I explore the mixed reactions to an innovative screen display by the seaside. Whilst many found it invasive, I see the potential for screens to be a powerful medium when used thoughtfully. My aim is to promote healthy screen usage rather than provoke negative sentiments.

The Impact of Screens on Holiday Experiences

It was kind of funny and kind of weird, right? They're all for over a week. I just kept seeing people moaning about how much they hate to see a screen on holiday. I had a hit post on LinkedIn. It was a recent post. It was actually someone else's content. I'd seen a video of screen floating on a boat by the seaside advertising. For me, it was quite interesting because just as an engineering feat, putting a screen on the sea is actually quite difficult. So I was kind of impressed with it and didn't really think much more about it. I stuck up the post, and then the views started to get through the roof. But more importantly, the comments came in thick and fast. The vast majority of the comments were negative. People did not like the idea of seeing a screen at the seaside, and I kind of get that, although I must admit some seaside views are not that beautiful, if you ask me. People were interpreting it as something that was invasive to a moment of relaxation, which being on the beach with your family or friends really should be. Anyway, I suppose if you look at my data on LinkedIn, this is one of the most successful posts I've ever had. However, this is not really what my mission is. I want to promote the use of screens in a healthy way. I want screens to be understood as a medium that can be really powerful and useful rather than annoying people. So I'm gonna resist the urge to show you screens flying with drones. Okay, maybe this little bit. Have a look at that, it's quite fun. But my job is not to divide people's opinions and make them hate screens. I want to educate people. I want to promote really healthy screen usage, and I think they can be a real force for good. So I'm not gonna do many more videos like this, even if the statistics show me that it was a hit post. Doesn't matter.

Explore how digital signage serves as a bridge between AI and the physical world. Discover why visual representation is crucial for technology and how screens may become the primary medium for AI's tangible presence.

Connecting AI with the Physical World through Digital Signage

Someone recently asked me if digital science could be the missing link between AI and the physical world. AI is going to manifest itself in a whole heap of different ways, so it's quite a difficult question to answer. But here's how I think it does play a role. We are ultimately visual people. We have other senses, but in the same way that people really don't use Alexa anywhere near as much as we thought they would, it's because they can't see it. They can't see the output of that. So whilst they will trigger the lights to go on and to play music, they're not really going to do their full shopping on something they just can't see. Digital signage gives AI and technology in general a canvas to be seen on in physical environments. So if creating content, creating digital content is exponentially easy because of AI, then it needs to be seen on something. And logically, that thing is going to be a screen or a projection, but it doesn't really make any difference. So I do think that if AI is going to manifest itself in physical environments away from your phone and laptop, then it is going to be on screens.

Discover how a Croatian bus stop uses live webcams to correct posture, transforming idle wait times into opportunities for physical improvement. This creative approach highlights the potential of digital signage to enhance everyday experiences when implemented with user consent.

Innovative Use of Digital Signage for Posture Correction

Walk past this screen and you'll leave two inches taller. In a recent Signs of Genius video, I praised TFL for having screens at all, but our friends in Croatia have taken this up a level. At a bus stop, they have a live webcam, which is correcting people's posture as they stand idly at the bus stop. I think this is brilliant. We all have idle time there. We're normally just doing scrolling on our phone anyway. So actually correcting people there and getting them into the right position, whilst they can actually benefit from it, because they may be there for five to ten minutes, is really, really good. I think assuming that this only comes on when a user has actually asked for it to come on, that would be a key condition for me. I don't think you should just randomly tell people they're standing incorrectly, but I really like this. It's creative, it's useful, it's timely, and it works in its environment because it's something you would probably consider practicing there and then. So this is excellent use of digital signage for me. I'm going to give that five out of five, so long as they're behaving themselves with user permission.

Discover how European supermarkets are revolutionising digital signage with creativity and interactivity. Learn about the UK's position in digital signage usage and how it compares to European counterparts.

Exploring Innovative Digital Signage in European Supermarkets

Step inside an Italian supermarket where the screens are as fresh as the produce. Did you know that in the world the UK ranks third in the number of screens used for digital signage behind America and China? Quite a long way behind but certainly ahead of other countries. However I'm not sure that's going to stay that same way for long. This summer I've been travelling around Europe and in Poland and in Italy, you'll see some examples here, I've seen some exceptional use of digital signage. Much better than I've seen in the large supermarket chains in the UK, although that might be changing soon. Now I was particularly impressed by the quality of the design, the thoughtfulness of the content, it was quite interactive, there was kiosks, there was also tips on how best to use the produce and everything felt very slick and very thought through. This experience was not alone, I continue to be impressed with how European countries are taking on digital signage and being extremely creative with it. If the UK is going to hold on to third place then it is time for us to match that in the way that we work and it is coming, we're seeing that with our customers now but I am really impressed with what I've seen on my holidays so I'm going to give that Sign of Genius score of five out of five. Well done to Conad.

JD Sports has made a splash in Las Vegas with a stunning 3D screen installation. This visually impressive setup aligns with the youthful, fashion-forward audience, offering a unique retail experience in the city known for its vibrant displays.

JD Sports' Innovative Retail Experience in Las Vegas

In the City of Lights, JD Sports just stole some of the spotlight. Scrolling through social media, I came across a video of JD Sports in Las Vegas. They've clearly done a very impressive implementation of screens externally, and not just flat, they're actually 3D too, showing a huge amount of branding and latest products. This fits very well with the audience, which is likely to skew younger and towards more of a fashion trend. And it entices them to come in and enjoy a slightly different retail experience. Obviously, it fits that it's in Las Vegas, where there are screens everywhere as well. And this is probably a conditional of even having a shop there. But overall, I really like this. Well done to the way it was installed. And let's see if they can make it even more interactive in future. I'm giving this four out of five. Let me know what you think of the comments.

Discover the latest upgrade to the iconic London Red Bus. The new screens offer more information and potential for enhanced user experience. Share your thoughts on this innovative change.

London Red Bus: A 21st Century Upgrade

The world-famous London Red Bus just got a 21st century upgrade. I was recently riding home on the bus in South London and I noticed there had been an upgrade to the screen from those very very straightforward looking text-only versions to actual screens. Now, although this doesn't look that amazing yet, it is more informative and gives a canvas to the network to do more. So I thoroughly applaud the rollout and I think that there is loads of potential in this. I'm giving this a Science of Genius score of 4 out of 5. Let me know what you think.

Exploring how One Rebel in London utilises digital signage to enhance member experience and promotions. The video discusses current implementations and potential improvements for creating interactive and integrated systems.

Enhancing Gym Experiences with Digital Signage

Now this is how gym screens should be done. I was recently taking a class at One Rebel in London and noticed they had extremely impressive digital signage inside the changing rooms and public facing outside on their windows. As you can see the content has been beautifully designed, it's showing offers, promotions, cross-selling and informing members about a new location in North London, so that's all very good but I did notice that in the canteen area the menu boards are still printed and in addition to that there is a lot of functionality around this gym in terms of booking in classes, referring friends. I think this could be a little bit more interactive, there could be a QR code back to the app so you could get the members to get their phone out and interact back with the brand through the app. Screens should be supporting the other technology you're using and not to be completely thought of as a separate system and so this is where I think it can be improved but I'm no doubt that they will do that over time and show class schedules and celebrate members etc etc. I think that this is a sign of genius that I'll give a three out of five for now and we'll check back in a year or so and see if we can get that score up.

Explore how to optimise screen content design by considering viewing environments and simplifying data visualisation. Learn the importance of tailoring dashboards for broader audiences, not just data scientists.

