Content Design
This article will provide some tips and tricks for designing content in the TrouDigital studio to make your designs effortless and professional.
Once your screens and media players are set up, you can start designing your content!
Note that the studio has a Canva integration, meaning if you wish to use existing Canva designs for your business, you may import them directly into the studio.
Ratios
The aspect ratio of an image determines how it appears on your screen. The wrong aspect ratio can lead to content being cut off or low quality.
Most TV screens have the same ratio. Horizontal screens have a 16:9 ratio and portrait screens have a 9:16 ratio.
Aspect ratio does depend on the hardware though, so ask our team if you are unsure.
Resolution
Resolution tells us how many pixels are on the screen. More pixels means a clearer image or design.
A screen is considered full high definition (HD) when the resolution is 1920 x 1080 pixels. This should be your desired resolution, because low quality can appear less professional.
Here are the other pixel dimensions for different types of screens:
- Quarter HD: 960 x 540 pixels
- Standard HD/HD ready: 1290 x 720 pixels
- Ultra HD: 3840 x 2160 pixels
Text
Avoid making text illegibly small or too big that it takes too much space. Headings, subheadings or titles should be larger than the proceeding text.
Use appropriate fonts for your message, and make them consistent across designs. For example, cursive fonts for a luxury brand ad or block capitals for a warning message.
For accessibility, fonts like Arial, Helvetica, Open Sans, Quicksand, and Montserrat are the easiest to read.
Images
Images can be used creatively, usually to illustrate or support the information presented on the screen. As with text, avoid making your images too small.
You may use images as a background, or place them next to text.
Colour
When advertising with digital signage, your content should be eye-catching. Use bright, bold colours to avoid dull designs. Be selective about colour choices, minimising the design to between 3 and 5 key colours. Where possible, use your brand colours to create a lasting impression of your brand.
When using digital signage for internal communications, colour choices can still make an impact. Use complementary colour palettes in your signage designs to draw your employees towards important information.
Using Apps & Integrations
Integrations are made easy with the TrouDigital studio. Simply open the tab and drag and drop the apps you want to showcase.
Try to choose integrations appropriate for the content. For example, a hotel lobby screen could stream the time and weather with the Clock and Weather integrations, or a salon could stream their Instagram page.
Formatting & Design
Avoid cluttering the screen with lots of text and images. Space items out evenly and create a logical flow of information e.g. step 1, step 2…
If you have varied information to share on one page, break it up into sections for consistency and readability.
If you need help designing content, our team is here to support you. Contact us at support@troudigital.com.
Our Security
The foundation of our digital signage is our security. This article will outline the key features of our systems that protect your screens from cyber attacks.
As digital signage systems are often connected to the internet in public areas, reliable security against cyber threats is necessary.
Below is a comprehensive overview of the security measures we take to ensure your screens are protected.
End-To-End Data Encryption
All data is encrypted in transit and at rest using advanced SSL (HTTPS) protocols.
Secure User Access
Our platform supports:
- Single Sign-On (SSO)*: allows users to log in with one central account (like a Google or Microsoft login)
- Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA): multiple layers of login defence
- Role-Based Access Control (RBAC): users can only access information based on their job role – additionally, only authorised users can make changes to signage
*SSO available with enterprise packages
Proof-of-Play & Playback Reporting
A built-in feature which gives timestamped logs of what content played and when.
Offline Mode Support
Media players will continue to play scheduled content regardless of internet connection.
Continuous Monitoring & Threat Protection Measures
We actively monitor our systems through various means:
- Real-time monitoring with Datadog and AWS CloudWatch: these tools watch our platform 24/7 and alert us of any issues
- Biannual third-party penetration testing: biannual ethical hacker pentesting to find and patch vulnerabilities in our systems
- Regular scans with rapid patching: we frequently check our own software and fix weaknesses
- Web Application Firewall (WAF): a filter that blocks common threats e.g. unauthorised attempts to access restricted areas
- DDoS protection and infrastructure hardening via AWS: we protect against Distributed Denial of Service attacks (also known as flooding or bombarding) and reinforce our systems
- Anti-virus protection on critical systems: prevents malware from infecting our servers
Backups & Business Continuity
Even with our strong foundational security, we also protect your content through daily encrypted backups. We also offer rapid restoration capabilities for unprecedented scenarios, and a business continuity plan.
Security Certification & Standards
We are proudly Cyber Essentials Plus (CE+) certified, verifying our protection against common cyber threats.
Additionally, we follow various internationally recognised cybersecurity standards:
- ISO 9001 (Quality Management)
- SOC 2 Type II: a certification that checks how we manage customer data and security over time
- GDPR compliance for handling EU personal data: ensures we follow European privacy laws when handling personal information
- PCI DSS for secure payment data handling: a security standard for handling payment card information
- ISO/IEC certifications via Amazon Web Services (AWS), including: ISO 27001 (Information Security), ISO 27017 (Cloud Security), ISO 27018 (Privacy), ISO 27701 (Privacy Information Management), and ISO 22301 (Business Continuity)
Our Support
If you have any further questions about security, do not hesitate to contact the support team at support@troudigital.com. If you have an enhanced SLA, utilise your dedicated contact number, Slack or Teams channel to get in contact.