Choosing the Right Digital Signage Screen Sizes for Your Business

This article will guide businesses in making informed decisions about digital signage screen sizes to optimize viewer engagement and effectively convey their marketing or informational messages. 

Introduction

Digital signage has quickly become an important part of modern business marketing. These digital signs provide fast and easy ways to engage viewers and customers with graphics, all of which can be easily modified or replaced as needed. However, if you are interested in investing in digital signage, you need to be aware of which digital sign screen size is right for your viewer engagement. Digital signage for branding, advertising, and information dissemination only works if you have the appropriate screen sizes.

Factors influencing screen size selection

There are a handful of key factors that influence the digital signage screen size you choose for your business needs.

#1. Audience Distance

One of the first and most important is the audience's distance from the screen. However far back your audience has to be, it will determine how visible your content is. The farther back people stand, the larger digital display screen sizes you will need. If your content is too small on a screen that doesn't fit the space, it won't have the same impact because your audience won't be able to read it.

For example:

A coffee shop has a digital display listing its monthly deals and promotions. However, the display is roughly the same size as a traditional laptop screen, which means that people waiting in the back of the line to place their order can't actually see it. Most people make their decision for the beverage they want about 6 feet from the counter because this is where they can see the menu board. 

If the promotional display is only visible 2 feet away from the counter, it can have a detrimental impact on sales because customers are very likely to have made their decision long before they see the promotion. If they happen to see the promotion 2 feet away from the counter, then they'll decide to potentially make changes to their order at the last minute, which can impact how quickly the line moves. 

#2. Content Type

Consider the type of content you plan to have. For example, if you plan to have text-heavy content with many key details written in text format, you can get away with a slightly smaller screen, depending on how you draft the text. But if you are going to have screens with a lot of images or video content, you might need a larger screen for visibility. 

So what about situations where you have both?

Consider this:

A restaurant is trying to use the right digital signage size in order to have permanent displays above the takeout order counter with each of the menu items, their price, and the respective images for many of the items. In this case, the sign is heavier on text than it is on images, but it still needs adequate size and resolution so that people who are standing at the back of the line or up against the wall when they come into the takeout area can easily read the information. 

#3. Venue Size

When choosing digital signage screen sizes, you also have to consider the size of the venue. The size of the venue will influence the size of the screens. If your company is hosting a venue at a public park, the screen size you need will be significantly larger than if your company is installing digital signage in your lobby.

Consider this:

A farmer's market is set up every summer at a local park, and they want to improve signage and visibility for the town. The farmers market runs for three months, every Wednesday afternoon. In order to draw attention, the town is investing in a digital display screen at the parking lot, which can be viewed from the park, the parking lot, and the road. This will share pertinent information about the hours of the market and unique events taking place each week, like a movie night following the farmers market or a special guest band performing during the market.

The digital signage size has to be large enough that someone driving by the road at the town speed limit of 30 mph can read pertinent details like the title and the times and dates safely.

#4. Resolution Requirements

Resolution requirements for digital signage screen sizes go hand in hand with things like the distance of your audience and the venue size. Resolutions play a critical role in the size selection based on the type of content that you are displaying.

If, for example, you have an expected audience standing between 10 and 20 feet away from the digital screen, you need to ensure that your resolution will support the text density and the brightness of any pictures or colors from that distance.

Poor resolution can negatively influence what your digital display looks like; the farther away someone is from the screen or the larger the screen. You don't want to invest in high-quality graphics or video content with a resolution that is not crisp enough or bright enough to support it such that your content appears blurry.

#5. Technical Considerations

Tangentially, there are other technical considerations outside of resolution requirements, and these extend to things like:

1. Screen brightness
2. Aspect ratio
3. Orientation

The orientation of your screen will directly influence factors like the layout of your screen content, the density of text as a result, and how you want to adjust your graphics to account for things like dwell time or audience distance.

The screen brightness goes hand in hand with considerations for the type of content you are producing as well. For example:

A small cafe situated inside a large business center provides breakfast and lunch items like breakfast burritos, breakfast tacos, sandwiches served on bagels, small salads, mixed grain bowls, and omelets.

However, the display they have for these food items is white text set against a dark blue background. Food items and prices are in white lettering, with pictures on the sides, and descriptions of the food are in cream colors underneath each item. For this type of display, screen brightness is essential because increased brightness will allow for the white and cream-colored text to be highly visible, whereas a dull screen that doesn't have the right brightness to support such a display would make it difficult for patrons to read.

Conclusion

Overall, when selecting digital signage screen sizes, find a size whose orientation, screen brightness, and resolution meet your business requirements. If you aren't sure what your signage size requirements are, don't be afraid to consider getting professional advice for tailored digital signage solutions.

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