Improving Screen Content Design for Better Communication

I don't think we talk enough about screen content design. Often when I look at a customer's account, they'll be uploading the content they would have otherwise be emailing around or printing out. Now the problem is, people are gonna be upwards of 10 feet or more away, the screen may be high in the sky, or we may even be walking past the screen at speed. You simply cannot read that amount of content and fully understand it. We need to consider the environment that people are in and the amount of time they will have to process the information. It's not that hard just to be a little bit more deliberate in our choices. This also extends out to data visualization. One of our most popular features at ScreenCloud is securely displaying dashboards on a screen. However, most of those dashboards have been designed by data scientists for other data scientists. We need to do a cut version of that where maybe only one or two key numbers are nice and big, flagged to all, and understood by everyone who's looking at the screen.

Discover a clever tip shared by our Chief Customer Officer on how vertical screens can prevent misuse at the workplace. Learn how a unique approach to screen orientation can enhance employee engagement and optimise content presentation.

Creative Use of Vertical Screens in the Workplace

So I was talking with Jane, our Chief Customer Officer, and she told me this amazing story that a customer was actually using vertical-oriented screens, but not because it was fitted to a pillar, which is normally the case. It was actually to stop employees from turning the screen into a TV, because TV is in a horizontal 69 format, and vertically, it just doesn't fit and look good. So I thought this was a really clever tip. In addition to that, I actually think vertical screens look really great. We recently did an employee challenge at a hair studio with a vertical screen, and I thought the outcome of that was excellent. So if your employees are considering hijacking the screens for sports or entertainment, maybe just consider turning it round and designing your content that way as well.

Explore the four fundamental principles driving the design of ScreenCloud's RDM application screens manager. Discover how these principles ensure a seamless user experience, universal accessibility, and cost efficiency.

Key Principles for Effective Screen Management

So the product team at ScreenCloud came up with four key principles when we were considering the design and feature set for our RDM application screens manager. Firstly, that all of the screens need to be managed from one place. Normally we're working with an IT admin team that have admin level access and they want to see all the screens just in one area. Secondly, just because this is a product for technical people doesn't mean it shouldn't be easy to use. So the UI needs to be quick, responsive, intuitive and customizable. Thirdly, when you are setting up your screen, RDM should not be an additional step. It should be included right from the outset because it's a consideration that should be there for every single screen. And that brings me to the last point, which is basic RDM features should be universal for all at no extra cost. So not in any higher pricing tier. We believe it's so fundamental that you trust your digital signage network that you should never be put off by having to pay extra.

Discover how the Elizabeth line in London is revolutionising digital signage with dynamic, context-aware displays. This video explores the advantages of personalised information for travellers and how it enhances the commuting experience.

Innovative Digital Signage on London's Elizabeth Line

TfL said mind the gap, but clearly they didn't mind the gap between basic digital signage and this masterclass. So I was recently riding on the relatively new Elizabeth line in London and I was actually very impressed with the digital signage that they had. It was a combination of advertising content, information content, and of course dynamic content relating to the arriving trains and their destinations. I like that the experience continues on the train and is dynamic based on the station that you're stopping, giving relevant information to the travelers. Now you might think this all sounds rather basic, but look around the transportation that you go on every day. Most of it is completely static, maps that include every line, not just the line you're on, and certainly not personalized to where you are. If you're new to the city or unfamiliar, it can be extremely confusing. I'm really glad to see TfL using screens in this way. I give the Elizabeth line digital signage five out of five. You've done our old Queen proud. I think this is a sign of genius. Let me know if you agree in the comments below.

Discover how ScreenCloud has advanced its RDM features, unifying them into a streamlined screens manager. Explore improvements like faster interfaces, bulk actions, and HDMI CEC integration, enhancing user control over screen operations.

Enhancing Screen Management with New RDM Features

So at ScreenCloud, we've been building out our RDM feature set since the beginning of 2023. Before that, we just had fairly basic operations for the screens, but we've really doubled down since then. RDM features were in multiple parts of the platform. Recently, we have united them into one screens manager, made the interface faster and cleaner and more customizable. In addition, you can do bulk actions more easily. And we've also incorporated HDMI CEC, which means you can lock the screen to a one source port, and you can also control the screen's operating hours and turn on and off. There are many more features coming for screens manager and RDM at ScreenCloud, so please stay tuned for more.

Discover how Rain's rain jacket store uses cutting-edge technology to captivate customers and differentiate itself. By wrapping its storefront with interactive screens, the store creates a unique brand experience that stands out in a traditional market.

Innovative Storefronts: Embracing Curiosity and Technology

When your store forecast says 100% chance of innovation with showers of curiosity. On LinkedIn I saw a post by Corral where he made a video of the Rain's rain jacket clothing store who do screens very cleverly to wrap around their storefront and immerse customers in their brand and their main use case. Now obviously what I like about this is it's very much on brand. I suppose it does compete somewhat with the British weather which may also be raining at the time. Additionally it certainly makes the customer curious about what's inside. It deliberately doesn't show any product. A high risk strategy but I guess it would make me go in and check out what's going on. And thirdly in a category where some of their competitors have been around for a hundred years they make their brand stand out as being innovative by making the shop front technology first from the outset. I give Rain's store a four out of five score. This is a sign of genius for me. What do you think?

Explore the clever use of interactivity in public spaces as seen at Manchester Piccadilly train station. A creative QR voting system engaged fans in a fun debate over Manchester's football allegiance.

Interactive Screen Strategy at Manchester Piccadilly

Manchester will always be red. Sorry, City fans, Bertie is not blue enough for this screen. This was seen at the Manchester Piccadilly train station following a football match. Now, some will argue it was all the Man United fans going back to London, but I thought this was quite a clever screen strategy where they asked people to vote via QR code to show whether the city was red or blue. So, it's a bit of fun. Clearly, the United fans are more engaged, more technically adept, and better looking. They can't even fill their stadium, let alone get people to vote on screen. So, clearly, the United fans were heavily engaged. I love interactivity with screens. I love people thinking a little bit more creatively in how they use screens. So, I will give this a Signs of Genius score of five out of five, because, obviously, I'm a United fan as well. If you disagree, let me know in the comments.

Explore the impressive 300m² screens at Jakarta airport and their potential beyond advertising. Are these installations purely commercial, or can they offer valuable information to travellers? Share your thoughts on balancing commercial and user needs.

Impressive Airport Screens: Advertising or Information?

Nothing says welcome like a 300 meter square screen. Check out these huge screens in Jakarta airport. You can't really fail but to be impressed with the size and quality of the installation. It looks like mostly it's being used for advertising, which is not really a huge surprise in an airport. And at least it's working. Check out my error messages in airports if you want to see what normally happens there. However, for travelers who have just arrived on a plane and are traveling into the city or beyond, they're going to have a long dwell time here as they wait for their bags. Is it really only advertising that we should be giving them? Or can we give them more information which will make their stay even more successful? I don't know because I can only see this picture, but I hope that they are balancing the commercial aspects of these screens with things which are genuinely useful and starting off this period of holiday or work trip or even returning home with the best intentions for the audience in front of the screen. My screen score is four out of five, mainly for the installation and impressiveness. But I do think we should be listening more, as always, to the customers and the users in front of these screens. It's a sign of genius that they're doing it at all. What do you think in the comments below?

A viral post from London Euston sparked national debate on the over-commercialisation of public spaces. This video explores how public feedback led to positive changes in digital display usage, enhancing commuter experience.

