Digital Signage with PowerPoint – The proper Tool?

1. Enable automatic Slide Change

In digital signage, we're not talking about presentations and slides, but playlists and media. More about that later. Foremost, it is important for you to activate the switch for automatic slide changes in PowerPoint.

2. Other Kind of "Audience"

Keep in mind that there is no audience to work with directly. Ideally, the playlist should encourage someone to stop and look at it.

I suggest that you design your slides so that they are not entirely dependent on each other. Creating an arc of suspense that spans several slides is only useful in a waiting area, if at all. It is more likely that someone will start looking at the presentation in the middle rather than at the beginning.

3. What kind of Information do you want to show?

Think about what kind of information you want to display on your digital advertising space. Should it be static information, like the company name and logo? Or do you want to include moving images or video clips? Once you decide on a content type, think about how best to present it.

4. Animation vs. static Slides

Animated presentations tend to be complex, and you may need professional help to create them. However, they look very impressive and keep viewers entertained. Static slides are usually easier to create, but they quickly become boring if not done well.

5. Keep your Presentation short and concise

Limit your presentation to the most important points. Too much information distracts the viewer's attention and makes the presentation confusing. Keep your slides short and concise by including only relevant information.

6. Use Vivid Graphics and Images

Vivid graphics and images are a great way to catch attention and highlight key points. Use different colors and design elements to make your slides interesting and appealing.

7. Design your Slides clearly

With digital signage, there is no chance of responding to a possible audience reaction and explaining a diagram in more detail. Use clear slides to allow viewers to easily understand and retain the information presented. Don't overload your slides with text or details.

8. Use Video Features Effectively and avoid Audio

Videos add more depth to your presentation and help emphasize certain points. Use these features wisely, however, as too much video or audio can distract attention. In particular, use audio sparingly, or it's best to do without. Make sure that both video and audio are relevant to the content being presented and, more importantly, to the environment. You can make many mistakes with digital signage, especially when it comes to sound.

9. Use readable Fonts

Another crucial aspect of screens is the choice of font. Choose a font that is easy to read. The size and color of the font should also be well-thought-out so that the message comes across correctly.

10. Test your Presentation before actually using it

Before you show your presentation to the public, test it first – ideally with friends or family. This will allow you to work out any bugs and make sure everything is working properly.

Offline

• Impress is a component of the open-source-software LibreOffice as successor of OpenOffice, and visually reminds of earlier PowerPoint versions. It is intuitive to use and can read, edit, and save PowerPoint files.
• Keynote is an alternative for Apple users with an appealing design. The free program can be operated from the iPhone, iPad or MacBook and also allows content to be edited and assigned in a team environment.

Online

• Google Slides offers a free, cloud-based alternative to PowerPoint. The usage is similar: you have access to various design templates and slides, with which you design texts and achieve further effects. An attractive addition is the teamwork option.
• Prezi is becoming increasingly well-known and is also frequently used in business. Users get the chance to make presentations that are animated, structured, and dynamic using simple shapes, means, and slides.
• Haiku Deck uses artificial intelligence and creates photos and designs that match the topic at hand. Haiku Deck is a tool that focuses on aesthetics. It uses Instagram-like filters to enhance presentations and make them more attractive to viewers.

Wording Differences

The disadvantages of PowerPoint are in the details. The subtle differences can already be seen in the wording.

As mentioned above, we use the term playlist and playlist content or media rather than presentations and slides in digital signage. The difference:

• Presentations are usually delivered by people in real time to an audience. A presenter manually switches between slides.
• Slides are units and the content for them must be created and fitted into them.
• Playlists run automatically and are less suitable for real-time audiences.
• Playlist content is media such as videos and images, templates, widgets, websites, other playlists, or channels. A playlist content automatically adjusts to the given size of the screen in case of doubt.