As people move through public spaces, the experience is increasingly defined by LED signage on an unprecedented scale. Innovations in canvas and content have finally started to point in a direction that serves marketing but can also be public art. It’s not a new trend; museums and theme parks have created dazzling large format visual experiences for decades. But recent installations suggest that technical and content creatives are finding the ways that public signage and art can uniquely bring life to our travels.
Since the original main terminal opened in 1958, Portland International Airport (PDX) has undergone numerous updates and expansions, but none rival the $2.15 billion expansion of the terminal core. It’s the fifth and final project in the Port of Portland’s transformative initiative to modernize the airport’s facilities, doubling capacity and elevating the travel experience for millions of passengers in the years to come. The project introduces a reimagined main terminal inspired by the natural beauty of the region. ZGF Architects designed the new terminal with biophilic elements, evoking the feeling of walking through a Pacific Northwest forest. The expansive space features more than 5,000 plants — including 72 live trees — and a striking 9-acre mass timber roof made entirely from Douglas fir, sourced from forests in Oregon and Washington. Display technology from Planar plays an integral role in the redesigned terminal. Travelers begin their experience at the upgraded PDX Main Terminal with an enhanced check-in experience featuring Planar LED displays installed at new airline check-in counters. Eight Planar DirectLight Pro Series LED video wall banners, each in an 83-foot-wide by 3-foot-high (42×3) array heighten the check-in experience by providing essential travel communications.
“The traveler journey was central to every design decision for the new PDX, and these dynamic displays behind at the airline ticket counters were another opportunity for us to streamline that experience,” said Michael Croston, Senior Manager of Aviation Program Delivery at the Port of Portland. After exiting the check-in area, travelers are dazzled by twin 120-foot-long by 25-foot-high Planar LED video walls located above North and South security checkpoints. The Planar CarbonLight CLI Series LED video walls with 5.2mm pixel pitches are seamlessly integrated with the terminal’s design and include doorway cutouts to allow entry into the upper space. Wooden slats are mounted in front of the Planar CarbonLight CLI Series displays in a style that complements the undulating timber roof.
The video walls provide a vast digital canvas for generative art that brings Oregon landscapes to life. The artwork, “Extraordinary Windows,” was developed by Half Sisters Studios in collaboration with design agency dot-dot-dash, both based in Portland, and combine data-influenced imagery of Oregon-inspired scenes with creative content from digital storytellers. Using Unreal Engine, the 24-hour cinematographic piece dynamically adjusts to reflect the time of day, changes in the weather and how many travelers are passing through the airport. “We wanted to provide a unique lens on our region and celebrate our region’s diversity, both in terms of nature but also perspectives,” said Martha Almy, founding partner of Half Sisters Studios. In terms of how travelers experience Extraordinary Windows, dot-dot-dash Creative Director Fernanda Navilli hopes it will bring them a moment of pause, where they can stop the turbulence of traveling and feel really present for a few moments. “If I were to hope for a lasting impact, it would be for people to feel how big and how diverse nature is here,” Navilli said. “Working with Planar provided us valuable local support, and we’ve also been able to consolidate our maintenance functions by using their displays in multiple areas of the terminal,” said Michael Croston, Senior Manager of Aviation Program Delivery at the Port of Portland.
SNA Displays built a high-profile, multi-screen video façade that allows advertisers to dominate an iconic corner in Midtown Manhattan. The massive, uniquely designed video display system, totaling more than 10,000 square feet, was added to the 37-story office tower at 5 Times Square, jointly developed and managed by real estate investment companies SL Green Realty, RXR, and Apollo Global Management.
Located at the southeast corner of 7th Ave. and 42nd St. directly behind One Times Square— and across from the busiest subway station in New York City —the six-piece LED spectacular at 5 Times Square reaches hundreds of thousands of tourists, locals, and commuters per day. Out-of-home (OOH) media company New Tradition manages the digital advertising platform. Owner representative Sensory Interactive provided technology selection and design services.
The centerpiece of the LED spectacular is an 83-foot-tall display that wraps the corner at 7th and 42nd. SNA Displays manufactured custom elements to give the main screen a characteristic peak, mimicking the shape of the 5 Times Square skyscraper. At 65 feet wide, the corner-wrapping display alone contains more than 7.8 million pixels (3,150 x 2,480) and 5,000 square feet of display canvas.
Media company New Tradition manages advertising on the LED display system. Owner representative Sensory Interactive provided technology selection and design services. All six LED screens employ SNA Displays’ EMPIRE Exterior video technology in 8 mm pixel pitch.
The centerpiece of the LED spectacular is an 82’8” tall corner-wrap display facing 7th Ave and 42nd. The side facing 7th Ave is 24’8” wide while the side facing 42nd is 40’5” wide. The vertically oriented display’s slanted top edge comes to a point to match the 5 Times Square skyscraper’s unique architecture.
The main face of the second-largest screen is 36’3” x 55’1” (1,380 x 2,100 pixels) with a 14- foot return to allow extended view times for northbound traffic along 7th Ave. The other two LED screens face 42nd and measure 33’10” x 48’3” (1,290 x 1,840) and 33’10” x 33’7” (1,290 x 1,280), respectively.
The entire digital out-of-home (DOOH) platform is comprised of 15.5 million pixels and almost 11,000 square feet of LED video canvas.
North Shore Neon provided LED installation services.
Up the coast, SNA Displays manufactured and installed a corner-wrap LED display for Boston’s District Hall. The vertically oriented display system is comprised of two 10 mm EMPIRE Exterior screens whose total display surface is 22’10” high x 25’2” wide (696 x 768 pixels). Orange Barrel Media owns and operates the digital-out-of-home (DOOH) platform.
District Hall in Boston was created as part of a public-private collaboration located in the city’s Innovation District. Conceived as a space for innovators and entrepreneurs to exchange ideas and host events, the space has become a multi-purpose community center. Included in the original design of the hall was a unique exterior LED display system.
SNA Displays first installed the LED display technology at Boston District Hall in 2014 and was asked to again provide its display products in 2025. For the upgrade, newer diodes and a tighter pixel pitch increased the corner-wrap display’s resolution and image clarity. The serviceability was also upgraded to be front- and rear-accessible to streamline maintenance.
The corner-wrap’s resolution and image clarity were improved, as the display’s pixel pitch went from 12 mm to 10 mm. Additionally, the display system is now both front- and rear-serviceable to streamline maintenance. The total display surface is 22’10” high and 25’2” wide (696 x 768 pixels).
ID Signs removed the old displays and installed the new LED sign.