The Impact of Digital Advertising at London Euston

So back in 2024, a post went viral on X from London Euston. The person just took a simple photo of the massive screens in the station that were being used purely for advertising and confusing all of those travellers and commuters down below. The post took off. The press took it up and it became a national talking point at how we had over commercialized our environment and forgotten that screens are here to actually serve people and make their lives easier. Well, it all got so much attention and so much collective outrage that actually Euston have rolled this back and now launch screens, which are back to being useful again and digital and helpful. So although it was a bad start, I definitely give that a one out of five because they understood their mistake and came back with something useful. I will give this a screen score of four out of five. A sign of genius that you listen to your customers. Let me know in the comments.

Explore the role of screens in enhancing customer experience in modern hospitality settings. Learn how to balance functionality and impact in digital displays to optimise user engagement.

Maximising Screen Use in Modern Food Markets

How many screens can you fit in a 5,000 square meter food market? Recently the team were over in Barcelona and they went to the timeout food market and naturally they filmed all of the screens. This post that we put out on LinkedIn gives you a good flavor of what was going on there, no pun intended, and I think from this you can see how screens are helping a modern hospitality environment. The issue sometimes with screens in hospitality is that we can get a bit excited with our content. Often there'll be a menu board which then vanishes because we want to show a flashy video when someone's actually trying to choose what they'd like to eat. So we need to be careful that some screens stay simple and functional whilst other ones have that wow impact and advertise all of the great things that are going on. I like the fact that the menu boards are interactive. I think they should probably prompt people to actually scan a code and take it onto their phone rather than spend too much time at the screen just in case there's a queue. But otherwise this all looks pretty good to me so long as they keep that strategy tight and remember that it's the customer experience that counts first. My screen score for this is four out of five. Everything looks very yummy to me. Let me know in the comments if you think this is a sign of genius.

Spotify Wrapped takes centre stage at the Alternet in London, showcasing personalised insights on massive screens. While it's visually stunning, there's room for a clearer call to action for users. What do you think of this innovative display?

Spotify's Personalisation on the Big Screen

Spotify are bringing personalization to the big screen. Just before Christmas every year, Spotify has their own viral event, Spotify Wrapped, where each user of the platform gets insights about what they've been listening to over the year, as do artists as well. Spotify here have taken over the massive screens at the Alternet in London and placed a lot of artist information and various personalized information up on those screens. What I love here is obviously that's drawing attention back to their main viral product, reminding people to engage with their own and share their own. I also love the fact that the Alternet screens are being fully used and immersed here, where you can also use amazing sound in this environment. So I'm a huge fan of the Alternet. You've probably seen me reference it before for the Joris Voorn concert I was at. But if I was to criticize it at all, it would be that it lacks a bit of a call to action of what to do next for the user, which could easily have been incorporated. That said, I think it looks pretty stunning. It definitely works and the screens are incredible. So my screen score is four out of five. I think there is a sign of genius here. Do you agree? Tell me in the comments.

Discover how a successful small business has digitally transformed its operations from a paper-based system to a screen-driven process. Learn how they smartly integrate technology with years of experience, while choosing not to rely on AI.

Digital Transformation in London's Most Popular Pub

How does London's most popular pub handle all those orders? For every kitchen I've worked in, they're all paper-driven tickets. Yeah. We built a screen system. When an order comes in, it goes to a specific place in the kitchen and they crack on. So it's not a conventional kitchen where you've got someone calling the order out. Yeah, we should. Wow. This is a small business, although a very successful business, and they have totally digitally transformed their operations. So going from a paper-based system and a Yes Chef into digital transformation with screens, I mean, that's very impressive to begin. The kitchen will fire that when the main's away. You will see that when the chef will see that on his screen. Yeah. He'll fire it. That appears on the screen. Lobster. Lobster goes on. The second thing I like here is that they have infused the technology with their many, many years of delivery and experience. They've thought a lot about the timing and ordering of these processes. They haven't just said, all right, technology can handle that, and forgotten about it. They've really put a lot of human thought and experience into making this just perfect. Does that have AI involved? No, thank God, probably. That would have been harder. If you put in time mix, this should take this long. So therefore... Yeah, and you sit in a room with the company, there's like about 10 screens up there, and you start putting through these orders, and I tell you, it's pretty challenging. Lastly, they rejected AI. And personally, I think that's brilliant. At the moment, AI isn't really proven in things like this, and I'm glad that they leaned on their own experience and didn't just hand off to technology without thinking much further. So good job, guys. It's very hard to find fault with this. The one thing I would say is I didn't pick up in the video if there was any way of acknowledging or overriding the system. They probably have thought of that. So I'm going to give them the benefit of th

Discover how London's top pub revolutionised its kitchen operations through digital transformation. By integrating screens into their process, they have optimised order handling while maintaining a human touch. Their choice to avoid AI highlights their commitment to leveraging experience over technology.

London Pub's Digital Transformation Success Story

How does London's most popular pub handle all those orders? For every kitchen I've worked in, they're all paper driven tickets. Yeah. We built a screen system. When an order comes in, it goes to a specific place in the kitchen and they crack on. So it's not a conventional kitchen where you've got someone calling the order out. Yeah, we should. Wow. This is a small business, although a very successful business, and they have totally digitally transformed their operations. So going from a paper-based system and a Yes Chef into digital transformation with screens, I mean, that's very impressive to begin. The kitchen will fire that when the mains away. You will see that the chef will see that on the screen. Yeah, he'll fire it. That appears on the screen. Lobster. Lobster goes on. The second thing I like here is that they have infused the technology with their many, many years of delivery and experience. They've thought a lot about the timing and ordering of these processes. They haven't just said, all right, technology can handle that and forgotten about it. They've really put a lot of human thought and experience into making this just perfect. Does that have like AI involved? No, thank God, probably. That would have been harder. If you put in time, this should take this long. So therefore, yeah. And you sit in a room with the company and there's like about 10 screens up there and you start putting through these orders. And it's, I tell you, it's pretty challenging. Lastly, they rejected AI. And personally, I think that's brilliant. At the moment, AI isn't really proven in things like this. And I'm glad that they leaned on their own experience and didn't just hand off to technology without thinking much further. So good job, guys. It's very hard to find fault with this. The one thing I would say is I didn't pick up in the video if there was any way of acknowledging or overriding the system. They probably have thought of that. So I'm going to give them the benefit of th

A detailed review of the information screens aboard the Heathrow Express, discussing their design, functionality, and areas for improvement. The discussion includes live updates, design transitions, and specific content for passengers.

Review of Heathrow Express Onboard Information Screens

This was once the most expensive train line in Britain but do the screens live up to the cost? As you can see these screens have been professionally designed both in portrait and landscape mode by clearly a very talented graphic design team so they're winning there as well as those calls to action so you can get online and take advantage of those shopping offers or more information. The other thing with these screens is they do contain live updates of connecting trains so that when you arrive at Paddington you know if the trains you're connecting to are on time and where to go. Now it's not completely perfect but what is? So I think the transitions between the content are a little clunky where it goes to black screen I'd look for a transition there just to make it feel more smooth and in addition it's not just trains that people get from Paddington it's also the tube so is that running well? Is there congestion in the area? I think you could have a little bit more of a transport update. The last thing I do like is that as you pull into the station the content changes and you know that you're arriving now and the information gets very specific about what to do next. Overall I think these screens are very well done. My screen score for Heathrow Express is four out of five. Is this a sign of genius? Let me know in the comments.

Discover how decentralising content creation empowers local teams and enhances user engagement. By allowing local contributions, organisations can create more personalised and relevant communication channels.

