An announcement on your signage on average displays for 10 seconds; within those 10 seconds, the goal is to create awareness and engage your audience to want to learn more. There are a few key factors when designing your announcements:
- Color: Color is the first element the mind sees and the last it forgets. Our minds associate certain traits with color as well. Another factor to consider is certain colors clash when paired whereas other compliment. Research which color schemes work well together; for example-Adobe Kruler gives a variety of combinations to consider. As Pierre Bonnard puts it, “Color does not add a pleasant quality to design-it reinforces it”
- Content: The most important “make or break” element to your announcement. It takes all factors into consideration and combines them-boring content or too much content-no one will pay attention to. Find a happy medium to ensure your message is communicated simply to your audience. Content is king.
- Typography: Size does matter. Commonly, font sizes are too small and are hard to read-especially when it comes to menu boards or a schedule. For example, if the font size is 20 pt, the viewing distance should be no more than 7 feet; however, if the font size is 100 pt, the viewing distance would be up to 36 feet.
- Interactivity: When people hear the word “interactivity”, they often think of a touchscreen where your audience needs to be able to push a button on the screen, however, this isn’t always the case. Your announcements should draw people in having a “call to action”. Examples include: “Learn more by visiting our website”, a scannable QR Code, “Like us on Facebook”, etc.
- Timing: This is one of the most important elements in creating each announcement. Timing is everything when tailoring to a certain audience. Ensuring a message is displayed at certain times of the day, certain days of the week, etc. can ensure specific communication within your facility. If your signage shows the same information every day, you could risk losing the engagement of your viewers. Try switching up the colors, pictures, context if you are displaying the same message every day-this will trigger a new look to your message, thus creating constant visits to your display(s).
