Signs of the Times
A combination of falling cost and reductions in the size, cost and weight of display screen technology (including flat panel and touchscreen displays) means that single-use printed signs, notices and advertisements are increasingly being replaced by audio visual signage systems.
Originally mainly confined to airports and railway stations, digital signs are nowadays very widely used - to present a corporate image in foyers, in interactive shopping centre guides, as a catalogue of additional products available to order in shops, and for education, information and entertainment. Sports bar screens can show a live game and around it (or overlaying it) display adverts, special offers or other information.
From very small scale embedded touch screens activated by movement detection, to large irregular shapes projected onto vast areas (including buildings), digital signage is part of our everyday world.
We can even interact with signage systems via our mobile devices, by posting to a ‘TwitterWall’ screen at a live event or conference.