Figuring out your streaming setup can be a lot of work, especially if you’re unfamiliar with design and creating a general aesthetic for something. Your stream overlay is part of a viewer’s first impression when they first come across your stream.

Luckily, Twitch has been around for a long time, just enough for us to find some common practices when it comes to overlays!

Learning from other successful streamers is a huge part of making your own stream grow. The layout of your graphics and content creates a distinct channel and flow for the viewer.

We’re going to look at a few examples of different overlay designs and find out what elements an overlay might highlight best.

Beautiful Graphics and Design

The nice thing about streaming is that it is a collaborative effort. From the beginning, a stream is nothing without its viewers. There is no shame in reaching out for help when it comes to designing a stream overlay.

Artists and graphic designers have seen hundreds of potential overlays, so why not have them help?

Generally, a graphic artist is going to create a nicer looking overlay than you. If you are aiming for a sleek, modern design with plenty of character for your Twitch branding, here’s an example of an overlay that you can either use yourself or draw inspiration from:

Being able to include all aspects of your stream on a standard screen capture is great for streamers with a lot of information. This overlay package comes with overlays for in-game as well!

Most importantly, a sleek design like this is malleable enough to be personalized by you. Don’t like the color scheme? The overlay itself is completely editable, meaning you can pick and choose whatever aspects you find to be the best.

Along with being customizable, finding your own graphics artist or designer to help work with you during the process is irreplaceable. There’s a big difference between just choosing something that looks nice and understanding what makes something look nice.

For example, if you’re a League of Legends streamer, there is a lot of downtime in between matches. Viewers are going to be spending time in queue with the streamer, meaning there are about 5-10 minutes of alternative stream overlay after every game.

This is the best situation for an overlay like the one above, with easily digested information displayed beautifully. Most importantly, this overlay isn’t quickly transitioned between and doesn’t feel forced onto the viewers.

Dynamic Graphics and Transitions

So, what if you want a little more than a well designed overlay? There are ways to customize your stream to match every moment with motion and dynamic overlays.

Dynamic overlays are perfect for high-energy and characterized streams. High quality transitions and personalized events on stream make for a truly ingrained streaming experience!

When it comes to the infamous DrDisrespect, one could argue that part of his success came from his dynamic stream. It’s hard to not feel hyped up and ready for gameplay when you join his intense and retro aesthetic. He has an overlay for almost every situation, in game and out of game.

Along with having multiple overlays, DrDisrespect has moving and changing overlays that do unique things based off of what happens. This sometimes goes further than his overlays, changing his voice settings and sound along with a change in scenery.

Most importantly, the effort that DrDisrespect puts into his stream’s feel is completely dictated by his overlays. One second you’re in a G Fuel locker room and the next you’re playing Call of Duty. The spontaneity and expressive design is perfect for his personality.

Fortunately, you don’t have to go as far as DrDisrespect to make a dynamic stream work!

This overlay package comes with a dynamic motion intermission screen, perfect for getting into the world of changing overlays. The best part? It’s simple and effective. You don’t need to have moving buildings in your overlay to have an awesome stream.

Start off by testing the waters with one or two dynamic overlays if it’s your first time using them. It can be cluttering and confusing for viewers if you’re switching overlays non-stop, so make sure you do so with purpose and planning.

Minimalistic Graphics and Simplicity

Arguably the most common form of stream overlay is little to no overlay at all! Some call it lazy, but the minimalist overlay approach to design takes grace and consistency as well.

A minimalistic design is perfect for personality-focused and gameplay-oriented streamers.

Highlighting the stream itself is what a simple Twitch overlay does best. You can’t divert attention anywhere other than the few extra details, so how does this overlay style work for streamers?

xQc is one of the most popular streamers on Twitch as of this article’s publication. If you watch his stream, you’ll notice almost nothing in terms of overlay.

He uses some unique donation and alert overlays, but otherwise his stream is nothing but himself and whatever he’s doing.

The beauty of this style is that people clearly come to your stream and experience the streamer. If you’re a variety streamer or just someone that loves interacting with chat, leaving out the complications of overlays can be a big win.

It also opens up the opportunity to use something simple like a Twitch overlay maker if you’re on a budget and wanting something simple.

xQc is very animated and genuine with his stream which shines perfectly with a minimalist style!

