12 Ideas for Creating Spectacular Interactive Walls

If you're looking for an eye-catching way to create an interactive element to a public area, or an exhibition display, an interactive wall is unquestionably going to be a strong focal point.

There are many reasons to create an interactive wall. And despite being quite a technical solution, setting up an interactive wall is not as complex as you might think.

What is an interactive wall?

An interactive wall is similar to a video wall, but features interactive elements designed to entice and engage the audience. Interactive walls are often used to great effect in public spaces such as museums or for public transport wayfinding. But the technology is increasingly being used for guerrilla marketing tactics, or for eye-catching presentations at exhibitions and in retail environments.

Through the integration of touch screens, video walls, and interactive content, these installations are beginning to redefine the way we interact with physical spaces, images and content.

An interactive wall is a form of digital signage, using similar technologies including touch screen displays and signage software.

When can you use an interactive digital wall?

The use of an interactive video wall might seem obvious in some instances. But the actual application for a touch screen video wall, or interactive wall display has potential beyond simply advertising or wayfinding.

These are just a few of the ideas where interactive video wall solutions could add an extra zing to your display.

Trade shows and exhibitions

Perhaps the most obvious application for an interactive video wall is for high concept marketing.

From corporate conferences to product launches, the versatility of video walls is an obvious benefit, providing customizable displays for real-time content, interactive games, and live social media feeds.

This certainly makes for a unique experience for users and can really help you to stand out at busy trade events.

Schools and education

In the realm of education, interactive walls have become powerful tools for fostering engagement and collaborative learning. Classrooms can be transformed into interactive environments where students actively participate in lessons, while common areas serve as digital bulletin boards for announcements, event promotions, and student achievements.

For younger students, video wall solutions can offer a fun way to engage with learning and make tricky subjects more fun.

Video walls can make a fun and engaging part of your education digital signage network.

Retail

Retail spaces can benefit immensely from the incorporation of an interactive video wall to create immersive shopping experiences.

By blending touchscreens and interactive content, these walls can be used to showcase product information, facilitate virtual try-ons (perhaps using augmented reality or AR), and display customer reviews.

This interactivity helps to boost customer engagement with the brand and its products.

Offices and other workplaces

Interactive video walls can make for a versatile platform within the workplace, for everything from internal communication to employee engagement and messaging.

Whether that's using gamification to get your team focused on a business goal, sharing wins or in-office events and happenings. An interactive touch wall can add a whole different element to your office digital signage.

Museums and cultural institutions

Museums and cultural institutions are embracing the transformative power of interactive walls to enhance the visitor experience. Video walls in these settings serve as immersive storytelling platforms, allowing patrons to engage with exhibits in a dynamic and personalized manner.

For instance, historical artifacts can come to life through augmented reality (AR) displays, providing detailed information and context with just a touch.

A museum can use an interactive video wall to create interactive timelines, virtual tours, and engaging educational games, making the learning experience more enjoyable and accessible for visitors of all ages.

Healthcare and therapeutic spaces

Interactive walls are finding applications beyond traditional entertainment and educational settings, making significant strides in healthcare and therapeutic environments.

In hospitals, video walls serve as innovative tools to engage patients, alleviate stress, and provide a positive distraction during treatment and recovery. These walls can feature calming visuals, interactive games, and educational content tailored to various age groups, creating a more comforting and healing atmosphere.

Ideas for interactive walls

While the application for interactive video walls is obviously very broad, what are the actual content ideas you can apply? With any video wall, or digital signage solution, you will often use passive content such as announcements, advertisements or streaming videos.

But once you embrace the interactive or touch screen potential, there are myriad applications you can start to work with to create an amazing installation.

1. Social media wall

A social media wall transforms traditional event spaces into dynamic, interconnected environments.

Attendees can instantly share their experiences, thoughts, and photos on social platforms, creating a live, visual narrative. Event organizers can curate content, showcase user-generated posts, and even run interactive polls or contests, turning the social media wall into a central hub of engagement.

This not only enhances the overall atmosphere but also provides an opportunity for real-time interaction between event-goers and organizers.

If this seems like something you would like to try your hand at, we have the perfect guide to setting up a social media wall for you.

2. Live sports feeds and content

Live sports feeds on an interactive wall could redefine how fans experience sports events. These walls provide a dynamic platform for showcasing real-time data, such as scores and player stats, enhancing the live viewing experience.

Interactive elements, such as trivia games or predictive challenges, engage fans during breaks, creating a more immersive and interactive atmosphere. Whether in sports bars or stadiums, live sports feeds on an interactive wall bring fans closer to the action and add an element of gamification to the overall sports-watching experience.

3. Live video streams

For events with a global reach, integrating live streaming capabilities into interactive walls extends the experience beyond physical boundaries. Whether it's a keynote speech or a live performance, live streaming enhances accessibility and audience engagement.

