Digital Signs

Digital signage is used to achieve specific communication goals outside of the typical informational sites used for departments and programs. When deciding if you need this form of communication, consider your goals, audience, and editorial schedule for keeping the content fresh.

In an effort to maintain consistency in message and branding, we have established some basic content guidelines that should be met before displaying content. By following these simple guidelines, your message will look more professional and reach more people.

Visual Design

Designs for these digital screens are free of the common web design standards that are enforced for the standard university web presence, with the exception of the inclusion of the university logo.

Branding

We strongly encourage the use of official logos and branding.  These standards extend to the use of wordmarks, logos, signature colors, type fonts and other matters that affect our visual identity.

Required Elements

  • UA Logo
  • Copyright U of A
  • Statement of responsibility eg. (Newswire is a publication of University Relations)
  • These products must meet Federal 508 guidelines for accessibility.

Simplicity

Overall, keep it simple. Too much text or too many images on a digital flyer will clutter your message and decrease readability. Try to use fewer than 30 words on any one flyer in order to make the greatest impact. Each flyer is only visible for 5-15 seconds so there’s no time to read much more than these 30 words.

Text

The text on your digital flyer needs to be readable. Use large font sizes so your message can be read without the need to stand directly in front of the screen. Try at least 40 pt for headlines and at least 24 pt for the body text. Object Strokes Use bold lines when designing objects for digital signage. Lines that are too thin do not display well and may appear broken or look invisible.

Size

All flyers to be posted on digital signage must be sized at 1920 x 1080 pixels and the image resolution must be either 72 or 96 dpi.

Colors

If you are going to use our official red, please implement #9D2235. If you need guidance on using compatible colors, please see our color chart. Ensure strong contrast between your image background colors and the text colors so that your sign can be easily read when displayed. Be sure to test the colors on the screen output before committing to the final color scheme.

Video Clips

Video clips may be accepted under special circumstances. Please follow these guidelines for video:

  • We recommend video clips that are from 10-30 seconds in length for digital signage.
  • All video clips to be posted on digital signage must be at a 16:9 aspect ratio, preferably at 1920 x 1080 pixels. The video should be saved in MPEG-4 (.mp4) format.
  • Audio will not be available for video clips shown on digital signage displays.
  • Please use a text overlay for the entire duration of your video to briefly indicate to viewers what the video is promoting. Most people walking past digital signage displays will not see the entire video, so some context is necessary.