The other side of a simpler overlay design is that it can heavily emphasize and highlight gameplay. Looking at a streamer like dizzy or Gosu’s history is filled with overlay-less highlight reels of insane plays.

If you’re really good at what you stream, you might be hindering yourself by incorporating a heavy-handed overlay package.

As mentioned earlier, the nice part about a simpler approach is that you probably won’t need to invest much time or money into designing an overlay.

As long as the basics of donations and subscribers, and maybe even a Twitch chat overlay are shown, you really don’t need much else.

The minimalistic approach is also great for absorbing aspects of graphic design and dynamic overlays. With a blank slate, anything you like can easily fit without feeling too clustered or out of place.

Check out our other guide on Twitch panel ideas here.

Final Thoughts

So there you have it, three distinct styles and ideas that you can use as influence for your own stream overlay. Keep in mind that there is never a right or wrong when it comes to how you want to express yourself, including your stream overlay.

However, it never hurts to get a second opinion on a color palette or shimmering effect to an intermission overlay. As long as you don’t go through your overlay design blind, you’re on the right track.

The best place to start for any streamer, new or more seasoned, is to figure out your goals and purpose for streaming. Your overlay, along with the rest of your stream’s presentation, is an extension of that purpose.

Want a stream that looks professional, pleasing potential sponsors and viewers? A personally designed overlay is perfect.

Focused on the gameplay? Stick to minimalistic design. A good idea is to outline different styles of overlays and figure out which you like best.

There also aren’t any rules against using aspects of these styles together. If there’s something you like about theme or color scheme, incorporate it into your Twitch bio or wherever you see fit!

After spending the time planning and preparing an awesome streaming experience, finding graphics, visual elements and bringing everything together, you might be left with the question of “which streaming platform should you use”? What started out as a niche space with only one major player has quickly evolved into a monstrous industry, with many different options. Here at Streamplay, we like to think we’re pretty all over the different players, and the advantages they may have over each other. We’ve tried, tested and broken a whole bunch of software and graphics configurations. To help make the decision of which one to use to start your streaming journey, we’ve evaluated the key options for usability and potential- how hard is it to make it? How big’s the pie? Let’s find out.

Is one platform King?

With such a large variety of streaming platforms available, is there an option that reigns triumphant? While Twitch is often crowned as the king of streaming, there are many upstarts that threaten to take that throne. In fact, while Twitch really did begin the whole thing, it’s not even the biggest player. Google and Facebook both offer streaming, and are far and away the biggest giants in the digital content space. But are they capable of beating out Twitch for streaming preeminence?

The answer isn’t quite so simple, each platform is different and has its pros and cons, and have become suited for different streamers and different strategies. Each one is more than capable of delivering an income that will let you go full time, and each one has the tools to go big.

Twitch

Benefits

There are many benefits to choosing Twitch as your streaming platform, its entirely focused on providing streaming-only content and has no plans to change that anytime soon. The main benefit of choosing Twitch is an audience of viewers that are ready to commit to a stream, which helps separate this platform from the rest. Twitch is positioned to enable you to create an audience of dedicated stream-watchers, and is more geared towards the hardcore/more serious gamer. Another feature of Twitch that makes the grind more predictable and the road to glory easier to see is the ranking method. While Facebook & Google/YouTube have advanced search and organic reach algorithms that rank the available content, matching people with the content most suited to them, Twitch keeps it old school. Ranking is based purely on viewer count, number 1 spot is held by whoever’s got the most viewers. While this can make it seem biased- really it means the best snowball as hard as they should. Gaining traction is linear, and can blow up when you finally get that magic mixture right.

Cons

Part of what makes Twitch great, it’s positioning as a streaming platform first and foremost, is also one of its major weaknesses. YouTube and Facebook both allow for the creation of ‘static’ content, videos and replays that you can edit and upload. Twitch only allows for short snippets, replays, from your previous streams. This means that when you’re offline, you’re not engaging with your audience or driving revenue.

Twitch is also a behemoth, old and firmly entrenched. The key players have been in the game for a long time and they’re veterans of thousands of hours. Taking the down to claim a spot is going to be hard, and take more than just dedication. It’ll take study and trialling of different styles, streaming times, graphics and more. It’s a tough road, but the prize is worth it!

