Business headlines today make it clear that design gives companies an edge. Operating in dozens of countries with hundreds of thousands of employees, JPMorgan Chase (JPMC) benefits from strong design every day. This can be seen in all aspects of the firm, including digital signage.
JPMC has an extensive, global deployment of digital signage ranging from individual screens to giant media walls. Working collaboratively with JPMC’s internal communications team, and a range of groups within the bank, C&G Partners in New York has helped conceive, design and produce over one hundred digital signage content projects. These have included dynamic data, infographics, vital statistics, internal news headlines, video clips, seasonal programming, weather widgets, mobile phone polls — and an Apex-award-winning food truck geo-locator.
From Seasons to Seconds
The most recent of these projects is a series of dynamic, real-time dashboards for employee engagement. Although versions of the dashboards are deployed throughout JPMC’s global network, they are most prominent on the supersized LED media wall located in the main second-floor lobby of their iconic Manhattan headquarters at 270 Park Avenue.
Time and geography are the central themes of these spots, fostering employee communication, commitment, and coordination during the day. Among them are sleek motion maps that relay live local rail and ferry commuter network status, paired with service change notifications and traffic updates; variations on synchronized clocks; seasonal animation celebrations featuring quintessential localized scenes; and distinctive, customizable countdowns to key sponsored events of the firm.
All Audiences are Now Visually Sophisticated
Mobile and web interface design has raised the bar for all digital communications, whether we acknowledge it or not, and digital signage should offer design that competes for attention. The main challenge in this project was to create dynamic digital experiences that speak to visually sophisticated viewers, including executives, VIP visitors, shareholders, and the occasional sports hero. The goal was to create responsive layouts that are as compelling on a giant media wall as they are on a single elevator screen. Design for these spots had to appeal to different attention spans: easily processed at a glance, but also compelling for more extensive viewing. As key elements of dashboards, alerts need to prominent but balanced, and the call of action needs to be simple yet effective.
Click Here to View Slideshow with Examples from JPMorgan Chase
Strong Motion Design is a Given
All audiences expect clear, thoughtful motion effects in visual experiences. To address the various design challenges, C&G Partners used video backgrounds in constant motion, strong branded typography, and rich but brisk animation. Because digital signage over time is seen frequently, a balance of evergreen content and ever changing content is mandatory, so content is planned deliberately to change over different realms of time, from daily to annually. The design strategy fused aesthetic, content, and technology to appeal to a global culture of innovation and business performance.
Jonathan Alger is a founding partner of C&G Partners. He is a multi-specialist
designer with a focus on digital installations, exhibitions, interactive environments and public space. Other specialties include brand, motion and print. With over two decades of experience, he is a dedicated advocate of strategic thinking and the thoughtful use of technology.
Digital Signage as a Global Channel
The global digital signage program, run by a dedicated team of talented individuals inside JPMC’s corporate communications team, has grown to cover offices and facilities of the firm worldwide. It is one of the most visible ways that employees stay in touch with what their company and colleagues are doing and planning, and this set of digital communications pieces has refined and solidified that success. The functionality and appeal of this latest set of real-time dashboards on the media wall have reinforced the lobby as a central point in the Manhattan headquarters. The work takes advantage of the flow of the space to enable communications, coordination and commitment among employees.
Better Design is Better Business
Strong communication design can have an important influence in the digital signage landscape, and a focus on modern user experience can take your digital communications to a higher level. To create dynamic digital experiences that speak to sophisticated viewers, good design is an underutilized tool that is ready for service.
Author Jonathan Alger will present “Design is the Secret: Keeping 250,000 Employees Engaged Through Digital Signage,” at Digital Signage Expo 2018 on Thursday, March 29 at 11 a.m. at the Las Vegas Convention Center. For more information on this or any educational program offered at DSE 2018 or to learn more about digital signage go to www.dse2018.com
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