An LED totem is a freestanding vertical structure with an integrated LED screen: it stands on its own, with no need for a wall or a shop-window recess to fit into. At LEDLEMON we manufacture and install LED totems and mupis across Spain —for a shop entrance, a petrol station, a shopping centre or the street— and in this article we explain exactly what an LED totem is, what types exist and how they differ, and which uses make sense for each one.
Before getting into it, an important clarification: this article is the general overview of all LED totems. If what you're looking for is specifically the touchscreen, interactive variant, we cover it in detail in our article on interactive LED totems. Here we stick to what an LED totem is, its types and its uses, without going into the software behind the touch layer.
What is an LED totem
An LED totem is a freestanding vertical column or unit, with one or more LED screens mounted on its structure. The difference from a wall-mounted mupi or a screen built into a shop window is precisely that: the totem is freestanding. It is anchored to the ground or has its own weighted base, and doesn't depend on any wall or built-in recess to stand.
That independence is what makes it so versatile. An LED totem is placed wherever it's needed —in the middle of a corridor, next to an entrance, on a roundabout or in a car park— and if the business changes layout or premises, it can be relocated without any building work. It works both indoors and outdoors, and ranges from a simple panel to a large structure several metres tall.
Types of LED totem: informational or interactive
Two quite distinct families fall under "LED totem", and they're worth not confusing:
- Simple informational or advertising totem: shows rotating content —images, video, text— on a loop, with no input from the user. This is the most common format: the one you see at the entrance to a shop, at a petrol station or at the entrance to a shopping centre, announcing offers or giving information to passers-by.
- Interactive or touchscreen totem: on the same LED screen base, a touch layer and management software are added, so the user browses a directory, looks something up or completes a task themselves rather than just watching.
If your project is precisely this second variant, we go into it in depth —capacitive touch, software, uses— in interactive LED totems. This article, on the other hand, sticks to the LED totem in general, with and without interaction.
Single-sided or double-sided
Another manufacturing decision is how many sides of the totem carry a screen. A single-sided totem is enough when it's only seen from one side —flush against a wall, in a corner or facing the main entrance—. A double-sided totem carries a screen on both opposite faces, with the same content or different content on each side; it makes sense when the totem sits in the middle of a walkway with traffic in both directions, such as a shopping centre corridor or a petrol station island.
Indoor or outdoor: the level of protection
The environment where the totem is placed determines the screen's brightness and protection. An indoor totem works with more contained brightness, around 1,000 nits, and IP30 protection, more than enough between four walls. An outdoor totem needs far more brightness —up to around 7,000 nits— to be readable in full sunlight, IP65 protection against rain and dust, and a sensor that automatically adjusts intensity between day and night. Defining this before manufacturing the totem is key: an indoor model won't hold up outdoors, and an outdoor one oversizes the cost if it will always be under cover.
Common sizes for an LED totem
Most totems are manufactured in vertical (portrait) format, although horizontal versions also exist depending on the project. The most common sizes are measured in inches —55", 65", 75" or 86"— designed for informational columns in receptions, retail spaces or entrances, and from there the size scales up to project specifications for larger-format mupis on the street or as street furniture. The exact size depends on the distance from which the public will read it and the space available for installation.
Where an LED totem is installed
An LED totem fits anywhere you need to communicate at standing height, without building work and without relying on a wall. The most frequent uses we see are:
- Shop entrances: greets the customer with offers, opening hours or brand image before they walk through the door.
- Petrol stations: fuel prices and shop promotions, visible from the forecourt.
- Shopping centres: zone signage, a directory of shops or advertising for the centre's brands in corridors and entrances.
- Public spaces: street furniture and municipal poles for institutional announcements, cultural listings or civil protection notices.
- Trade fairs: a point of attraction on a stand, visible from the aisle, often on a rental basis for the duration of the event, which we solve with our LED screen rental packs.
Our experience with LED totems and mupis
You can see the full manufacturing specifications on our digital mupis and LED totems: types, pixel pitch, sides, brightness, IP protection and sizes, all configurable to the project's specifications.
As a real-world case, we have supplied and installed LED mupis in Arganda del Rey, Madrid, as part of a smart city project for the town council. It's worth being honest: these are vertical outdoor street mupis, measuring 0.96 x 1.6 metres with a P3.91 pixel pitch, informational and non-touch, installed at pedestrian crossings and along avenues —strictly speaking, they aren't shop-entrance totems. But they share the same nature that defines an LED totem: a freestanding vertical structure with a high-brightness LED screen, designed to stand upright on the street. It's the closest real-world example of what we do with this technology, and the technical foundation —modules, video processor, remote content management— is the same one we use in an indoor totem with a finer pitch, such as the P2.6.
Request a quote for your LED totem
If you're considering an LED totem for your shop entrance, a petrol station, a shopping centre or a public space, tell us where it will go, whether it's indoor or outdoor, single- or double-sided, and the size you have in mind. We'll propose a specific configuration and a fixed quote, including manufacturing, installation and support. Request your no-obligation quote and we'll design it with you.