Recently, we saw a request for proposals from a very prestigious art institute. It called for, amongst all of the other details necessary for a multimillion dollar expansion, digital signage. Someone or some group within the organization saw a need for the technology, but details did not make it to the RFP. This is very common. The need and implementation for heating, air conditioning and fire safety systems is well established, as are the various methods of implementing them. Reading those sections of an RFP results in an experienced contractor looking for the key elements and skimming the portions he's read a thousand times. We're not yet there with digital signage. Every system is new and nobody seems sure on how to plan for one. Planning for a digital signage system can mean different things to various stakeholders, but there is a process. It starts with identifying the uses for the system, the users of the system and then the audience and their environment. Once you have a clear picture of these elements, you can match the requirements to the location and size of your monitors, methods of video distribution and the abilities of your digital signage system. There are a lot of details hidden in these ideas, so let's drill down...