Choosing the Correct Sized Screen and Orientation for Digital Signage Applications

Choosing screens for digital signage can often be a difficult task. Whether it’s for a retail unit or for outdoor digital signage, one of the most common errors that people implementing digital signage often make is choosing the wrong sized screen.

Obviously, as with any advertising or information system you want your digital screen to be as noticeable as possible and this can often mean that people invest in screens too large for their purpose.

Indoor

One of the most common areas for screens is in retail. Point of sale or screens placed in store windows are great locations for advertising and promotion, but finding the right location for a screen is only half the battle – selecting the right sized screen can also make a difference.

One of the common errors in retail is selecting screen that is too large. In a point of sale location, for instance, an overly large screen will be difficult to read as it will extend across the peripheral vision.

The same can be said for other indoor locations. If the audience will be close to a screen it should not be too large to make reading the information difficult.

Outdoor Digital Signage

But there is a place for large screens and often the opposite mistakes are made when embarking in an outdoor digital signage campaign. When outside, screens are commonly read from further away which means that larger sized screens are preferable in getting noticed.

And for some indoor locations too such as on concourses and inside shopping malls where larger screens can play an advantage but size is not the only consideration when trying to get noticed.

Orientation

Another decision that has to be made is the orientation of the screen and this can make a big difference when it comes to readability too.  Often the content can play a part in which orientation is best to opt for – but also the location can too.

For screens placed at eye-level, portrait screens are often the best for being noticed as it falls into line with the common method if poster advertising that we are all used to.  For screens higher up or lower down (such as a store window) , landscape screens are far better as we are more accustomed to seeing TV devices at these levels.