is knowing where to  start. You want a great design, something impressive, yet useful and you  might not have a huge advertising budget to blow on it. In this post,  we look at digital signage designs from some of the biggest brands in  the world, focusing on messaging, design and inspiration that can be  used by anyone. 

When many of us begin planning our digital signage content, we seem  to think that more is more. You have an instance to grab your audience’s  attention and you want to show unique products and launches, content  from advertising partners, social media, train times, weather - the list  goes on.

But often, some of the best digital signage design inspiration comes from the power of simplicity.

Take Apple. Simple and intuitive design is part of its brand DNA. The  digital signage displays in-store are no different. Take the huge LED  wall in Dubai, the 6K wall within One World Trade Center and the screens  positioned cleverly in the flagship NYC store. 

All are used for incredibly simple content display showing product videos and animation.

Herein lies the secret; Apple’s digital signage displays have been  created to add to the ambience. Apple don’t expect the audience to sit  and watch these screens when there are far more interesting products  they can touch in front them. The content is ambient, it’s ‘background  noise’ in every sense. 

One of our favorite digital signage use cases to date is a company we  worked with who were using digital signage to provide health and  psychological benefits to patients in a children’s hospital. 

Accademia  uses video art and digital signage to improve patient welfare in  hospitals such as the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital in London. Their  installations are designed to either distract patients or inspire calm  through the use of a new video art form they call “Living Photography.”

You can see an example of a hospital project titled ‘The Zoo’ in action here. 

This shows how art, design and digital technology can be brought together to provide purpose, not just an ambient display. 

Another great example of digital signage displays designed for  purpose are those used in schools and colleges. We all know how schools  are criticized for their lack of ‘real world’ experience or information  that students can take with them when they leave. Merchant Taylors’,  a ScreenCloud customer, use displays designed with real world  information to help students perform better in classes and to better  illustrate abstract concepts.

By displaying economical information, news, currency and stock rates,  students arrive at lessons better prepared with real information on the  state of markets throughout the world. 

One trend that Sixteen:Nine  alerted us to was data visualization and the process of using digital  signage to break down big data and make it more accessible to viewers.

This would be an interesting use case for offices, internal  communications, factory floors and educational departments within  schools.

Often, we see a spreadsheet and the last thing we do is picture it up  on a digital screen. Yet the meaning of the data, which can be created  in a visual design, is actually incredibly interesting. 

The key driver of course, is how easy it is to load up a spreadsheet  and turn it into a visual display. Google Slides, Powerpoint and  dashboards such as those in our App Store, allow you to easily plug in data and watch it transform into something more visual. 

Take this example from our app partner Dash  above, which takes simple data such as web visits, server speed and  performance and translates it into a visual, easy-to-read display. 

Part of the appeal of digital signage is that the content is a glance  medium. With data visualization, you can move away from static  advertising content and begin crafting a design that goes in deep on  your business metrics. 

There is perhaps no better case in point of great digital signage  design than the new dynamic digital signage display installed in New  York’s Westfield shopping centre. This digital signage design is purely  about experience.

It utilizes pretty standard advertising content from stores in the  centre as well as brands such as Ford, but the content has quite  obviously been created to enhance experience.

The ads, which span across the 15-million pixel wall, are simple in  design yet create a futuristic experience. One ad from Ford, as shown in  the video below, follows the passersby and creates motion that attracts  the eye as they walk to their shopping destination. 

Westfield World Trade Center - Ford Motor Company

Another good example is Disney. As you might expect, their digital  signage networks although smaller than Westfield’s, are similarly used  to enhance experience. Customer-side, in the Orlando resort, twelve  screens are setup to talk to guests and provide useful information.  These screens have up-to-the-minute feeds on rooms available, weather  (grab a poncho) and special offers. Employee-side, the screens stream  safety videos, news alerts and important updates.

At Disney, as at Westfield WTC one, the screens are used to create  experience, whether that’s for sheer entertainment or as a way of  creating a more fluid customer journey. 

Some of the best digital signage design inspiration comes from advertising and social media campaigns. Take Airbnb's ‘Live here’ campaign where they show off beautiful spots in a really enticing, visual medium.

Now imagine this type of advert used in digital signage. The motion  would easily catch the eye, the aesthetic, creating a feel of  ‘wanderlust’, would be fairly universal - who wouldn’t want to live in a  castle after all?

Then you have the call to action, which could be transcribed using a  digital screen, or beacon-led smartphone prompt, to allow the user to  book the property, or explore it further for a future trip. 

The ‘Live here’ campaign pulls on so many of our human instincts for  travel and experience, visually connecting with an area and really  feeling what it might be like to live or travel there.

On a digital screen, this type of design would be magnified and is  just one example of how digital signage creatives can be simple yet  highly effective. 

Another example is the digital signage anti-smoking advert  that ‘coughed’ if someone was smoking nearby. Despite receiving some  backlash for its obtrusive advertising method, the advert certainly drew  attention to its key message; the effects of smoking. 

At the very least, it would make smokers stop and question a  habit-led action that they might often give no thought to, which is  after all, the purpose of advertising right? 

Digital signage design inspiration - where we come in

We get it, all of these ideas sound great but it can be a little  daunting knowing where to get started. Here’s the thing; all of these  ideas are attainable for digital signage makers of any size. Maybe start  with an app and let it create the content for you, then grow on what  you show and when.

For example: an app like Dash is great for that initial dashboard, a social media wall can be thrown up in seconds with SocialHUB and a visualization of your company workflow has never been more easy than with the Trello app. 

We think there should be no limit on creativity in digital signage,  whether it’s used in a school, store, theme park, hotel or restaurant.  App Stores and other tools that make design easy can be a great place to  start. 

Sign up for a free trial that includes all of our apps at https://screen.cloud. 

Uncovering the digital signage designs of brands such as Disney, Apple and Westfield, with design trends in simplicity, purpose and data visualization.

We dip into some of the biggest digital signage displays in the world and the trends they hint towards.

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Digital Signage Design Inspiration

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