When planning your digital signage, consider key factors like aspect ratio, orientation, resolution, and display size. Stretched or pixelated images undermine your message’s authority. Avoid placing small screens too high; they become hard to read and interact with. Follow ADA guidelines for touchscreens. Use simple fullscreen designs on smaller displays to maintain clarity. Larger screens also benefit from fullscreen content occasionally for maximum impact.
Or you can go really big. Really, really big.
Attention and engagement are the goals of any communications effort. And what grabs more attention than a video wall? With screens getting bigger and boasting higher resolutions, many organizations still opt for creating large displays by placing several thin-bezel screens together to form one massive image. Usually positioned in high-traffic areas like lobbies or student unions, these colossal display configurations make an immediate and lasting impression. Video walls have that undeniable “wow” factor – they’re just cool.
Technical Considerations
To set up an impressive video wall, you’ll need interconnected displays, media player hardware, video cards, and processors. A media player acts as a compact PC providing the source signal. For larger setups, additional hardware and external graphics cards might be necessary. Multi-output video cards can simplify things by sending each display its own native resolution signal – ideally uniform across all screens for ease. For complex installations, specialized video processors offer flexibility despite their higher cost.
Some display manufacturers design displays that can be daisy-chained together. The entire configuration is treated like a single screen, with each display only receiving part of the video signal. But this can degrade your overall quality, depending on how you design your content, since you only have one output resolution and one signal.
When assembling a video wall from separate displays, you’re really only limited by your imagination. You can have a simple 2×2 screen configuration, or 4×4 or 6×6, or 8×4 or anything at all that will fit in the physical space you’re trying to fill.
Combine small and large displays for more visual interest. You also don’t have to stick to a strict box design. Create a more artistic piece by angling screens or not aligning them side-by-side. Of course, you’ll have to design screen content with your arrangement in mind.
Make sure people have enough physical space to step back and see the whole thing at once. Putting it up so high that people have to crane their necks to see it would be counterproductive, as would putting a 4×4 configuration of large displays in a small breakroom.
Remember, the goal is to surprise and delight your audience, so don’t make it too bright. Keep in mind that video walls can throw off quite a bit of heat, so you’ll need to integrate some sort of cooling fans, so you don’t roast your audience while they’re enjoying your impressive content.
Think L.A.R.G.E. With Design
The technical issues are all behind the scenes; it’s the content combined with the sheer scale of it all that will impact your audience. And that content has to look great, not just grab but hold people’s attention, and further the goals of your overall messaging. A video wall makes a statement and immediately represents who you are. You can even use it to help people get oriented in your space.
To accomplish all this, you should think L.A.R.G.E.
The Look
The first thing that grabs attention is the sheer size of the video wall. But it’s not just about dimensions; it’s how seamlessly it blends with the room’s ambience and layout. You’re not limited to squares or rectangles anymore – think outside the box! Artistic video walls can take on any shape: angled, triangular, round, arranged to look like a tree. Some organizations are pushing boundaries further by incorporating transparent displays. Just ensure consistent quality across all screens for a stunning visual experience.
Now that you’ve captured attention, work to keep it. Ensure your visuals are high-resolution and optimized for all screens. Don’t overlook bezels; a black line splitting your spokesperson’s face or cutting through your organization’s name can be jarring and distracting.
Some places go ahead and leave a small gap between each display, so the whole effect is larger than the actual screen real estate (and so, a little more affordable). Provided you have designed with this in mind, the human eye will ignore that gap and still perceive the whole as a single image.
The next thing to think about is do you want one big image that takes up the entire video wall, or do you want to have smaller images that take up only one or two of the screens at a time? Most places combine both of these ideas, cycling through a huge hero image and then several smaller ones, then back to one large image again. This feels very dynamic at these scales.
Everything needs to be crisp and clean, especially images. If you’re using an unusual configuration, say 1×4, you have to keep this in mind when choosing or creating images. There’s no camera that takes pictures in that aspect ratio, so you’ll have to use a larger picture that you then edit or crop down to the right dimensions.
