Like the rest of the digital signage industry we have been fascinated by transparent displays since the entered the market three years ago. Moving the LED-backlight to the edge of the display and removing everything else that would block the view opens up many ideas. But in reality it was difficult to impossible to find a scalable use case for transparent displays beyond the standard retail case. Most vendors placed a product like shoes or a bottle of wine behind the transparent display and added product features and additional information on the screen. But this use case really didn’t convince many retailers.

Others integrated transparent display in refrigerator doors open the view on the drinks inside. But this concept didn’t fly as refrigerators look quite messy in real life, often even replenished with competing products.

Now we found an installation which puts transparent displays in perfection: the Nike flagship store on Union Square in San Francisco.

The transparent displays are used as floor directories next to the elevators. Directly installed on the untreated concrete walls the edge light illuminates the display as well as the wall. The content is limited to black-color only and partly animated.

Facts & Figures

Location

Floor Directories NikeTown San Francisco