How to Turn PowerPoint into Stunning Digital Signage

Many businesses think creating professional digital signage requires expensive software and specialized design skills. What if you could create eye-catching, dynamic displays using a tool you already know and use every day? You can. PowerPoint, the familiar presentation software, is a surprisingly powerful tool for crafting stunning digital signage.

This step-by-step guide will show you how to transform your PowerPoint skills into an effective digital signage strategy. You’ll learn design best practices, how to use animations effectively, and how to optimize your content for digital screens. We’ll also explore how platforms like SignageTube can simplify the process of scheduling and managing your displays.

Why Use PowerPoint for Digital Signage?

Before we dive into the “how,” let’s cover the “why.” Using PowerPoint for digital signage offers several key advantages, especially for small businesses, schools, and organizations on a budget.

• Accessibility and Familiarity: Most people in an office environment are already proficient with PowerPoint. This eliminates the steep learning curve and training costs associated with specialized digital signage software. Your team can start creating content immediately.
• Cost-Effectiveness: Microsoft Office is a standard software suite in most businesses. Since you likely already have it, you can start creating digital signage content with no additional software investment.
• Rich Feature Set: Modern PowerPoint is packed with advanced features. You can embed videos, create complex animations, use high-quality templates, and integrate vector graphics. This allows you to produce content that looks just as professional as that made with more expensive tools.
• Easy Updates: Need to change a daily special, update an event time, or fix a typo? Editing a PowerPoint slide is simple and fast. This flexibility is crucial for keeping your digital signage content current and relevant.

Step-by-Step Guide to Creating Digital Signage in PowerPoint

Follow these steps to turn a blank presentation into a dynamic digital sign.

Step 1: Set Up Your Slide Dimensions

The first step is to format your slides to fit your digital screen. Most modern displays use a 16:9 widescreen aspect ratio, which is the default for new PowerPoint presentations. However, you should always confirm the resolution of your screen.

1. Go to the Design tab on the ribbon.
2. Click on Slide Size > Custom Slide Size.
3. Here, you can select “On-screen Show (16:9)” or enter a custom width and height to match your display’s resolution (e.g., 19.2 inches wide by 10.8 inches high for a 1920×1080 HD screen).
4. If you have a vertically oriented (portrait) screen, simply swap the height and width values.

Setting this up first ensures your content fills the screen perfectly without any black bars or distortion.

Step 2: Design with Digital Signage in Mind

Designing for a digital sign is different from designing for a boardroom presentation. Your audience is often moving and views the screen from a distance. Keep these principles in mind:

• High Contrast is Key: Use bold, contrasting colors to make your text and graphics pop. Dark text on a light background or light text on a dark background works best. Avoid busy backgrounds that make text hard to read.
• Use Large, Readable Fonts: Choose clear, sans-serif fonts like Arial, Helvetica, or Calibri. Your text needs to be legible from several feet away. A good rule of thumb is to use a minimum font size of 32 points.
• Keep It Simple (The “5-Second Rule”): A viewer should be able to understand the message on your slide within five seconds. Limit the amount of text on each slide. Focus on one key message per slide and use visuals to support it.
• Leverage High-Quality Visuals: Use high-resolution images and videos. Blurry or pixelated visuals look unprofessional and will detract from your message. Use PowerPoint’s Insert > Pictures or Insert > Video options to add your media.

Step 3: Add Dynamic Elements with Animations and Transitions

This is where you can make your digital signage truly engaging. Animations draw the eye and can help pace the information on the screen.

• Use Subtle Animations: Don’t overdo it. A simple “Fade” or “Appear” animation is often more effective than a dizzying “Swivel” or “Bounce.” Use animations to reveal information sequentially, guiding the viewer’s eye through your message.
• Apply Smooth Transitions: The “Fade” and “Push” transitions are excellent for creating a seamless flow between slides. Avoid jarring or complex transitions that can be distracting. Set your transition duration to be slow enough to feel smooth but fast enough not to bore the viewer.
• Automate Your Slides: For your signage to run on its own, you need to automate the slide progression.
  1. Go to the Transitions tab.
  2. In the “Timing” group, uncheck “On Mouse Click.”
  3. Check the box for “After” and enter the number of seconds you want each slide to display before automatically moving to the next one. You can apply this setting to all slides.

Step 4: Embed Video and Other Rich Media

Video is one of the most effective ways to capture attention. PowerPoint makes it easy to incorporate video content into your digital signage.

1. Go to the Insert tab and click Video.
2. You can insert a video from your computer.
3. Once inserted, go to the Playback tab. Here, you can set the video to “Start Automatically” and “Loop until Stopped.” This ensures your video plays without any manual intervention.

You can also embed live data from Excel to display changing numbers or charts, which is great for internal business dashboards.

Taking Your Signage to the Next Level with SignageTube

Creating the content in PowerPoint is only half the battle. You also need an effective way to deploy, schedule, and manage it, especially if you have multiple screens. This is where a tool like SignageTube comes in.

SignageTube enhances PowerPoint digital signage by:

• Centralized Management: Control all your screens from a single web-based dashboard. You can deploy content to displays in different rooms or even different cities with just a few clicks.
• Advanced Scheduling: Don’t just loop one presentation. Schedule different PowerPoint files to play at specific times of the day or on certain days of the week. Show a breakfast menu in the morning and a lunch menu in the afternoon, all automatically.
• Remote Updates: Need to update your content? Simply upload the new PowerPoint file to your SignageTube account. The changes will be pushed to your screens automatically, saving you the hassle of manually updating USB drives for each display.

By pairing the content creation power of PowerPoint with the management capabilities of SignageTube, you create a robust, scalable, and professional digital signage system.

Start Creating Today

PowerPoint is more than just a tool for meetings; it’s a versatile platform for creating compelling digital signage. By following the design principles and technical steps outlined above, you can produce professional-quality content that informs, engages, and impresses your audience. Start with a simple design, experiment with animations, and watch your screens come to life.