Things To Know Before Zoning Your Digital Signage

Zoning is when a digital signage screen is split into multiple sections, each showing something different. Picture a weather widget in one corner, a news feed in another, and a social feed running as a ticker along the bottom, all working together on one screen.

You've almost certainly seen this kind of screen before. It's a popular choice because it lets you show more at once and opens up more opportunities for branding and messaging.

In this post we'll cover what makes a zoned layout look great, and how to set one up in a Channel.

Zoning hands you more creative control than a single full screen display, and that's exactly what makes it so powerful. Our aim is to help you make the most of that control, so your zoned screens look every bit as polished as a full screen one.

Why zoning is worth getting right

Many digital signage platforms don't offer zoning at all, because getting a multi zone layout to look balanced takes a bit of design know how. That's exactly where we can help.

The pre-set zone layout templates available in a Channel do a lot of that thinking for you, so you can focus on choosing great content rather than working out spacing and structure from scratch.

Principles for a great looking zoned layout

1. Create a hero zone

As with most great design, less is usually more. Give your viewer a clear hero or main zone to land on first, then let them explore the rest, perhaps a weather widget or traffic update in a smaller zone, followed by a news or social ticker along the top or bottom. Think of it as a journey you're guiding them through.

Our ready made layouts are built with this hierarchy in mind, giving you the flexibility to choose your own content without having to solve the spacing and structure problem yourself.

2. Choose content that complements

With two or three zones on screen at once, the best results come from content that works together rather than competing. A strong combination usually mixes something visual, something live or real time, and something static and useful, for example a video, a live social feed, and a static news headline.

Our app library includes widgets for social feeds, world clocks, news, weather and plenty more, so you can mix and match across your zones to find a combination that suits your space.

3. Make the most of your sizing, spacing and scheduling

Zoning gives each piece of content a smaller stage to work with, so it's worth choosing content that still shines at that size. ScreenCloud handles the resizing from full screen to a smaller zone automatically, but a quick check on readability goes a long way, especially for text.

The same goes for timing. Give each zone its moment, so viewers can properly take in what's playing rather than splitting their attention between two things at once.

4. Play to your device's strengths

Every device has its own sweet spot for zoning. Some hardware handles multiple zones and videos brilliantly, while others work best with a simpler setup, which also helps keep things clean and easy for viewers to follow. Tickers work particularly well with short, scrolling content like social posts, news headlines or RSS feeds. See which apps are supported on sidebar and ticker tape zones to find the best fit for your setup.

Between social apps, news, weather, images and video, there's a great range to build from.

If you're expanding your signage fleet or want hardware built for continuous, commercial use, take a look at ScreenCloud OS devices such as the PIXI or the Station P1 Pro.

5. Use background zones to add the finishing touches

Not every zone needs to grab attention, and some don't even need to be visible. A background zone sits behind your main content, filling any gaps or borders left between zones with a static image or video, something like a brand pattern or muted footage, for a more polished look. This comes ready to use in a number of pre-set templates, or build your own with the CSS zone editor.

The Background Audio Zone does the same for sound. It's a hidden zone that plays an audio file, video file or streaming app alongside your visuals without taking up screen space, perfect for background music or a live radio stream. See this section in the Channels setup guide for the full steps.

Setting up zoning with a Channel

1. Create a Channel. Go to Channels and select Create New Channel, and start by naming your Channel. You can also set a cover image for your Channel as it appears in your ScreenCloud account menu.

1. Choose landscape or portrait. Pick the orientation that matches your screen setup.

1. Select a zone layout. With your new Channel, open Edit Layout in the right hand menu and choose from the pre-set zone layout templates. For full control over the exact size and position of every zone, select Customize to use the CSS zone editor.

1. Assign content to each zone. Use the zone selector to switch between zones, then click Add Content to open the media picker and choose playlists, media, links or apps for each one. You can also add to your Background Zone or Background Audio Zone, if available for your selected layout.

1. Preview your Channel using the Preview button to see how the zones and content look together.

1. Publish your Channel, then assign it to your screens from the Screens section.

Ready to give zoning a go?

Zoning is a brilliant way to say more with one screen. We're all used to seeing content split into sections, even on our own computers, and with a bit of thought about hierarchy, pacing and how your content works together, a zoned screen can look every bit as polished as a full screen display.

The more confidently teams use zoning well, the more great looking screens we'll see out there.

Sign up for your free trial of ScreenCloud today and give it a try.