Digital Signage

Any App State user can create and share appropriate university-wide messages with campus — news, events, deadlines, accolades and more. Having a Scala screen is not required.

The information below will help you plan and refine your message and create effective digital signage content.

What's the Message?

• Communications Planning
• Creating Content
• Refine the Message
• Design Your Slide

Slide Design Standards

• File Formats
• Size and Orientation
• Fonts and Readability
• Color
• Images, Graphic Elements and Backgrounds
• Contrast
• Composition
• Design for Accessibility Checklist

Start here! Digital signage should be part of your multi-channel communications plan.

A communications plan is a document that describes how you are going to communicate the right messages to the right people at the right time.

Consider these questions when creating your communications plan: 

1. Who is your target audience(s)?
2. What information do you need to share?
3. What is your goal(s)?
4. What action(s) do you want the audience to take?

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Once you’ve drafted a communications plan and identified your audience(s) and goal(s), it’s time to think about your message. 

What information do you want to share? What action(s) do you want the audience to take? 

There are many types of informational slides that you might create to promote your area or organization. Suggested types of content include:

• Campus news and events
• Campus services
• Calls for nominations/applications
• Honors and accolades
• Upcoming deadlines
• New programs or services
• Course announcements
• Schedule changes
• Volunteer opportunities

Ask: What is the most critical information that I need to share? When in doubt, leave it out!

Use these guiding questions to think about what details need to be included on your slide:

1. WHO? Is there a speaker or presenter?  A sponsoring club, department or organization?
2. WHAT? For example, is the slide advertising an event or a deadline? Are tickets being sold? Is registration required?
3. WHEN? Is there a date and/or time to include?
4. WHERE? Is there a location to include? 
5. WHY it matters? What do you want the audience to know or do?

What to Include:

1. Identify the sponsoring campus area or club — this can be text or an approved titlemark
2. Identify the audience — is the slide for all students, a specific group of students, faculty, staff
3. Date/deadline
4. Time
5. Location — Boone campus, Hickory campus, online
6. Call to action 
7. Accessibility statement (on event slides)
8. Link for more information
   1. Website link — can be paired with a QR code
   2. Contact email 
   3. If the slide is promoting an Engage event, these statements are acceptable: Find us on Engage OR RSVP on Engage

Accessibility Statement

If your event is open to all — with no advance registration or tickets required — include the university’s accessibility statement on the slide:

For a disability accommodation, visit odr.appstate.edu.

Link for More Information

Typically, all slides should include a link for more information.

One of these is required:

1. Website link — can be paired with a QR code (see below)
2. Contact email 
3. If the slide promotes an Engage event, one of these statements is acceptable: Find us on Engage OR RSVP on Engage.

Keep links simple and clean. Do not include "https" or "www"— for example: digitalsignage.appstate.edu. 

QR Codes on Digital Signage

QR codes can be used in digital signage but may be difficult for users to scan:

• QR codes should be large and have good contrast.
• Use a short URL for the QR code for better scannability.
• Must be paired with the website link, contact email or Engage statement for accessibility.

Example

In this example, a QR code is paired with a website link. The QR code points directly to the referenced article; the website link points to the main site. 

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Once you've finalized your message, it's time to design your slide. 

It's important to select fonts, colors, graphics and a layout that engages the audience while considering readability and accessibility.

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Scala CMS supports the following formats for uploads: 

• Images (jpeg, png or gif)

• Videos (mp4)

Scala CMS does not support PDFs, PowerPoint presentations or Google Slides.

Videos and/or Animated Slides

• Animated slides (10-15 seconds or less) and short videos (30 seconds or less) are appropriate for digital signage.

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Your slide should fit a standard television screen.

The minimum pixel dimensions and orientation are: 

• 1920 x 1080 pixels
• Landscape/widescreen (16:9 aspect ratio)

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Your message matters — consider how it will be presented. Choosing the right font and font style can make or break your signage!

Choosing a Font

• Use large font sizes:  
  • 100+ point text suggested for headings — readable from 25 feet away by someone with normal eyesight.
  • Avoid anything smaller than 35-point text — readable from seven feet away by someone with normal eyesight.
• Use standard sans serif fonts and limit to two fonts:
  • Standard sans serif fonts include Arial, Avant Garde, Geneva, and Helvetica.
  • Avoid fancy or gothic fonts.
  • Stick to the basics — some fonts may not render properly on all players.

Readability

• Keep text simple and minimal:
  • Format with titles, highlights or bullets.
  • Avoid paragraphs!
• Use sentence structure: 
  • Reserve ALL CAPS or bold for text you want to call extra attention to.
  • Ensure adequate spacing between each element and between letters.
    • For example: 10 to 35% of stroke for letter spacing; 35-70% of letter height for line spacing.