Information Guide: Choosing Information for Your Digital Building Directory

When you are exploring different touchscreen displays and systems that you want to implement at your place of business, there are different types of information you can include in the system configuration. Deciding exactly what you want people to be able to see and the ability to interact with that information is largely based on the type of business, industry, and location of the display.

Healthcare Settings

In healthcare settings, you have various options and configurations available with your touchscreens as follows:

1. Building Directory – This information can be used with both touchscreen and non-touchscreen directories. It makes it easier for people to find healthcare providers, which can be displayed by a list of specialties, departments, or by the name of the physician. In hospital settings, the directory could also include public announcements and amenities (i.e., chapel, gift shop, pharmacy, cafeteria, etc.).
2. Advanced Wayfinding Systems – Digital wayfinding systems are essentially maps that show the floor plans for each floor in your building. People can select where they need to go and see their destination highlighted on the map, along with animated paths to get to the destination.In addition, wayfinding systems can store and display all campus maps, as well as offsite facilities and satellite clinics. You can even enable features so people can use mobile wayfinding on their mobile devices.woman using digital directory
3. Information and Education – You can display public announcements, programs, community events, classes, and more. For instance, one popular app our healthcare facility clients like is our Healthy Bites app. This app provides a variety of health tips about nutrition, exercise, and more.
4. Patient Rights – Patients can review their “bill of rights” on touchscreen displays. You can also display regulatory information you want to share with patients.
5. Digital Signage – This type of display system provides useful information to people, such as important public information, current events, menus, and more. For instance, it could display a “tip of the day” relevant to your healthcare environment.

Commercial Buildings and Offices

The flexibility of electronic wayfinding and digital directory solutions for commercial buildings and offices is completely customizable. There are a number of different configurations, apps, and options to suit your needs and purposes.

1. Building Directory – Your building directory can show a list of companies, offices, individual tenants, or other such details based on your needs. There is virtually an unlimited way you can display listings on touchscreens.Your directory could also include public announcements, advertisements, upcoming events, important building information, available amenities, and real-time information, such as:
   • News
   • Weather
   • Traffic Reports
   • Public Transportation Schedules
   • Stock Updates
2. Digital Wayfinding – Just like healthcare facilities, you will want a wayfinding display solution for people visiting your building. The display can show floor plans, the location of each tenant/office, company information, and more. Once people select where they need to go, they can be shown an animated path on the best route to get there. You could even enable features to allow them to use their smartphone and an app to follow the map.
3. Digital Signage – You can also use touchscreens as digital signs to show announcements, advertisements, slide shows, upcoming events, community information, and more.
4. Virtual Receptionist – You could add a virtual receptionist feature as part of a visitor directory and display direct-dialed phone calls to connect to different offices/tenants in your building.
5. Meeting Room Displays – You can use digital displays to identify shared meeting room and conference spaces, as well as their availability. These displays can also show other information, like current weather, a calendar of upcoming events, and so on.
6. Website Links – Your displays and wayfinding solutions can feature direct website links to your website, tenants’ websites, or other websites people can access through the touchscreens.

College and University Campuses/Educational Buildings

Digital school directory and wayfinding systems allow schools to customize their touchscreens to fit with the size of their campus and their specific needs and requires to help create safe and secure environments for the students.

1. Campus Directories – The displays can be configured by department, staff member names, type of classes, location of classrooms and lectures halls, and more. You can also include details about the location of restrooms, cafeterias, public and faculty break areas, and so on. In addition, you can display any relevant public announcements you want to share.
2. Campus Wayfinding – Getting around campus can be a challenge for students, new faculty members, and visitors. Campus wayfinding displays make it easy to locate different campus building, specific floors within each building and get animated paths to the desired destinations on campus. You can even offer mobile wayfinding solutions for mobile devices your students use.
3. Campus Events – Share details about upcoming football and sporting events, on and off-campus activities, extracurricular events, social gatherings, and more. The touchscreen displays could also feature important drop/add deadlines and other important dates students need to know.
4. Digital Signage – Make sure students and faculty have easy access to welcome messages, public announcements, emergency alerts, upcoming events, cafeteria menus, sports schedules, and more.
5. Donor Appreciation – Show your appreciation for the school’s donors and alumni with digital donor walls, alumni walls, donor and alumni brick programs, how to make donations, and other details. Alumni will appreciate their support is being shared with current students. Plus, if you have a physical alumni donor wall, you can add it to your wayfinding solution so alumni can easily find their name on the wall.
6. Website Links – Incorporate links to relevant websites related to the school, campus, and various events and information students and faculty might require.

Popular Digital Directory Content

As you can see, there is a variety of information you can include on touchscreens and digital wayfinding systems. Aside from the features and options already mentioned, you can also further customize solutions with a variety of apps, including:

• Headline News
• Entertainment News
• Current Weather
• Traffic Conditions
• Live Premium Content (Sports Central, Pop Quizzes, Social Apps)
• Real-Time Transit Info
• Daily Inspirations
• Financial Graphics
• Area Amenities
• Community Calendars
• Social Media
• Top Lists
• Video Bites
• Stock Prices

Picking the Right Content for Your Space

When determining what solutions you require for your building and facility, consider the following:

• The size of the building/facility.
• The type of business/industry.
• The number of tenants/offices/businesses/building that make up your campus.
• The types of information you want to share.
• The ease at which you want to be able to manage your displays.

Keep in mind, these are just a few considerations to help get you started thinking about what type of touchscreens and digital displays would work well for your particular needs and objectives. Additionally, remember, you can start with a few touchscreens and displays and slowly build out your system as your budget allows, too.

All of our display solutions and systems are scalable and can be adapted and modified as your business grows and your needs and objectives change. Plus, our solutions make it easy to update and change what information is being displayed on and how it is displayed, without having to visit each individual display.