Localised Content for Enhanced User Engagement

Sorry, I was gonna add on the location side of things. This is why we also tell customers and customers want to do this as well, to not just have centralized content on these screens, but to actually give the power to someone locally to also contribute content to the screen so that the screen does in fact reflect that location more. And it will feel more, you know, a screen as part of the environment rather than just as a kind of corporate propaganda channel, which can, you know, sometimes that's one of the customers once called it when it was all centralized content. So actually, you know, mixing social and business content makes sense, but also having people on the ground also be able to add their content, that screen is just gonna feel more personalized and there's no way a centralized communication team will be able to achieve that. They probably haven't even been to some of these locations. So yeah, I think kind of mixing that up really will also help retain more information as well.

Exploring how minimalist design in workplace recognition screens can drive real-life interactions. Learn why less information can lead to more meaningful engagement.

The Power of Minimalist Recognition at Work

This is interesting, isn't it? Because you could argue, looking at this, that the slide on the right with the extra text is, in fact, celebrating Rebecca better, right? Because it's trying to, like, although the words itself actually don't really say that much, it's attempting to explain why she's employee of the month. Whereas on the left, it's just sort of acknowledging that. Yet we know for a fact that the left one will be more impactful. And why is that? It's because the screen itself doesn't have to be the answer. Like, what we're really trying to do with this screen is, well, one, when Rebecca sees that, I'm sure she'll feel that recognition that I was talking about earlier that I felt when I walked into the lobby of my customer. But actually, what we're trying to do is prompt people in real life to go and have an experience with her. So if they see her, you know, in a cafeteria, to sort of maybe acknowledge, hey, well done, or maybe even share on why I feel you've done so great. Because Rebecca does a lot of things for a lot of people, right, and so, you know, if you celebrate one thing on the screen, you might actually be missing a lot of the other things that she does that you weren't aware of. So it doesn't have to be a one and done answer. It's about trying to trigger moments and trigger things to happen in real life. And therefore, we don't need to share everything. And in fact, in this case, people are much less likely to remember or engage with the content on the right because they don't, they actually understand it less because it involves a lot of effort in reading that text.

Explore how repetition in digital content can enhance user engagement without overwhelming the audience. Understand the cognitive benefits of familiarising with data and how it aids in quick detection of anomalies.

The Power of Repetition in Digital Communication

if you were to send the same person the same email, it would come across well either like weird or maybe even slightly aggressive or hey why are you kind of you know spamming my inbox with this you know those SDRs who are always like hey pop up the inbox it's annoying right but what they're doing is they're trying to repeat and grab your attention but actually repeating a message on a screen in the environment in which you're in you know it's not asking you to go up and look at it all the time so the fact that it's repeating makes more sense you're you're okay with it repeating because you're like well you know it's for maybe someone else who hasn't seen it the first time whatever now of course you can fatigue content but actually that that repetition especially if it's the corner of your eye that's picking it up have you ever noticed i'm not very good at numbers like i have a bit of a number dyslexia but i'm not terrible but what i have noticed is when i get because i because i'm struggling a bit with numbers when i get familiar with them i very quickly notice when they change so if i have a dashboard like this and i know that those numbers are normally in this case what 69 57 if that's suddenly changed my eye would sort of go oh that number's a lot different than normal but if you show me a load of numbers and say do something i'm like no no i i panic about that but if i get comfortable with it and that's where that cognition and repetition comes from then actually i'm quite observant and i think a lot of people other people are like that as well um but yeah this is this is the medium in which repetition is expected and is not um it's not like annoying for the audience but it also means you can start to encode those memories

In this video, I delve into the various ways I utilise screens both at home and in the office. From entertainment to showcasing work and tracking data, discover how screens play a crucial role in my daily routines.

How I Use Screens in My Personal and Professional Life

Someone asked me recently how I use screens in my personal life, is my flat wall-to-wall screens. Well, there are two big screens in my flat. One is in my living room, which is a Sony Bravia, which is running Google TV, which I do have ScreenCloud installed on, but also I have many other things installed in it, and that really is there for entertainment. The screen I have in my home office has multiple devices in it, and that is exclusively showing ScreenCloud content, some dashboards, updates from the team, and also just testing out various bits of content. At my office, in my office, I have a little screen just outside the door, which is showcasing some of the amazing work we've done for customers, which is really useful. And I also have another screen here, in addition to my computer screen, which is showing dashboards and data, tracking the quarter, sales, and things like that. So actually, that is quite a lot of screens, isn't it? That's like at least four, and there's probably more in storage as well. So how many screens do you use in your personal life?

Many architects design modern spaces with screens but often overlook their practical use. This video discusses the gap between planning and execution phases in workplace environments, focusing on the effective utilisation of screens from day one.

Optimising Screen Use in Modern Environments

So, I'm not 100% sure if I'm right about this, but this is just a hot take and a hot guess, which on the internet these days means that I'm definitely sure. Architects draw out their plans for modern environments and buildings, and they put screens up, but they never really think further down the line exactly how is that screen going to be used, who's going to be used by, what is the point of this screen. They're just putting it up there to make the space feel modern, and then really it's someone else's problem down the line. And in fairness to them, that is really, they're brought in at the planning stage, at the early stages, but I'm not so sure at what point in that execution that people do start to think about these things, because I go into so many workplace environments that have all of these screens, and they're just blank, or they're showing cable news, which if you've seen one of my earlier videos, you'll know is not a good idea. So, there is a missing point in the chain between the planning and ideation phase of a new building or new environment, and then when people move in and have to take on that environment, where they probably need to think a little bit earlier about how they're going to be using screens, and get ahead of the problem so that on launch day, day one, they're actually using screens properly.

In this video, we explore the potential of optimising digital signage by considering varied audiences throughout different times of the day and week. The discussion highlights the importance of tailoring content to specific groups, like retail customers and staff, to enhance relevance and engagement.

Reimagining Digital Signage for Diverse Audiences

So should we moderate the use of screens? It's quite fashionable right now for people to monitor their screen time and try and reduce that. And to be honest, I think society could probably benefit from that. Should we apply that to digital signage as well? Well, unsurprisingly, I think no. The reason is that content up in digital signage is usually in the background. It's not taking our attention away from other things. It's really there to populate the environment with extra information. What I think we could do better is not fatiguing the same content as much. So maybe we should start thinking more about the different types of audience that are there at different times of the day, how that evolves over a week, or if that's even seasonal. An example might be in retail. The screens are there very much for the customers, but the customers are not there all the time. So when there's cleaning staff or teams on the ground who are restocking and things like that, should we then repurpose those screens to talk to those people and not just continue to show the customer information on an endless playlist? So I think we can be smarter in thinking about the audiences we're reaching and when we're reaching them, which by its very nature would mean that not everyone is looking at the screens all the time because they're not so relevant to them. But I don't think we have to worry about screen time in general because it's really in the background.

Discover the importance of understanding dwell times and peak traffic periods for effective digital signage. Learn how local insights and basic tracking can enhance your strategy and engage your audience during peak moments.

Optimising Digital Signage Strategy Effectively

Okay, another spicy take here. We have no idea about dwell times or peak traffic periods in front of our screens. Most screens are managed centrally by a small team who could have no idea really about every location those screens are in. Because even in the location itself, if that screen is by the entrance versus a break room versus being on the production line, for example, they're gonna have very different dwell times, which is the amount of time a person is in front of that screen. And peak traffic, which is just the number of people going by the screen every day, every week, even might be seasonal. If you multiply that by all of the locations and in the fact that those people aren't even based there, how are they ever going to truly understand this? That is justification for not doing it at all. But the reality is it's these peak moments during a day or during a week that you're going to capture the imagination and the attention of people that are so important to getting your digital signage strategy right. So we need to try and investigate more, talk to local managers, for example, they'll probably instinctively know, maybe even doing some basic tracking just on a number of screens, just to understand what's really going on. And then publishing our content and pushing the most important messages during those periods and anticipating the mood and the need of the audience in front of them. So dwell times, traffic times are really important. Mostly, none of us really have any idea what's going on, but we can do better at this.

