A Display-Centric Experience

Do you remember mobile phones and smartphones before the iPhone? I do. The displays weren't all that good. Post-iPhone the mobile phone industry dramatically shifted and the display became the focus. A good display wasn't just good to have; a good display was essential. The display was the gateway to exceptional experiences and thanks to Apple everyone is focused on the display today. The trend toward better displays were limited to the mobile space at first, but now has transitioned to the tablet market space, again thanks to Apple with its iPad. These display-centric experiences will challenge another industry: digital signage.

When digital signage was in its infancy one of the largest markets was transportation and in particular airports. At that time the largest displays were made with plasma technology. LCDs were catching up but they were generally more expensive. Many airports around the world chose plasma technology, but they shouldn't have. Why? The reason is quite simple: plasma displays don't do very well in bright ambient environments, and LCDs do very well. Plasma displays in airports looked washed out and the experience for the passengers looking for information was less than ideal. A digital signage deployment cannot afford to make that type of mistake anymore. The stakes are higher.

Today digital signage is more widespread and choosing the right display technology is critical. People's expectations of display performance are high. Thanks to multitouch technologies people also expect to be able to directly engage the display to find information.

One of my favorite things to eat are the french fries at McDonald's. Just a few months ago at a local McDonald's I noticed a brand new digital signage display that was added to the side of the regular menu board. The graphics were nice and the matte LCD was a good match since lighting is very bright. The only problem was that it failed to get me to buy more stuff to eat there.

McDonald's chose the right display for the digital signage application but where it failed was that it was just one way and did not allow for any interaction. The graphics moved around and transitioned too quickly for me to get a good look at the items and prices. What most customers do before they order is compare one item to another and ponder what they should get. It takes some time. If graphics move about too quickly it will only stress the customer. If the display was brought down so I could interact with it, comparing one set item to another and maybe even order on it that would have enhanced the experience for me and probably would have increased revenues for McDonald's.

Digital signage deployments must focus on the display and increasingly people need to be able to interact with the display. A display-centric focus in digital signage will go a long way toward providing customers with satisfying experiences.