Youtube

Benefits

In the world of video hosting, there is no one standing close to the Goliath that is Youtube. YouTube pretty much shaped the internet we know today. It was the first great video hosting site, and has reigned supreme since then. Even more than that, it’s a Google product. Which means seamless integration for Google users, and the world’s greatest marketing power driving traffic to it every moment of the day. This means that the viewership potential is phenomenal, and if you can make it on YouTube, you’ve really made it. One of Twitch’s greatest weaknesses is also one of YouTube’s greatest strengths. As a static video first platform, it’s best suited to content creators and people that aim to create well crafted videos and entertainment. YouTube is also child friendly, and has relevant tools to enable you to reach that younger audience with appropriate content.

Cons

As Youtube is mostly focused around static video and has only recently has adopted the live streaming side there are some downsides. Unlike Twitch, Youtube’s viewers might not be as dedicated to watching a lengthy live stream when there thousands of fast-paced videos available. More so, the platform itself doesn’t cater to live streaming, especially of gaming, as well as Twitch does. The menu layouts are different, and the streaming is almost a sub-category, that isn’t easily stumbled upon. That doesn’t mean the streaming tech isn’t brilliant though, and the integrations and premiering options are world class.

Facebook

Benefits

The first and probably the strongest benefit of live streaming on Facebook is the constant traffic the platform gets. Social media is, for many people, only a step away from a full-blown addiction, and this makes Facebook gaming a gold mine if you can capture people’s interest. Facebook has millions of people constantly dropping in for a quick look, and their attention is ready to be grabbed. With live streams still being relatively new for Facebook viewers, when it appears on their page it can quickly pique viewer’s interest as something different and out of the norm. It’s the always fast environment and social interaction that Facebook has that separates it from the other platforms. The blend of social media and video also enables you to reach a new audience much easier than Twitch or YouTube, with viral clips and highlight reels.

Cons

One of the major cons about Facebook is the same thing a lot of other social media sites face when trying to incorporate streaming. Being known as a social media platform, Facebook’s users spend a majority of their time adding updates to their page, talking to friends, or viewing what other people have posted. Where this is disadvantageous is that a decent amount of the community isn’t prepared to spend the next few hours or even minutes watching a stream, so they end up skipping over live streams they come by. Facebook is great for posting your social interaction and updates but falls flat on grabbing a dedicated audience. Having said that though, it is growing, and growing fast- Microsoft has recently partnered with Facebook to close Mixer, and move the audience to Facebook.

DLive

Benefits

DLive has only recently stepped into the streaming platform ring, but unlike most new platforms DLive has come incredibly well prepared and equipped. Thanks to DLive being a streaming platform backed by famous influencers, there is a need for streamers to make a name on the site. A large majority of popular streamers gained their fans by being one of the only options when the platform was starting, so taking advantage of this now could be a major advantage.

Cons

Because this site is so new there are small downsides to choosing this as your main live streaming platform. With an audience that is smaller in comparison to the other options, choosing DLive has a much higher risk, but a higher payoff compared to the rest. If you are considering this platform be ready because it will take dedication and time to gain that starting viewer count.

What To Take Away

Choose a streaming platform that matches what you want. Look over what each one has to offer and decide which one is the best for you, and if you want to you can use a combination to get the best outcome what you were aiming for. Do you want to focus solely on gaming streaming? Consider Twitch. If you want to transition into a well rounded content creator, YouTube might be your best bet. Facebook is ideal for social media gurus and people looking to be an influencer, or are more focussed on transient audiences and casual gamers. DLive if you like a challenge and a gamble! Remember, it’s planning and preparation that’ll make the difference, study your platform of choice, your competitors and prepare your tools. For more information on how to start streaming in 2020, we’ve put together an article that might just get you started.

It’s time to start setting up your stream, you’ve picked your streaming platform of choice, but now you have to consider which broadcasting software to use. Live streaming has become a dominant part of this new age broadcasting concept where you are capable to watch anything you want to form an almost seemingly infinite selection. Its ability to allow the streamer to interact with the viewers has caused this video type to rise faster than other viewing platforms. Joining in sooner than later is something you should consider but make sure to do it right.

This concept has gained the interest of many looking to involve themselves in the action, from business and software developers alike. This means that quite a few broadcasting software have been developed. Even though many companies have tried to create broadcasting software, there are two that stand above the rest. OBS’s Streamlabs and XSplit have reigned supreme, so let’s figure out which one is the better option for you.

