5 Overlay Mistakes That Damage Your Stream Branding - And How To Fix Them

17th October 2025

5 Overlay Mistakes That Damage Your Stream Branding - And How To Fix Them

Create Your Professional Brand

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Inconsistent Branding

When choosing your overlays, you want to make sure that your colors, fonts, designs, themes and styles all work together cohesively - or you're going to have a stream brand that looks very haphazard.

You want to build a brand that looks professional and consistent to build recognition and a level of professionalism that makes your stream enticing and trustworthy to invest in.

How to fix this: Choose a package that already comes with a cohesive design, or if you want to use different packs then pick 1-3 colors and up to 2 fonts. At GETREKT, we make it easy for you with our ready-made stream overlay packages.

Unclear Text and Fonts

I personally love a good calligraphy font, but that doesn't mean it is good to use on stream - unless it is clear. You have to consider where your viewers are watching, on anything outside of a 24 inch desktop screen, can they read the font you are using? If your viewers can't read your stream text, they aren't going to stick around - engagement will drop and so will your viewership numbers.

How to fix: Choose simple fonts that are easily readable from small screens (test this!). Check the color is clear against your backgrounds, stream scenes, alerts and so on. Short sentences or minimal words - don't write out lines and lines - people won't read it.

All of GETREKT's stream overlays come with included fonts that are quality and readability tested for easy viewing.

Too Many Animations

A good balance of animations adds an extra level of entertainment to your stream and keeps your viewers watching. Too many, and they are going to be overstimulated, unable to see your content, distracted from important events - and if your stream equipment isn't top tier, this can hinder performance. You want dynamic motion to compliment your content, not overthrow it.

How to fix this: Choose short and snappy animations that have been optimized for use on stream and with streaming software. Our stream overlays are all made with this in mind, will keep performance and engagement up. Visit Animated Overlays to see more.

Not Considering Mobile Viewers

If your overlays are not the right size, resolution, quality for small screens, such as tablets and mobile phones, you're going to be losing out on over 50% of all stream traffic. Overlays need to look good on all screens and all platforms - desktop, mobile, Twitch, YouTube and so on.

How to fix: For correct alignments across platforms - Choose overlays that are made to the correction resolutions and optimized for multiple platforms such as Twitch, YouTube - or have specific additional sizes for smaller screens. All of GETREKT's stream overlays are created for all major platforms, and we have options for those looking to stream specifically on TikTok in our Sniper stream pack.

Extra tip - want quicker loading for mobile? Choose black and white overlays. Less colors to load, less strain on software.

Overcrowding Your Stream

You want to be including alerts, widgets, labels, emotes, events, icons and more on your stream because these help keep your audience informed and interacting with your stream. But if you have too much at once, it will be overkill and distracting.

How to fix: Choose a design that has clear and concise sections for all your information that allows you to display what you need in a tidy and organized way. Group certain things together - events, socials etc. Allow your content room to breathe, border it with your designs, don't let it take over.

If having a clean and cohesive brand is what you are looking for, check out our Minimalist stream overlays. Efficient, minimal but professional.

TL;DR

Use these 5 tips to increase the visuals of your stream and create a professional brand for your channel. Your stream brand is part of your online identity, it is what people will recognize from you and associate to you. These tips will make sure that you do it well - encouraging more viewers, building trust and creating a visually stimulating stream that people will want to watch for hours.

To take the next steps with your stream - levelling up your content, increasing your engagement and more - visit our Blogs & Guides pages.

For new releases, discounts, news, tips and more - Join the Elements Community Discord.

It is finally Hoa Hoa Hoa season again,
Em

Author

Emma

Trading one mouse and keyboard for another to bring you tips, tricks, and support with streaming, events, social media and stream overlays.

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