Signage content has one job: to be readable by someone walking past at three metres. Most signage that fails, fails on that rather than on anything technical.
Before you start
Have these ready.
- A paired screen to publish to.
- The screen's real orientation and resolution.
- 01
Open Assets and start a new one
Assets are the individual pieces of content. Start by matching the asset to the screen it will appear on rather than designing first and fitting later.
Asset editorMassComs signage asset editor with content being arranged. - 02
Choose size and orientation to match the screen
Set the size and orientation to match the physical display. A landscape asset on a portrait screen is either letterboxed or cropped, and neither reads well.
If you run both orientations, keep two versions of key content rather than one compromise that suits neither.
- 03
Add and arrange content for distance
Add text, images and media, then arrange them. The design constraint is legibility at walking distance, which is far more demanding than a screen on your desk suggests.
- One message per asset. Two messages means neither is read.
- Large type. If it looks oversized on your monitor it is probably right on the wall.
- High contrast. Screens in daylight lose subtle contrast entirely.
- No small print. Nobody stops to read it.
- 04
Use templates and the brand kit for consistency
Templates and organisation branding keep a set of screens looking like one system rather than several. Use them rather than restyling each asset.
- 05
Save and preview
Preview before publishing, and where you can, look at it on the actual screen from where people will actually stand.
Confirm it workedThe main message is readable from the far end of the space the screen serves.
- 06
Add it to a playlist to publish it
Assets are published through playlists and schedules, not on their own. Creating an asset does not put it on a wall.
See Build and order a playlist.
Troubleshooting
When it does not go to plan.
| Symptom | Usual cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Content looks stretched or cropped on the screen. | Asset orientation or aspect ratio does not match the display. | Recreate the asset at the screen's real size and orientation. |
| Text is unreadable in daylight. | Insufficient contrast for the ambient light in that space. | Increase contrast and type size, and check on the actual screen at the brightest time of day. |
| The asset saved but never appeared. | It is not in a playlist, or the playlist is not scheduled. | Add it to a playlist and confirm the schedule covers the current time. |
Good to know
Small details that prevent big confusion.
- Signage content is a communications channel your organisation already has and usually under-uses.
- Consistency across screens matters more than sophistication on any one of them.
- Emergency takeover overrides all content regardless of what is scheduled. You cannot design your way into blocking it, and should not try.
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