Digital Signage Guidelines

Digital signage at the University of Michigan-Flint should be easy for everyone to view, comprehend, and navigate. Incorporating legible fonts, strong color contrast, captioned videos, and alternative access formats ensures individuals with disabilities can access critical information while enhancing the overall viewing experience for the entire campus community.

Who Is Responsible?

Any UM-Flint faculty, staff, student worker, or department representative who designs, edits, or manages content displayed on campus digital signs is responsible for making sure that content meets digital accessibility standards.

Required Standards

All official UM-Flint digital signage must align with Standard Practice Guide 601.20: Electronic and Information Technology Accessibility, in addition to Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 Level AA and federal ADA Title II requirements. Additionally, all displays must include a clear, plain-text contact method (such as a department email address or phone number) so individuals can request an alternative format if they encounter an accessibility barrier.

Best Practices

  • Text Size & Viewing Distance: Choose font sizes that remain legible from a distance. Aim for 1 inch of letter height for every 10 feet of viewing distance, keeping key information at a minimum letter height of 3 inches.
  • Color Contrast: Maintain strong visual contrast between text and background colors (at least 4.5:1 for standard text and 3:1 for large text). Avoid overlapping text onto complex background images.
  • Brand-Approved Sans-Serif Fonts: Stick to clean, highly readable sans-serif typefaces recommended in the Brand Tool Kit. Avoid overly decorative scripts, heavy italics, or ALL-CAPS body text, which can impair readability for viewers with cognitive or visual impairments.
  • Timing & Display Duration: Give viewers adequate time to read your message. Use a benchmark of roughly one second per word, holding even brief messages on screen for at least 5 to 10 seconds.
  • Physical Placement & Clearance: Ensure screens are installed at inclusive sightlines (center screen roughly 48–60 inches from the floor) and that physical pathways around the display remain clear for mobility devices.
  • Motion & Seizure Safety: Never use content that flashes or strobes more than three times per second, and avoid rapid, jarring transitions.
  • Alternative Access: Provide critical campus updates, event details, or wayfinding through secondary channels (such as UM-Flint event calendars, website posts, or printed fliers).
  • Lighting & Glare Mitigation: Position displays to prevent direct sun or overhead light reflections, using anti-glare screens or matte finishes where needed.

Recommended Accessibility Tools

Before uploading graphics or multimedia to your digital signage system:

  • Use built-in accessibility checkers within design software like Adobe InDesign, Adobe Express, or Microsoft PowerPoint.
  • Check your color palette using online contrast evaluation tools, such as the WebAIM Contrast Checker.