Discover how ScreenCloud caters to both large enterprises and smaller customers, facilitating growth through easy and cost-effective digital signage solutions. Learn how to utilise consumer screens and affordable devices to display essential information that engages your audience.

Getting Started with ScreenCloud: Simple and Affordable

Quite often in my content, I talk about the large enterprise customers we're working with, but we also work with over 9,500 smaller ones as well. And a recent prospective customer asked me if they were too small to be using ScreenCloud. The answer is no. We have many customers just running a couple of screens in a single location. And that's great. It's a really good way to get started. And often those customers end up growing over time. The best way to get started is really just using regular consumer screens. You probably already have them up on your walls. And then just use affordable devices. A ScreenCloud OS device is really good. Or you can use things like Google Chromecast. Historically, Amazon Firesticks, but not so much anymore. And that's a really good way to get started. Then just think about what is the essential information you would like to see on those screens that your audience would most want from you. And then get in touch with the team. We have many ways in which we can display content. Our app store has over 80 preset configurations. But there's also ways you can be imaginative just with spreadsheets, Google Slides, PowerPoints as well. So you don't have to worry. Getting started is super simple and not that expensive. And we're here to help. Get in touch.

Discover how minimal UI can enhance user experience by removing unnecessary steps, and learn about the impact of real-time updates on customer satisfaction. Explore insights from ScreenCloud’s approach to intuitive UX design.

Creating Magic Moments in User Experience Design

Well, I have this little phrase, which is that the best UX is no UX. And what I mean by that is, um, the more, the more invisible the experience feels, um, I, the more you could remove and anticipate the better the experience. And I think that's one of where ScreenCloud has been really good. So you're one of the UX principles was, was, was minimal buttons. You know, like, uh, if you're editing a title, just click on the title and edit it and then press return or whatever, and click off it and it saves rather than have loads of extra kind of cancel approve, you know, you still got buttons there, but buttons do key things and everything else is just drag and drop and kind of click. And, and it just, it removes everyday workflow, which is what creates the delight in the experience of a product you're using every single day to update content, you'll appreciate those kind of little smooth outs in the workflow, that intuitive kind of anticipatory nature of the UX. So I think that was extremely important. That's something that people that wasn't in a lot of the legacy systems, it was just buttons everywhere, you know, click, click, click, click, click. And, and, you know, that's fine for one round, but often, you know, you'll maybe uploading and configuring 20 pieces of content at a time. That's going to get really laborious. So, so minimal UI, I suppose created the best UX, uh, is probably the best way of doing that. Yeah. And, and I think the other thing was this, um, this delight moment that we created. I've got to credit Luke, uh, my CTO co-founder for this one. I didn't think that the industry norm was screens would update maybe after five or 15 minutes, once you'd updated them and they would sort of eventually the whole system would update. And so that was an industry norm. And I, I wasn't that compelled to change that, but for Luke, it was really important to him that, that when you made an update, the screen updated almost immediately. Um, so he used like a Firebas

Explore the challenges and solutions in enhancing digital signage adoption in local environments. Discover how collaboration and accessible workflows can reduce reliance on printed materials.

Empowering Local Managers with Digital Signage

So in most environments that I visit, even when I'm visiting a ScreenCloud customer who's already using screens, I still see way more bits of paper on a wall than content on a screen. And when you walk around, you sort of ask yourself, well, why is this? And normally the people who are putting up those bits of paper on the wall are people locally in that environment, not from HQ, from internal comms or IT, and they're just doing what they can do in their environment. What we need to consider when we're doing a digital signage network is how do we include more of these local managers and operators and give them access to the screens as well, so that they aren't forced to keep printing things out and putting them up on a wall, even though there's a screen there clearly showing digital signage content as well. So really, it's down to us and our customers to collaborate, work together and come up with simple workflows and training mechanisms to widen the net of contributors for digital signage content. Bye-bye, print.

In today's fast-paced market, the expectation for first product versions has evolved. This discussion explores the importance of focusing on key philosophies rather than releasing subpar initial versions. Emphasising consumer-friendly features can set a product apart and buy time for further development.

Crafting First Products with Key Philosophies

Absolutely. Yeah, yeah. I think there's an interesting, I saw an interesting tweet the other day, which said like the days of like, you know, ship your first crappy, embarrassing product over. And I sort of agree, I kind of think that actually, no one really should ship anything truly embarrassing. I think the tolerance for like terrible first versions is pretty low, because I mean, like really life's too short to just be testing out terrible products and have them kind of fail on you. So I think that was a bit of an old trope. But what I think what how I think it really should be at the moment is that you should probably hang your first product on a couple of these key philosophies. So you know, what I was talking about there was works with consumer hardware, it's really nice and intuitive interface. And it has this real time magic moment. And then to be honest, the fact it had didn't support vertical screens, didn't support like zones, it was only full screen. And all of the other stuff, which was kind of table stakes didn't even work offline originally, which is quite important in that environment. But all of that stuff was like, to be added. And people were like fine with that, because they could see that your product philosophy stood out as something slightly different. So that bought you the time. At that point, apart from them saying you need to do the table stakes of work, which everyone just kind of usually intuitively knows, then you start getting that feedback loop.

Join our upcoming live webinar with experts from FirstUp and our product team to explore the science behind effective screen communication. Perfect for internal communicators aiming to optimise screen use, this session includes a Q&A for personalised insights.

Unlocking the Science of Effective Screen Communication

On the 30th of October, I will be doing a live webinar with Chuck Gose from our partner FirstUp and also from our product team, Jonica. We're going to dive into the science of screens. So we're going to take some of the core elements of the science behind communicating with screens, we're going to break that down, and then we're going to open up live questions from the audience. So you can ask anything you like. This webinar is ideal if you're an internal communicator and you're looking to use screens either now or in the future and you'd like to learn a little bit more about how to do that in the most successful way. So come join the three of us, it'll be really cool, and I'd love to see you there.

This video highlights the common pitfalls of screen content and emphasises the importance of transforming existing materials into screen-friendly formats. It discusses the role of providers like ScreenCloud in enhancing internal communications through effective design.

Transforming Content for Effective Screen Design

Alright, another spicy take. Screen content sucks. Usually when we see screen content, it's terrible. It's not formatted for screen, designed for screen, even written for screen. It's an existing piece of content that's being put on a screen. It might not actually even fit the layout. It might have way too much text, not a clear call to action, not imagery to draw in the eye. And the reality is that's actually on us. Customers don't know how to design for screens. They already have content in other approved formats, so maybe a PowerPoint that they'd emailed around. And it's actually down to the likes of ScreenCloud to take that content and transform it into screen-friendly, accessible design and best practice. So unless you're using a branding agency, which in commercial use cases in retail and quick-serve restaurants, they would be using an agency to make all that content really pop and shine and work the way it's supposed to. For internal communication, generally speaking, they don't have access to those resources. So it's on us, the providers, to help customers not put screen content up that sucks.

Explore the two main hardware options for setting up a digital signage network. Discover the benefits and drawbacks of using a media player versus a system on chip, helping you to make an informed decision for your organisation's needs.