If you are looking to make your stream pop and give yourself an edge over others consider Streamplay’s homepage as the best place to go to for overlays for streaming.

Streamlabs OBS

Streamlabs OBS is the most well-known broadcasting software on the market and there are very clear reasons why. The team behind OBS created the Streamlabs OBS software to give streamers a broadcasting software full of the tools they need to make the perfect live streaming environment. For the sake of ease, during the rest of the writing when OBS is mentioned it’s referring to Streamlabs OBS.

Where OBS Excels

OBS has so many great qualities but to list them all will take pages and that would be a nightmare to read, instead, we will be focusing on the main distinct benefits it offers you. This software has an amazing user interface filled with clean designs that can make navigation easy as the thought process with icons has made it simple to grasp. The in-depth customisation that is available is easily at a professional level with the ability to change any feature or sound. Also included are the many widgets available straight off the start. Widgets refer to the extras like chat display and donation goals that can be displayed to the stream.

Being both free and having amazing customisation features are some of the main reasons why this program is so highly revered in the streaming community. 

Does OBS Have Downsides?

Because of its reputation that OBS has gained, there have been a few downsides developed over time. With so much demand and requests being made to Streamlabs OBS, there have been large amounts of options included in the base variant. This has over time started cluttering up the interface and can make it a bit daunting for new users who just want to stream casually. There are also upgrades available with OBS prime but with the base version, you are receiving everything you would need to stream at a professional level.

XSplit

XSplit is well known amongst the streaming community as being a great broadcasting software available for free. Having years of development behind its design as well as a dedicated community, this software is great for anyone looking to stream. So what about it makes it different from OBS and why should you choose it?

What Makes XSplit A Great Choice

XSplit is an amazing broadcasting software for both new and old streamers with its large variety of benefits. What separates this program from OBS is how innovative this company is and how they are striving to create additions that others won’t. With additions available like offering green screen quality of cut-out without needing a green screen at all. XSplit also has a very easy interface that is simple on the eyes and is great for users trying to set a live stream up fast for the first time.

Is XSplit The Perfect Option?

XSplit has earned its place of being one of the best broadcasting software available, but that doesn’t mean it’s perfect. Although this software is free there can be a lot of paid upgrades to be made and some of the important additions like not allowing you to change the design/layout of the stream after you have gone live. XSplit isn’t perfect but it won’t do you wrong and is still one of the best options available for a broadcasting tool.

Which One Is Better At Different Levels Of Experience

Taking on a new broadcasting software is daunting and straight-up confusing but XSplit and OBS were designed by an experienced team who new what new user experience is. They aren’t exact duplicates of one another and one is more friendly for a new user and the other has advantages for the users who mastered it. Knowing this, here is how it breaks down. 

Hold up, before you move on and start drawing a conclusion do you know what your broadcasting software does? If not then you should visit our blog on how to start streaming to understand why this well-crafted software helps you share your experience with viewers(old blog link here :D).

If you are a beginner and want to get into streaming and don’t want to read a book on how to use these tools, then XSplit should be your choice. What XSplit does better than OBS is having a more minimalistic and clean interface. To be fair you will still probably have to fiddle around to learn how to use it but overall XSplit is a lot more straightforward compared to Streamlabs OBS.

When it comes to which software can give the user more detail and flexibility then Streamlabs OBS takes the crown. Allowing for individual areas to be manipulated, like donation icons and even the sound they make, can help you personalise your stream to fit your brand. If taken advantage of, this program is going to be perfect for creating an immersive experience for your viewers.

Which Is Best For You?

Both XSplit and Streamlabs OBS are fully equipped with the tools to build your perfect stream experience. It overall comes down to your choice and the experience you have had with each. If you can’t decide here is what we suggest you should consider.

If you have spent the time with XSplit and don’t care too much about the Streamlabs OBS benefits then don’t take the unnecessary struggle of switching over. XSplit has its benefits like VCam that can make it stand out. For a large majority of users though it seems that Streamlabs OBS is a go-to option. Putting in the extra effort early to understand can help you decide what you want your stream to be. No matter what you choose the next steps are to choose a streaming platform and create your brand through a well-designed overlay.