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Digital signage content creation can be a creative, fun process once you have decided on the digital design cost that fits your budget. However, while you are free to be adventurous with design elements such as arrangement, text, contrast and color, keep in mind that your goal is communicating your products and brand.

Form always follows function in design. You, therefore, need to have some basic understanding of digital signage design to ensure that in addition to looking good, your content is easy to read.

Keep the following in mind:

1. Legibility and contrast: Make sure that there is a good amount of contrast between your foreground and background colors so that your content, especially text, is easily readable. The primary determinant of legibility is contrast, i.e. good contrast optimizes legibility. On the other hand, be wary not to use too much contrast, as that can hurt your design.

2. Use the 3 by 5 rule: The aim of using text on the screen is to convey clear, concise messages to your customers or employees. Avoid text clutter in your designs and keep them large enough for ease of legibility from a distance. Only the most important information should make it to the screen. As a rule, use no more than 3 five-word lines of text or 5 three-word lines.

3. Use the right style of text : When deciding on the text style for your digital display, keep the following in mind.

• The larger and bolder the text, the easier it is to read
• Italics are difficult to read from a distance, so use them sparingly
• Use no more than two font styles in a single digital signage template
• Keep the font legible and simple, unless you’re duplicating logotype or a brand

“Serif” fonts, such as Times New Roman, are best suited for books as they help maintain the flow in reading. In contrast, “sans serif” fonts such as Arial are more readable in short messages.

4. Perception and color : Color contrast determines perception, and your choice of color should emphasize foreground elements such as images and text, rather than the background. In digital display, all colors are derived from mixing red, green and blue (RGB), where black is the absence of color and white is a mixture of all three.

The human eye is most responsive to green, followed by red and finally blue. Improve your digital design templates by:

• Controlling informational impact
• Leveraging what your viewers are most drawn to, and
• Contrasting colors

5. Focus techniques: Use visual hierarchy and focus techniques to guide your viewers’ eyes toward the most pertinent information on your displays. Pull your customers’ eyes by strategically using high contrast items, bright colors, graphics and headlines. Varying sizes is also an effective way of communicating the level of priority information should be given.

6. Use previews: By testing out your designs, you can determine which areas of your digital signage a customer’s eyes would rest on first and make the necessary adjustments.

Bio: The writer is a graphic designer working for a reputable digital signage provider. Get expert advice on digital signage cost and creating digital content on his site.