Optimising Your Digital Signage Network Choices

So when you're thinking about your digital signage network, you basically have two hardware choices up front if you're adding new screens which don't already exist. The most popular way is to take a regular screen and attach a media player to it, such as ScreenCloud OS or some of the Google Chrome media players, probably attached to the back into the HDMI cable. The benefit of that is that you can always upgrade that device and change that device over time and it's divorced from the actual screen itself. However, there is a, in many ways, a simpler option which is called SoC or system on chip. And this is where the computer is embedded into the screen and is running in that screen. Now, the downside of that is that you wouldn't be able to switch operating system and upgrading that operating system may be tricky if there aren't firmware updates available. But the benefit would be that everything is encapsulated within the screen itself. So if this screen is out in public, you may not want a computer dangling off the back of it that a member of the public could either knock off or steal or whatever it might be. So you tend to find system on chip being very popular when members of the public are around. It's also probably got a more of a lower health and safety profile because there's less bits going on. And generally speaking, things are a little simpler. However, for most communication screens, I would emphasize the media player versus the screen. That gives you the most options and future-proofing going forward. Thank you.

Exploring the importance of personalised health and safety messaging in manufacturing and logistics settings, with a focus on using screens for enhanced engagement. Discover how tailored content can improve resonance and effectiveness in hazardous environments.

Personalising Health and Safety Messaging in the Workplace

So when we use screens to communicate in industries such as manufacturing and logistics, health and safety comes up as one of the number one topics for content, which is pretty understandable. These are dangerous environments. Now, traditionally, health and safety has probably had a blanket approach. Think of a poster that's been printed. That will probably be one design, printed multiple times, and then sent to all locations. But actually, it's been proven that if you can personalize health and safety messaging to the very environment and people that are there, it will be taken more seriously. So imagine that there's a health and safety notice where the CEO of the business is explaining why health and safety matters. It would probably resonate more if that picture wasn't the CEO, but in fact was maybe the facility manager instead, someone you actually have a relationship and actually have some trust and respect for. Not to say that a CEO who doesn't have that, but they probably wouldn't even be able to name that person, let's be honest, right? And if the pictures of the environment you're showing are not just a generic thing with like an oil spill or water spill saying, you know, don't do it, but with the actual venue that you're in now, maybe with a real example of something that happened recently, it will resonate more because it's more real. And the more real you make something and the more relatable you make something, the more likely people are to take notice of it and action it. Now, with screens, we have the opportunity to personalize every single screen in that way, in a way that doing a print run of hundreds of variations just wouldn't have been feasible in the past. So I encourage customers to think about personalizing these messages as much as possible if they're really serious about getting them taken seriously by the intended audience.

Explore how ScreenCloud is prioritising an AI first strategy in product design, transforming traditional user interfaces. Discover why adopting this approach is crucial in the next five years.

Embracing an AI First Approach in Product Design

So in an earlier video, you'll have seen me talking about how we were enabling customers to turn off AI features. If we look forward five years down the road, I think that our product is taking an AI first strategy probably before five years, to be honest. So the interface of a content management system with lists and buttons and search bars will just have faded away. There's no point having them when you don't need them. I don't think anyone really truly enjoys clicking multiple buttons to make things happen when you could just ask for it. And that is understood, interpreted and actioned immediately. So all software really needs to take an AI first approach in its design within the next five years. And ScreenCloud is absolutely no exception. People know what they want to put on a screen and to whom they want to communicate it. That part people can already articulate well. The tricky bit is then building a graphical interface and workflows and systems that then follow through on that promise. With AI, they can just explain it. And then if we have done our work correctly, this should be completely possible without them having to click loads of buttons and drag loads of files around.

We partnered with 130 West for the America's Cup in Barcelona after they secretly tested ScreenCloud on a live event, streaming content from sea to space via Starlink. It worked brilliantly. We're working together to enhance the fan experience with innovative screen usage, going beyond just race streaming to make the event come alive for onshore spectators.

Innovative Digital Solution for America's Cup

So you may have seen recently that we partnered with 130 West to be the digital science solution for the America's Cup in Barcelona later this summer. You might be wondering how that all came about. The actual team at 130 West were secretly using ScreenCloud without us knowing on a stealth project testing us out for live events where they were using Starlink internet connections to stream content from the sea up to space and back down again to screens using ScreenCloud and it worked extremely well so they got very excited about that and then we had a meeting in Barcelona we're talking about this summer and the work we could do together. We thought this was really amazing just stretching the use of the technology being quite innovative with how we were using screens to show people on the land what was really going on and try and make the fan experience come alive a bit more not just with streaming the race but with other content as well. So we've been working with the team for a few weeks now we're now just getting the sponsorship content all ready setting it all up and it'll be launching later in August and once it does I'll show you more of what we've done. So the America's Cup kicks off on the 22nd of August and runs all the way through to the 20th of October.

At Heathrow Terminal 5, screens are still down from the CrowdStrike outage. The incident highlights how mission-critical digital signage has become and the difficulty of sending engineers airside for manual fixes. It reinforces the importance of reliable, remotely managed networks. The creative responses to this outage have been entertaining, at least.

The Importance of Reliable Digital Signage

So if you look at the analytics on all my LinkedIn posts, you'll see that Error Message of the Week is in fact the most popular. So there I am, pouring my heart out about digital signage strategy and all you want to see is public fail. Who am I to deny my audience? So here we are at Heathrow Terminal 5 and as you can see, the screens behind me in the BA lounge are still out from the CrowdStrike outage we've had earlier this year. And one of the things I was worried about doing Error Message of the Week was the sort of schadenfreude. I'm not going to pile in on them because to be honest, we've done equally bad things, it's just we're not big enough to be a global news story. And I think it is a bit wrong to do too much hand-wringing over these things. But it certainly throws up a few interesting things. The actual patch of the fix I believe has gone out already, I think went out quite quickly. But because it involves manual intervention, it just highlights how much effort it is if there is a problem sending engineers out, especially airside to fix screens. It is super difficult. So it's actually highlighted a super important problem. In startup folklore, there's this thing which if you want to know how mission critical your product is, turn it off for a day and see what happens. Well, I think, you know, unfortunately, this did cause a huge amount of chaos and a lot of people were affected in their travel, finance, etc. And we'll include some examples of that on the video edit. But it really does show that actually screens are pretty mission critical and people couldn't really achieve what they wanted to when all of those screens went down. It also shows the importance of a reliable network that can be remotely managed without having to have engineering talent out on the ground. What's also been quite interesting is actually all the creative and fun ways people have played with this one. And we'll sort of lighten the mood a bit by including a few of them. Right. Well,

Discover how digital screens can enhance employee engagement, productivity, and more. Learn about the four key pillars of effective screen communication and how they can transform your organisation's environment.

Maximising Impact with Digital Screen Content

So when it comes to screens that communicate, there are multiple different pieces of content that we could show on a screen. But we find that customers usually have one key pillar that they're most focused on initially, and they're usually one of these four. So firstly, employee engagement. We're trying to celebrate the work that's going on of our teams, greet new joiners, happy birthday, work anniversaries, and also job opportunities. Secondly, is more functional information. So here we're thinking about health and safety, wayfinding, practical information that people need to see on a screen in order to know what's going on next. Thirdly, we look at productivity. This is where we're showing KPIs, dashboards, data, maintenance schedules, rotors. This is about making the whole environment more productive and more aware of what's going on in real time so they can make adjustments through the day. And in the fourth bucket, we call game changers. Now, this is deliberately loose. Most companies have an internal process or system they may even develop themselves, or it might be running on some ancient PC in the corner that no one's allowed to touch. And this is just running the system that makes everything tick. They want to take information out of that, push up onto the screens, and if everyone can see that, then everything is just gonna run that little bit smoother. Normally, we learn about the game changers once we've had a chance to visit the customer and get them more on board with digital signage because this is information they probably never thought that they could get up onto a screen.

I used ScreenCloud at my dad's 80th birthday, and whilst setup was brilliantly simple, it reminded me how much work we still have to do on usability. Watching family members engage with old photos on screen was magical, but I was still fiddling with too many buttons. This is where AI will really help.

