Free tools for creating digital signage content

Content is the key driver of the digital and digital-physical worlds. Without the right content, there is bound to be a communication breakdown between companies and intended audiences. In fact, content creation for digital signage includes lots of research, testing, and development.

Most users of digital signage adopt one of the three avenues for digital signage content design:

1. Doing it in-house (marketing team, creative team, in-house designer etc.)
2. Hiring an outside Branding Agency
3. Freelancer (with some experience in designing for digital signage screens)
4. Leveraging managed services from digital signage solutions provider

Thankfully, several turnkey digital signage solutions come with content management software to accelerate communication objectives. For example, for those trying to do in-house signage on a limited budget, there are countless freemium content creation tools. These tools can be leveraged for a stunning presentation, graphics or visuals. These tools not only provide easy-to-use design editors but also provide thousands of pre-created templates to eliminate creative blocks.

Best Digital Signage Content Creation Tools – FOR FREE !

BeFunky

BeFunky combines many things in one. It’s a graphic designer tool, photo editor, and collage maker. It packs hundreds of customizable templates plus a vast library of tools, including innovative design elements for top content creation.

There is a mobile version of this app to take digital signage content creation on the go. There are tremendous and unique filters for pictorial digital signage content.

• The basic BeFunky account is free
• The BeFunky Plus Account which has extra features costs $6.99 per month

Venngage Templates

Venngage provides digital signage content creators limitless templates to play around with. Businesses could save a great deal of time by using the readily designed templates as opposed to creating new ones from scratch.

These templates could be used for any content that is professionally designed with text and colors for truly engaging communication. So, these templates can be downloaded and customized in limitless ways.

• There is a free version with limited features
• For the premium version, pricing starts at $19 per month

Canva

Canva is another graphic design tool that can speed along any type of digital content creation. The software is web-based and is laced with hundreds of templates that businesses can use for trouble-free content creation, including graphics texts and images. In fact, it is easy to create graphics in 1920 x 1080 or 1080 x 1920 formats on this solution.

• Canva has Free, Pro and Enterprise plans
• The free version is completely free
• The Pro plan is $9.95 per month
• The Enterprise version is $30 per month

Visme

Content creators can use Visme for creating digital signage presentations, infographics, and any other visual format that content creators want to experiment with for signage and direction, entertainment, marketing, or notice displays.

Big brands like IBM have used Visme for their storytelling. Content creators can try it too and see how it works well for them. Visme pricing starts at $12.00 per month, per user. There is a free version plus a free trial.

Infogram

Infogram is for companies and brands that want to show off their data-driven organizational pride. Companies can use it to create beautiful charts, maps, reports, and similar presentations that break down complex and lengthy information into easily digestible content for clients, in-store customers, or company stakeholders and the public.

• Infogram pricing starts at $19.00 per month
• There is a free version

Easelly

Content creators can make the creation of infographics for digital signage an enjoyable task with Easelly. No matter what level of computer or graphic design skills content creators have, they can pull it through with Easelly. That means that companies don’t need to hire a ‘content guy’ or outsource the job—anyone can do it in a matter of minutes and save money.

• The paid version starts at $24.00 per year, per user
• There is a free version

Snappa

Snappa has features that make it effortless to make all sorts of colorful and creative display content. It’s carved a niche as the top freemium graphic designer software tool for blogs and social media. For anyone planning on interfacing their company’s blogs and social media with digital signage, they should start with Snappa.

• There is a free trial and a free version of Snappa
• For the paid version, pricing starts at $10 per month

Mindthegraph

Mind the Graph is an Infographic designer tool for scientists and medical professionals. Content creators can use it to create impressive illustrations, pictures, and textual representations of content to diverse audiences. In fact, the platform allegedly has over 6000 templates to choose from.

• There is a free version for Mindthegraph
• For the paid version, pricing starts from $ 5 per month

Tips for Designing the Meaningful Content

Businesses can use the below expert recommendations to make content that maximizes the value of their digital signage investment:

Use the 16:9 ratio and dimensions of 1920×1080

Digital displays are created with the same consistent aspect ratio of 16:9. Consequently, for the content to appear full screen and professionally done, content creators should fit to 16:9 and have a resolution of 1920×1080.

Remember the 3×5 text rule

Nothing can ever go wrong with the 3 x 5 rule for widescreen text. That implies three lines of text and a maximum of 5 words per line. In fact, the rule keeps every textual presentation neat and visible from a distance.

Use a call to action

Communication, whether for marketing, news, or entertainment, is not complete without a call to action. Tell people to do something. Whether it’s to check out a product or subscribe to a newsletter, CTAs are a must-have.

Choose the right font size and font styles

Typography is critical when creating digital signage content. Choose a font that makes the text stand out and readable from a distance. Remember, most digital signage is viewed from 10 feet away—base the font size selection on that.

Choose the right text color

The use of contrasting pallets can help to make graphics more visible from a distance. Consequently, content creators can experiment with diverse colors in the design stage, but they should keep in mind that the main goal here is communication.

Use white space

White space is a design concept that can make content easily readable from far. Studies show that the use of whitespace can improve understanding levels by 20%. Content creators need to ensure that there are spaces between their content.

The bottom line

With the right content and digital signage solutions, businesses can slash their digital communication and marketing costs by as much as 62%. In fact, the best thing about digital signage content creation solutions is that most of them are free of charge. Also, the value of the content that businesses create with them, on the hand, is for life.

Talk to our solutions consultants on other tips to help improve your digital signage content. Also, we offer a fully-managed service for creating and scheduling digital signage content for your screens