Content Design Best Practices

When designing content for digital signs, it is important to remember that “less is more.” A good way to look at your signs is to consider them like billboards along the highway. You only have a few seconds to relay the information to your viewers. Will your message get through?

A few tips to help you create successful content:

Images:

  • Image sizes:
    • 1920×1080 pixels for horizontal screens
      • Any 16:9 ratio will work, provided it is larger than 1920×1080.
    • 1080×1920 pixels for vertical screens
      • Any 9:16 ratio will work, provided it is larger than 1080×1920.
    • 96 dpi is preferred, but not required
  • File types:
    • JPG is preferred
      • Can also accept: JPEG, PNG (static and sequenced), BMP, GIF, TIFF, and TGA
  • Limit text to around 40-50 words.
    • Most images are on screen for 15 seconds.
  • Use bulleted lists whenever possible rather than a lot of text
  • Vibrant colors and engaging photographs gain the most attention
  • Action words are your friend
  • Consider second-person point of view (pronouns: you, yours)
  • Strong and clear call to action
    • What do you want users to do/know?
  • If you have a URL, consider a QR Code that users can scan for easy access to register or learn more.
    • Also consider using a unique URL/tracking so you can monitor how many people scan the code!

Videos or Motion Graphics

  • Video sizes:
    • 1920×1080 pixels
  • File type:
    • MP4 is preferred
      • Can also accept WMV, MPG, MPEG, AVI, M4V, 3GP, 3G2, M2V
  • Avoid a lot of flashes
  • Videos with spoken words:
    • Must be captioned
    • Captions must always be on
    • Recommended to mute volume to not distract others in signage area
  • Keep them short and to the point
    • Motion Graphics: recommended max length = 30 seconds
    • Videos: recommended max length = 3 minutes

Content Creation Tools and Resources

Penn State Brand Website

  • Colors
  • Fonts
  • Photography and Video guidelines
  • Graphical element

Penn State Editorial Standards

  • How to write using Penn State style guides.
  • Some examples:
    • Dates (helpful to include day of the week, year not necessary for current year) Ex: Thursday, February 23
    • Times ((en dash (–) in between times in a time range with no spaces on either side of the en dash (–) and a.m./p.m. that follows should have periods (.) after each letter and be lowercase) Ex: 5:30–7:30 p.m.
    • Locations (Room number or name listed before building name; HUB should always be HUB-Robeson Center) Ex: Flex Theater, 132 HUB-Robeson Center
    • Ampersands (&) should always be replaced with the word and.

Penn State Master Downloads

  • All official Penn State marks
  • Downloadable graphical elements
    • Shield Elements
    • Geometrics
    • Graphic Patterns
    • Gradients
    • Templates
      • PowerPoint
      • Video
      • Social Media

Canto – Penn State DAM

  • A great resource for Penn State stock images. These are free to use on digital signage.
    • Note – Log in using the “Login using SSO” option – then enter your PSU Access credentials.