This is also an opportunity to get professionals to create some amazing imagery for your video wall. Stock images can be very effective, but, as said before, your video wall makes a statement about who you are and where the audience finds themselves. Give them something they’ve never seen before, and they’ll always remember the experience.
All the normal advice about digital signage design still applies here. Make sure there’s good contrast between the background and any text and/or images. Use headlines and short lines of text, especially when breaking the larger image into smaller zones. Make sure your colors complement one another.
Attract Attention
To captivate your audience, display each message, image, or video longer than you would on single-screen digital signage. People need extra time to adjust to the bigger format. Aim for 10-20 seconds per message; if multiple elements are shown simultaneously, extend this duration further – but not too long. Remember, digital signage thrives on dynamism and movement; around 30 seconds should suffice to keep viewers engaged without losing their attention.
As always, you need to think about what the main purpose of your digital signage is. Are you trying to inform, advertise or reinforce your branding? Do you want to have wayfinding of some kind on the video wall? Figuring all this out ahead of time can future proof your video wall, so you don’t find yourself scrambling to change things up six months down the line.
Video and animations can be especially effective on video walls. Just make sure it’s not too fast or chaotic. Generally, movement side to side can make some people feel queasy at these sizes, while movement that seems to be moving forward lets people feel like they’re still grounded.
Reinforce Your Brand, Mission and Values
A video wall transforms your logo, mascot, mission statement, and colors into unforgettable visuals. But don’t stop there. Leverage this captivating display to convey your core mission and goals. Use impactful quotes, highlight employees or projects, and select imagery that truly represents who you are.
A video wall shines brightest in a spacious lobby, where it captures everyone’s attention as they enter and exit. This is your chance to leave an unforgettable impression. Display a single impactful phrase or word that embodies your mission – just remember those bezels when designing that message.
The bigger your video wall, the more creative possibilities you unlock. With a 20-screen matrix, you can display massive images and messages or divide it into smaller zones for data feeds, visualizations, and multiple messages simultaneously. Then seamlessly return to that single, impactful image.
If some of the displays are placed low enough, they can even be interactive at certain times during the content rotation.
Guide Your Audience
Transform your lobby’s wall into an interactive guide. Use it to direct visitors effortlessly, pointing them towards other digital displays and amenities. Anticipate their needs by providing answers before questions arise. Your video wall isn’t just a screen – it’s a statement piece, a warm welcome, and a virtual concierge all rolled into one.
Making some of the displays interactive, or having interactive touchscreens or kiosks elsewhere in the same area, can help people find what they need immediately. Guide them to searchable directories, interactive wayfinding, menu boards and anything else they’ll find useful.
Leverage the increased dwell time your video wall will almost certainly encourage to not only impress people but help them accomplish their goals in your facility. After all, they probably didn’t go there just to see your video wall.
Exemplify Who You Are
Imagine your video wall as the face of your organization. As Will Rogers supposedly said, “You never get a second chance to make a first impression.” If your brand is dynamic and energetic, let that shine through with rapid transitions, vibrant colors, and lively movement. For a more reliable and steadier image, opt for slower transitions, muted tones, and minimal messaging. Make every pixel count!
Always keep your audience in mind and think about the impact of your message. Test it on the wall, then walk through the space yourself. Does it grab attention? Is the brightness just right? Are there too many distractions? Do you feel disoriented as you move around? Most importantly, after a quick glance, does the video wall clearly convey where you are and what this place represents?
Video walls captivate not just external audiences but also internal employees. They aren’t exclusive to corporate tech hubs; any organization can harness their power. Be it a corporation, university, hotel, hospital, government office, or manufacturing center – video walls slice through the noise of modern life and command attention.
Consider all the options and possibilities presented by video walls, and plan to use them for maximum effect. It might be a bit more work before going live, but it’s absolutely worth it.