Reflections on ScreenCloud at a Family Event

So I've seen influencers do videos in their car as they're driving along it's probably a bit of a flex because they've got a nice car but this one's from 2007 and it's full of junk and dog hair from Fergus. Anyway I'm just driving from back from my dad's 80th birthday party where obviously I used ScreenCloud as part of the party and it was really good it worked really well a few really good observations came from it firstly setting it up was dead easy ScreenCloud OS I use ScreenCloud OS and it really was just so simple so we've done a great job there you know doing that I think also shout out to Casey on our success team he built a really nice little workflow and you'll see examples of that where people could upload images on a Google form with a message and that pushed out to the screen using OneDrive which was really nice so people like that that was fun and then I think probably the biggest thing as well was just the impact it had and I'll put a video in here as well you can see like members of my family looking at old pictures from my mum and dad's wedding day when they were growing up as kids you know holidays memories of my grandparents who've passed now and it was incredible to see the power of the screen for triggering memories and thoughts and that was really beautiful so they're really proud to be able to use a product to kind of make these little moments happen where it didn't go so well is I still think if I'm honest and as much as I love our product it's still too difficult to use I was fiddling away with my laptop you know at the end of the table trying to get just quite basic things really just trying to get a gallery of images up there that people could add to and things like that and I think we've done a good job with ScreenCloud Studio and things like that overall but it's still too fiddly there's still too many buttons to click and I imagine there's the same for everyone in our industry too so yeah I think this is where you know AI is definitely g

In this video, we explore an unconventional use of PowerPoint for real-time updates at an airport. Despite its simplicity, this approach allows immediate communication, outperforming traditional systems. It also highlights the need to consider non-traditional competitors in product development.

Innovative Use of PowerPoint in Real-Time Updates

So on the ScreenCloud Slack group, the team shared a viral video going on Twitter of a screen in an airport being powered by PowerPoint. Let's take a look. So I think you'd probably be expecting me to slam this, but actually I quite like this use case. Obviously, it's not exactly a slick update of the screen, but it is done in real time. And it is being done by the person who knows that this flight boarding is getting delayed. So compared to other systems, which sometimes take upwards of half an hour to update, at least the customers are fully aware of what's going on. And the person managing the screen is fully capable of doing so. This could obviously be much slicker, but actually I think this is quite interesting. And it reminds me of one other thing. We often think that our competition is just literally our competitors, our brand competitors. But in fact, our competition is usually a homegrown solution like this, the PowerPoint or Excel, or even doing nothing at all. And it's always worth remembering that this is the kind of use case that we need to be thinking about as much as whatever our competitors are building as well.

I explore the zones versus full-screen debate in digital signage design. Whilst single messages work best for crucial communications, zoned layouts excel at attracting attention with peripheral information like weather or safety notices. ScreenCloud's flexibility allows both approaches - zoned layouts for ambient content with priority messages that pop to full-screen when needed.

Effective Digital Signage Strategies: Zones vs Full Screen

So there's a big debate amongst digital science experts about whether you should zone up a screen or just use a full screen. So for zones, just think of kind of like a 24-hour news or sports news where you have ticker tapes and information down the side, and then you've got the main panel would be the presenters and things like that. And obviously, full screen is full screen. Now, the argument is that if you really want to get a message across, you should just have one message at one time up on that screen. And I would broadly agree with that. And I think, generally speaking, because digital signage is running so often, actually having one message and then moving on to something else is fine. However, I do quite like zoned content for attracting attention to the main zone with the content that you would normally want to attract, but then having peripheral information to the side, which could be something as basic as weather or a clock as well, or just something useful that maybe wouldn't have necessarily attracted attention in the first place. It could be something to do with health and safety, for example, which people tend to start to block out over time. So I think done well, zones can be really powerful. But when there is a crucial message, it's better to move full screen. And the way we designed ScreenCloud was actually to allow for both. So you can have a zoned layout. And then if you have priority content that can pop up full screen, and then when that's done, go back down again. And that seems to work really well for customers. It also adds a bit of variety into the layout of the screen as well.

I discuss why digital signage matters for office-based knowledge workers. Whilst laptop and phone screens dominate their attention, internal communications often gets lost in the noise. Environmental screens can increase information recall rates by 3-4 times, cutting through digital clutter to ensure key messages land effectively.

Boosting Office Communication with Digital Signage

For office-based desk workers or knowledge workers, screens on the walls are simply not as important as the screens in front of them, their laptop or their phone. However, the communication channels on those devices are pretty noisy, and internal communications often gets lost in the mix. So having content pushed out onto screens in their environment is a great way of cutting through the noise and making sure that these key messages are heard and understood. We've seen that recall rates of information can go up three or four times when also amplified on screens and not solely left to platforms on their laptop or on their phone.

I discuss how digital screens can transform event spaces beyond traditional methods like lighting and furniture. Event-specific content on screens can completely change the atmosphere and function of a workspace, creating immersive experiences that engage attendees in new ways.

Transform Event Spaces with Dynamic Digital Signage

Have you ever hosted an event in your workspace? The answer is probably yes. So how do you change the mood and function of that setting? Well, you probably changed the lighting, maybe moved the furniture, and maybe even played some music. But what about screens as well? If you do have screens in that environment, you can push content out, which is relevant to the event that you're running, and completely change the atmosphere and function of the room. Give it a try. www.microsoft.com

I discuss the challenge of displaying business intelligence dashboards on digital signage. Whilst ScreenCloud enables secure dashboard display, BI tools are designed for analysts, not general audiences; simplified, screen-appropriate designs using traffic light systems work far better.

Optimising Business Dashboards for Digital Signage

So one of the biggest feature requests we ever had at ScreenCloud since we started was the ability to show business intelligence dashboards securely up on screen. It was one of the hardest features for us to build, and we did a really good job of it. And now you can show pretty much any dashboard you want up on a screen securely. Great. Not quite. Most business intelligence dashboards are designed by business analysts. For people to be able to pore over and produce reports from and intelligence. Now, if you put that dashboard up on a screen 20 foot in the sky in front of someone who maybe hasn't even seen these kind of dashboards before and expect them to change their behavior, you're kind of howling at the moon, right? Business intelligence people build dashboards for other business intelligence people. Doesn't mean the data in them isn't relevant. It's super relevant, but probably the format of it is not suitable for digital signage. So much as we allow customers and encourage them to put data up there and it is one of our greatest features, we also emphasize the design of those dashboards needs to be appropriate for screen. Maybe just using a simple traffic system of red, green, amber to highlight when things are good and bad and just to have fewer numbers on there so it's easier for people in front of that screen to understand and maybe to actually make some kind of change as a result. Microsoft Mechanics www.microsoft.com 

I discuss digital signage's unique advantage over other channels: knowing precisely where your audience is when they see your message. Unlike emails or notifications, screens provide guaranteed location context, enabling highly targeted calls-to-action.

Maximising Impact with Strategic Digital Signage

There are so many things about screens which set them apart from every other digital channel. And I think one of the most important ones there is that you know exactly where the audience is going to be when they see that message, because you physically placed the screen up on that wall. Right, now this is different to say, sending an email or even sending a notification as you're doing some kind of sophisticated tracking and push. You have no idea at what point that email will be read. Maybe it's read at home, maybe it's read at work or the commute or something like that. But when someone sees that message on that screen, you know that they are there. Now that gives you a unique context, which you just don't get through other digital channels. And that really should be considered in how you're planning out your content. So if you want to trigger a specific action to happen in this environment, this is your opportunity to do so. You know that they are there, you know the time that they are there, and then you can really trigger what you want to happen next. And that is quite unusual in digital to have that opportunity. So think about that more when you're planning out your content.

