The big screen at the School of Communication and Media.

Best Practices

Can You Get the Message?

General Design

First and foremost, please make sure your image is large enough to be displayed on a digital screen. Since the sizes of monitors around campus vary, it is a good idea to make sure your image is as large as possible to avoid pixelation or stretching when placed.

Only Takes a Second

Students, faculty, staff and visitors only have a few short seconds to get this gist of your digital screen message before they move on. Make sure that the main focus of your content is short and to the point.

For example, if you want to promote an event, make the name of the event, the day, date, time and location the main focus of the message. A short description of the event may also be appropriate as long as it doesn’t take the focus off of the main details.

If you find yourself not having enough room to describe your event, consider using a link shortening website such as bit.ly or Google Link Shortener to post a link with more information.

example of bit.ly link

Color of Text and Background Are Too Similar

Make sure that your background color and the color of text are contrasting. It is very difficult to read light text on a light background or dark text on a dark background. Also, if you have an image in the background, make sure that the text of your content is still legible.

light blue text on blue background

Too Much Clutter

Sometimes including too many graphics can really hinder your message. Ask yourself if the user is going to get the central message of your graphic in three seconds or less. If not, consider simplifying the graphic.

graphic with multiple elements

Vertical or Horizontal

Make sure that the orientation of your image matches up to the monitor it will be displayed on. An image with a vertical orientation will not display correctly on horizontal monitor and vice versa.