Contrary to the rules for traditional billboard design designing for an LED billboard is now a totally different endeavor. Much like a designing for print varies from designing for web.

Whereas with a traditional billboard you might battle the speed of travelers, when you go digital, suddenly there is a new element at play: your ad is now also only showing for 6 – 10 seconds. This means the rules just got tighter.

Clients who want to maximize the ROI on their billboard budget will often opt to create a campaign. That’s to digital technology you can now create a series of billboards showcasing a single concept. Each billboard would contain a new piece of info.

Experts suggest that serious marketers take advantage of "day parting". Day parting refers to scheduling ads at their prime time-times most likely to hit their chosen demographic.

In addition to the overall organization of your billboard ads, it’s also very important to consider the actual design elements you are using on your pieces. Among these are to the number of elements, the typography you select and your choice of color.

Simple is Better

When it comes to a fast moving a digital billboard design one of the biggest considerations is keeping the billboard simple. Fewer elements larger, larger elements and simple arrangements are required to fully showcase work.

Brighter is Better

Unlike the traditional print where brightly saturated colors may appear gaudy or tacky-design for LED requires just that. Keep your colors fully saturated and create strong contrasts to create eye-popping designs.

The biggest rule of Digital Billboards is to avoid white backgrounds. White backgrounds not only require more energy and more light to produce but they also show imperfections and are generally frowned upon. Black on the other hand is your best friend and should be used liberally.

Title Case is Better

When it comes to Digital Billboard typography your basic web rules will apply. Choose sans- serif and bold formatting whenever you can. Beyond that you want to stick to title case lettering. Avoid using all CAPS at all cost.

Now that we’ve covered the rules lets check out some recent digital advertising:

A perfect example of the opportunity presented to change the message throughout the day is this campaign from McDonald's. This billboard changes depending on the time of day to represent the food you'd be wanting at that time:

Photo Courtesy: http://www.clearchanneloutdoor.com/products/digital/don/

Great Design in Digital:

Photo Credits: Lamar Outdoor Advertising