I explore dwell time as the crucial factor in content planning for digital signage. A corridor viewer has three seconds whilst a break room visitor has minutes, requiring completely different content strategies for the same audience in different locations.

Maximise Engagement with Dwell Time in Digital Signage

So dwell time is probably the most important thing to consider when you're planning out your digital signage content. And what do we mean by dwell time? Well, it literally is just the amount of time a person is going to be in front of the screen to see that content. So think of a high-traffic area like a corridor. Someone's going to be walking past that screen. The dwell time could be literally three seconds, unless they stop and look, which is kind of rare. Now, in a break room, for example, the dwell time could be a matter of minutes. So this is very, very different, even though it's the same audience. If you're going straight past in a short dwell time, you can really only afford to put text and maybe an image up on the screen just to get your message understood. If you had a two-minute video, you have no idea what point in the video they're going to be walking by, and therefore, the context is completely lost. However, you completely flip that round if they are going to be there for several minutes. And actually, that gives you the opportunity to tell more of a story, to embellish your point, to be a little bit more entertaining, rather than just showing text and images, which is going to be a bit boring. So think about the likely dwell time, and even one screen may have different types of dwell time at different times of day. So as people are flooding into a building, they might actually be going straight past, not even stopping in the break room, just going straight in and out the door. But then during that lunchtime break, they might actually genuinely be there for longer. So you can start to observe traffic flows. There's sophisticated ways of doing this. You can actually track it using technology. But a simple way to begin is just to go to that environment and look for yourself or talk to the people that work there. They'll tell you when people are hanging around and when they're not.

I explore how audience mindset shifts throughout the day and week, and why this matters for digital signage messaging. Morning audiences think about work tasks whilst evening audiences focus on home life, requiring different content strategies for the same physical location.

Optimising Screen Messaging for Audience Mindset

So when you think about the screens and the various locations they're in, you also need to consider the likely traffic flows going in front of those screens. What we mean here is if you just take a typical day, a screen may be in a break room. Now, that break room at some points is going to swell with activity, maybe just before the working day or a shift begins, and then other times it may be completely empty or very, very sparsely used. There's also differences. It may be that as the traffic's coming in in the morning, what's the mindset of that audience as that traffic swell occurs? They're thinking about what they're about to work on. So the messaging that you put out in front of them should probably be related to something they're actually going to be able to action immediately in the working day. Now, as they come back into that break room after the shift or at the end of the day, their mindset has shifted. They're now thinking about going home and their family and things like that. There may be still messages that you want to get in there, maybe a message of praise, a reward, or opportunities that they may have internally, like a management training program or other job opportunities, or if they're enrolling in benefits that might impact their family, maybe that's something that they want to talk to their family about. So screens in the same location, even to the same audience, but the traffic and the time of day is obviously quite important, and then the mindset of that traffic is important too. Now, that expands out further as you think about the week. Is Monday different to Friday or the weekend? Or even do you have traffic flows during the night? Do you have a night shift or a cleaning team who's coming in and possibly seeing those screens as well? Have you considered what message you'd like to put in front of them? And if it's more in a commercial setting, you've got the traffic flows of your team setting up the store or location, or the actual customers

I examine how skeuomorphism helped bridge the gap between physical and digital interfaces, and why it's time to move beyond replicating notice boards on digital screens. Modern digital signage should leverage its unique capabilities rather than mimicking outdated formats.

Rethinking Digital Screen Design: Beyond Skeuomorphism

Skeuomorphism is an interesting concept. Not everyone will be familiar with that. I think it became quite prominent in the early days of the iPhone through the Apple designer, Johnny Ive. When they put some of the original native apps onto the iPhone, like Notes and Contacts, they took a skeuomorphic approach to the design. So what they basically did was replicate the paper version of those products as digital assets. And that helped people become more familiar with their function and their form, even though as a digital asset it was completely unnecessary to make it look like paper. So skeuomorphism is typically what a human tends to do when they try and take the real life and make that digital. We've seen that with the web and with phones. We also see it with screens. So if you look at a classic notice board, you've got bits of paper printed out and stuck all over the place. And then when we look at how some of our customers are setting up their screens, they're replicating that form. They're putting zones everywhere, putting lots of different information up around. And it's basically an internet-connected notice board, which isn't really leaning into the medium. Now, if you look at the products that Apple pushes out today, those same products, Notes and Contacts, they don't look anything like an old Rolodex anymore. And that's because the audience has become educated and has seen that actually the digital product can do so many more features. We don't need to go back to the old way. And I think that we're at the same point now with screens. We just need to educate the audience on the medium more. And that's what we're trying to do here.

I explore how Apple's Vision Pro demonstrates the future of spatial computing and what this means for digital signage. The device shows how content can be contextually placed in physical spaces, creating location-aware experiences that feel natural and intuitive.

Exploring Apple's Vision Pro and Digital Signage Insights

So no doubt you will have recently seen Apple's new hardware product, the Apple Vision Pro. It's quite an expensive piece of virtual reality head kit, but it's also quite a groundbreaking new interface that Apple is exploring. And no doubt this will become more popular in the future as the price begins to come down. But looking at some of the early usage of the product, it's quite interesting in how it relates also to how we think about screens. So there was a video that one guy posted on Twitter, or X, that I thought was quite interesting. So I'm going to play that now and just talk it through. I want to show you guys just a little bit of what a real workflow might look like for the Vision Pro. See the Mac screen right here? By the way, full hand occlusion, which looks really nice and smooth. Messages, Slack, another Safari window right here. Keyboard works just fine like that. And also my mouse will go over here, and I can go ahead and type right here. And as I type, I can see a little preview. I'll show you a couple more things. Got the messages again. Got music set up here. Big screen TV set up on my wall. Gordon Ramsay showing me how to cook above the stove. Notes right here for some groceries. Can walk around freely. All right, let's just pause there. So a few takeaways from that video. Firstly, did you see how he was grouping content into the right location? So he had his workspace set up, and he had all of his workspace applications set up there. And then as he moved across the room to where it naturally was more of an entertainment zone, that's where it felt appropriate for him to put that content. And then naturally, as he got into the kitchen, that's where you've got that content tutorial. And I really like the notes on the fridge because what he's using is the fridge door is generally in family life a trigger point for to-do lists, not just like what we need to go and buy more milk, but also, you know, remember to pack the sports kit for the kids or what

I explore how Tesla's autopilot AI, trained entirely on visual input, mirrors how humans learn through sight. This parallel demonstrates why visual communication through digital signage is so powerful for engaging our subconscious cognition.

Harnessing Visual Learning in Digital Signage

AI is a super hot topic right now and all of those new large language models are being trained on data publicly available from the internet. However, one of the more mature AI models is actually Tesla's autopilot. This is the model that helps autocorrect and drive the car. Now this model was trained exclusively on camera input, so it's visually trained. Elon explains why. I mean humans are photons in, controls out. The vast majority of information reaching our brain is from our eyes. And so what's the output? The output is our motor signals to our fingers and mouth in order to communicate. So what Elon is getting at here is that as humans we learn a huge amount through our eyes. Think of a small child. Before they can speak, before they can read, they are learning very visually and picking up a whole sense of what the world is really all about and then seeing how people are reacting to that. So in Tesla's case, by filming drivers, just having live inputs of film as they're on the road, we can begin to learn that's a bicycle, that's a potential hazard, we need to slow down now. All of this was done visually without having to feed data into the model. Digital science kind of works pretty similar, right? It's visual, going into our subconscious cognition in the right environment. We learn so much more than we realize through our eyes than necessarily by what we're told to read and think about.