This feature is particularly beneficial for conferences, product launches, or performances where a global audience is anticipated. The interactive wall becomes a window to the live event, providing a virtual front-row seat to those unable to attend physically. Attendees can also interact with the content, ask questions, or provide feedback in real time, fostering a sense of inclusion and participation.

4. News or local information

While we may all have access to breaking news in our pockets, offering interactive access to local information can be a great way to keep your visitors informed.

There can be several options to display this type of information.

One option is to display a live ticker which channels your curated news or information.

Another is to integrate RSS feeds from different sources for your audience to access as required.

This can be a great way to help people access on demand information in public areas such as healthcare centers, educational institutions or retail centers such as malls.

5. Internal communication

In corporate settings, interactive video walls can serve as useful tools for internal communication.

Company updates, achievements, and employee recognition displayed on video walls foster a sense of community and keep everyone informed in a visually compelling manner.

The interactive wall becomes a dynamic bulletin board, showcasing company updates, employee achievements, and important announcements. The visual format enhances the impact of internal communications, ensuring that everyone is on the same page. Employees can interact with the content, providing feedback or engaging in discussions, fostering a transparent and collaborative workplace culture.

6. Create art

Encourage your audience to find their creative side by unleashing their artistic touch on your video wall. While creating a work of art might sound like it fits better with an educational or cultural location, this can also be a great way to create a really engaging experience in retail centers or even at more stuffy corporate events.

Give your visitors access to collage making, touchscreen painting, interactive music and sound effects or therapeutic sounds and images.

7. Navigation and wayfinding

One of the most useful forms of interactive video wall technology is for navigating. You'll often see interactive screens hosting maps or directories, which can be a great way to allow people to find their way around events, public spaces or retail centers.

Of course, you'd need multiple screens running independently but using the same digital signage software to deliver content.

8. Interactive games

Multitouch video walls can enable viewers to carry out more complex tasks such as playing games. The multi touch element means that the screen can handle more than one interaction, which can be perfect for simple games such as whack-a-mole, space invaders or sports style games.

Using large displays for interactive games can also be a great way to engage the visually impaired, making this a great application in schools or medical centers.

A slightly more direct way of doing this is to simply connect a games console to your display. This can be especially fun at things like Comicon style events, sporting venues or even in entertainment venues.

9. Augmented Reality (AR)

Incorporate playful animations into the interactive wall to add an element of fun and surprise. Whether it's interactive graphics or responsive animations triggered by user actions, this feature contributes to a lively and entertaining atmosphere.

This aspect brings a sense of fun and excitement into interactive walls, making the user experience more enjoyable and memorable. Interactive video walls can be transformed into dynamic canvases for creative and visually captivating animations. Whether used in retail settings, entertainment venues, or educational spaces, animations like these create a sense of delight, capturing the attention of users and ensuring a positive and engaging interaction.

10. Facial recognition games

A really fun way to engage your audience is with interactivity that harnesses facial recognition technology. While there is specific digital signage which uses facial recognition, there is an increasingly broad selection of software and tools that add this really fun element to standard displays and screens.

This can bring a great wow factor to your interactive wall, for example using motion activated games, AR overlays/face filters or even letting your customers try on products using this form of interactivity.

There are games which can be controlled using the movement of your head, or via gestures.

11. Sensory experiences

You don't have to get hands on to enjoy an interactive experience. Some sensory experiences might be seen as passive, but can feel like interactivity. For example, a presentation or talk, or even something like a guided mediation on a screen can help us connect with the content.

This sort of sensory experience can be like an art installation, or used to engage students in a school or university.

12. Quizzes and trivia

Get your audience thinking with an interactive quiz on your video wall. Get them involved by either using touch screen technology, or connect to your content using QR codes.

This can be a really fun use of interactive technology in educational environments. But it can also be used anywhere from cultural venues or trade shows; to retail stores and offices.

What screens can you use for interactive walls?

An interactive wall installation can be created using a standard LCD or OLED screen. Touch screen technology isn't a prerequisite and in fact, there are lots of things you can do without using touch screens.

For example, you can use QR codes or wireless connection to give people the ability to connect and interact.

Facial recognition software can be used with almost any screen, being hardware agnostic for the most part. It simply requires connecting and installing on your interactive screen and you're away.

However, there is also plenty of choice for touch screen displays which can be integrated into your video wall. Whether its interactive video kiosks, wall mounted displays or a bigger bolder display, you'll find touch screen digital signage and TVs in a huge range of sizes.

Another option for adding an interactive layer to your video wall is to add an external touch screen such as a tablet, or even the user's own device. This can be good for bigger screens where the human touch might not necessarily reach the whole screen, or to project a bigger display.

In short, your choice of screen for your interactive wall will depend on your ideas.

Create interactive walls with ScreenCloud

As the leading choice for digital signage, ScreenCloud makes it easy to set up your interactive video wall. With over 70 apps in our store, most of which are free, you can start streaming interactive content from news and sports scores, to live broadcasts or narrowcasting, to social media fees, interactive QR codes and much more.

Get started with ScreenCloud for free, or request a demo today.