Sharpen your digital signage design with 5 simple tips

TL;DR summary

• Good digital signage design starts with a clear content strategy and hierarchy.
• Use proven layout techniques like the rule of thirds to guide viewers’ attention.
• Adapt layouts to match your content formats such as video or social media images.
• Always test your screen design from the viewer’s perspective and viewing distance.
• Don’t be afraid to experiment with layouts, shapes, and creative design elements.

Digital screens are everywhere today. You see them in offices, reception areas, retail stores, campuses, and public spaces. But simply having a digital screen is not enough. The real impact comes from thoughtful digital signage design.

A well-designed screen helps viewers quickly understand the message and makes the content more engaging. Poor design, on the other hand, can make screens confusing, cluttered, or easy to ignore. After nearly 20 years in design, PLAYipp’s Art Director Åsa Heurling knows what works. Here she shares five practical tips that will help you improve your digital signage content and create screens people actually want to look at.

After 20 years in design, our Art Director Åsa Heurling knows what works. Here she shares her best tips for making your digital screens both visible and appreciated.

Digital signage works differently from websites or printed materials. People often see digital signs while walking past them or standing at a distance. That means the design needs to communicate quickly and clearly.

Effective digital signage design helps you:

• communicate messages faster
• keep viewers engaged
• maintain brand consistency
• create visually appealing screens
• deliver dynamic content without overwhelming viewers

Whether your screens display internal communications, customer information, or marketing content, good signage design ensures that your message reaches the right audience.

1. Make a strategy

Before you start thinking about colors and shapes, you need to know what should appear on the screen. Grab a bunch of post-it notes and write down all the different messages you want to include, both now and in the future.

Then group the notes by type of content, target audience, or who will be publishing. Once you have your groups, it’s time to rank them. Which group is most important? Which one do you want people to see first? This hierarchy becomes the foundation for your entire screen design.

2. Use smart proportions

When dividing the screen into different areas, there are some rules of thumb that make the job easier. If two areas are the same size, we perceive them as equal. But if one area is larger, it automatically draws more attention.

The rule of thirds and the golden ratio are two classics that create harmonious layouts. With the rule of thirds, you divide the screen so that one area takes two thirds and another takes one third. The golden ratio gives proportions of 1:1.618. Both create a clear hierarchy that makes it easy for the viewer to know where to look first.

3. Adapt to format

Sometimes the standard divisions don’t work for the formats you need to use. Then you simply have to tailor and adapt the areas to the content you want to show. Otherwise, the image or video risks being cropped or getting strange black borders.

Do you have a video to display? Then you need an area in 16:9 format from the start. Are you showing images from Instagram? Think about whether they’re square (1:1) or in portrait format (4:5).

4. Put yourself in the viewer’s shoes

This tip is perhaps the most important of all. Actually walk up to the screen and look at it from the place where people will be. Is the text large enough? Can it be read from the distance people will be standing?

In a large space where people are far from the screen, the content needs to be bigger. Then you might only fit two or three areas instead of five. Screen size also matters. The bigger the screen, the more content you can show without it getting cluttered.

5. Think outside the box

Many people think that an area equals a box with space around it. But you can actually extend your areas all the way to the edges of the screen. Don’t waste space on lots of margins.

Text and images that are well composed can work as an area even without a background. And dare to use organic, rounder shapes instead of just straight rectangles. It creates air around the content and makes the screen much nicer to look at.

Maintaining brand consistency in digital signage design

Digital signage should always align with your organization’s brand identity.

That means using consistent brand colors, logos, and typography across your digital signage displays.

However, screens often require slight adjustments compared to printed materials.

For example:

• font sizes usually need to be larger
• high contrast colors improve readability
• animations or video may replace static graphics

Using templates within your digital signage platform can help maintain consistency across multiple screens and locations.

Templates ensure that all content follows the same design rules while still allowing teams to customize messages.

Keeping digital signage content fresh

Even the best digital signage design will lose impact if the content never changes.

To keep screens engaging, update your digital signage content regularly.

Some ways to keep content fresh include:

• rotating announcements and updates
• displaying social media feeds
• integrating real-time dashboards
• updating images and videos regularly
• highlighting recent achievements or news

Dynamic content helps keep viewers interested and encourages them to keep looking at the screens.

A modern digital signage platform makes it easier to schedule and manage these updates.

Digital signage design for different environments

Different environments require different design approaches.

For example:

Offices

In office environments, screens often focus on internal communications and employee engagement.

Content may include company updates, KPIs, or internal events.

Retail stores

Retail environments often prioritize promotions, product highlights, and digital menu boards designed to increase sales.

Public spaces

In airports, campuses, and transportation hubs, screens typically focus on navigation, schedules, and real-time updates.

Understanding your audience and environment helps determine which design elements will work best.

You can watch the full webinar below, or book a demo with us today to see how PLAYipp can help you.

Watch the full webinar with Åsa (Swedish)

5 tips för att vässa skärmdesignen (18 min, Swedish)