PLAYipp at Kulturkvarteret in Örebro.

What is the purpose of your screens?

“We use the screens to promote all the events happening in the building, regardless of the organizer. This includes everything from the Culture School’s concerts, all the library’s events, happenings in the Art Hall, and the events that are held in our premises. On the screens, you can see everything that is happening that is public, big or small.”

There are a few of you who jointly manage your screens. What does your workflow look like?

“We have a range of templates in InDesign that all build on the square as a graphic element. We always use these templates. We are three communicators and one administrator who produce content. Jessica primarily works for the library and the Culture School, and Karin, with the support of her colleagues at the reception, is responsible for external actors’ events. We also have weekly meetings where we follow up and continuously develop our working method.”

There is quite a variety of target groups moving in the building. You have school youths, pensioners, and parents with young children… They might have quite different needs and wishes. How do you think about content and target groups?

“We have clear publishing rules since the demand on the screens is high. All images are posted two weeks before the event, and then we schedule them according to different target groups.”

The target groups are also sorted according to the library’s different sections: children, youth, adult, and then the screen above the library’s entrance desk which shows everything, just like the screens at the entrance of the building. And then we have specific ones for the Culture School and the Karolinska Gymnasium, but they all show the same and are not sorted into clearer target groups than “students”.

Digital signage is often acquired for a reason; there’s a challenge that needs to be solved. What would you say is the biggest challenge that the screens solve for you?

“With the screens, we can communicate quickly. We can target specific audiences, and we can have prioritized messages that take over the screens during specific times. Maybe there’s a change in location for an event. Before, we needed to print out new posters and physically go around and replace them. Today, we can just change it on the screens, and then it’s done. Much more efficient!”

Kulturkvarteret has a very broad range of offerings, and many people are working with different events and activities. How do you get information about everything that’s happening? How do you keep track?

“To carry out all the events we do requires more than just good communication. Everything that happens with us, both internal and external events, is planned in a special planning tool where everyone is responsible for entering ‘their own’ event. And it’s in those lists we see what’s going to happen and can keep track. And again, our weekly meetings help us keep track.”

Something we noticed when we were with you is that you almost exclusively work with full-size messages. Is there a thought behind that?

“We simply think it looks best in full size. It’s as simple as that. Moreover, we want whether it’s the Culture School’s beginners having a concert or if it’s the National Theatre visiting, everyone should be given equal attention. It creates pride and shows appreciation.

On the internal screens, we have divided spaces to be able to run both posters and short messages. It’s the same at the Culture School. There, it can be canceled lessons or similar that need to be communicated.”

You also have two outdoor screens. That must require some thought to make it work well?

“Yes, the screens on the pylon are a chapter of their own. We have to comply with a lot of traffic and building regulations to make it work, regulations that we don’t control. The pylon is right by a bus street, and therefore it can’t have too rapid image changes or too explicit messages.

Additionally, dealing with the light is a challenge. The dream here would indeed be automatic weather control. But we’ve found light settings that work depending on the season. We actually have a lighting technician who twice a year manually adjusts the light on the screens so that they’re visible in sunlight. I believe it’s time in April again to change the light intensity.”