Digital Signage Trends 2018

The digital signage industry has been growing rapidly both in availability and capability. Both technology and user experience have been advancing significantly. There are five big trends we are excited to see in 2018.

Slim, Sleek Designs

Slim screens that fit into their surroundings are going to become more and more commonplace. This is an increase in the technology itself, but it will also greatly impact user experience. Size, appearance, and functionality of displays are all highly likely to continue to increase.

Increased Personalization and Interactivity

This is traditionally a very difficult area for digital signage success. Touch screens make this easier, but the difficulty lies in creating an intuitive user experience for a wide range of users (both technology-savvy and not). Additionally, these solutions have to be integrated with multiple data sources, which is far from an easy task! However, we expect to see continued advances in this area. Interactivity is becoming essential for effective and successful digital signage campaigns. Interactivity is also growing past now-common touch screens, with voice recognition and programmed display behavior becoming more popular.

More Responsive Content

Responsive content enables us to create digital signage that automatically changes its display content in accordance with the:

• Weather (advertising for sunglasses on a bright day or cold drinks on a hot, summer day)
• Traffic (suggesting alternate routes in times of heavy traffic)
• Time of day (messaging segmented by morning, rush hour, etc.)

Sensors on the actual displays, as well as data feeds from computers and the web, will adjust content according to real-world conditions.

Improved Outdoor Hardware

Digital signage is being used more and more outdoors, so it is only natural that its hardware continues to adapt to outdoor performance demands. There will almost certainly be an increase in reflective LCD displays as they perform exceptionally in bright sunlight, among other advantages. They rely on external light sources to display content. There have been some significant breakthroughs in this technology.

Physical and Digital Blur

Simply put, digital signage will blur the lines between the digital and physical world. Expect to see more Extended Reality (XR) – which includes Augmented Reality (AR), where people use a device that shows a digital overlay over the real world, augmenting what is physically present, and Virtual Reality (VR), where people in the real world physically interact with a wholly digital construct. Displays will become integral parts of events. This blurring of lines also connects with the improved hardware for outdoor applications.

As you can see, companies are no longer just concerned with what the screens look like—they’re focused on how and what they are displaying to optimize impact and user experience.

Contact Corporate Technology Solutions for Digital Signage Repair, Maintenance, or Installation in Arizona

Corporate Technology Solutions’ Audio Video Division serves the southwest states of Arizona with offices in Tucson and Tempe. Don’t hesitate to reach out to us today for any digital signage service needs or questions that you have!