Best practices for clean overlays (readability & placement)

What “clean overlays” means

A clean overlay is one your viewers can read instantly on a phone without hiding the game. This page gives practical guidelines for:

• Font size that stays readable on small screens
• Safe margins so nothing gets cut off
• Contrast so text pops against any field/court
• Placement that avoids the most important gameplay areas
• Sponsor graphics that look professional (not tiny or distracting)

Quick defaults (use these if you’re not sure)

• Place overlays in a corner (bottom-left or bottom-right is usually safest).
• Keep a margin from the edge so nothing touches the very border of the screen.
• Use high contrast: light text on a dark background (or dark text on a light background).
• Don’t let overlays take more than a “small slice” of the screen. If you feel like you’re watching the overlay instead of the game, it’s too big.
• Test on a phone before you go live (your phone is the real “viewer device”).

Font size: make it readable on phones

Your viewers are often holding a phone at arm’s length, outdoors, with glare. Small text that looks fine on your setup screen can be unreadable to them.

Practical font-size guidelines

• Score and game clock: should be the largest text on the overlay.
• Team names: medium-large. If names are long, abbreviate instead of shrinking the text.
• Sponsor line: readable at a glance. Avoid thin fonts or script fonts.

A simple phone test (30 seconds)

Safe margins: keep text away from the edges

Overlays that sit on the very edge can get clipped on some devices, apps, or when platforms add their own UI elements (like live badges, captions, or chat).

Safe margin rule

• Keep all overlay content slightly “in from the edge” on every side.
• Leave extra space at the bottom if your stream is viewed inside an app that may place controls there.

Contrast: readable against any field or gym

Live sports backgrounds change constantly: bright sky, white ice, dark gyms, jerseys, LED boards. Your overlay needs consistent contrast.

Use one of these “always readable” styles

• Light text on a dark, semi-transparent bar (most reliable)
• Dark text on a light, semi-transparent bar
• Text with an outline/shadow (helpful, but not enough by itself if the background is busy)

Color choices that work

• Use one accent color for highlights (possession, period, sponsor tag), not five competing colors.
• Keep the background neutral (dark gray/black or white) so text stays readable.
• If you use team colors, use them for small areas (like a thin stripe or team badge), not the main text background.

Placement: avoid important gameplay areas

The best placement depends on the sport, but the goal is the same: don’t cover where the action usually happens.

General placement rules (works for most sports)

• Prefer corners over the center of the screen.
• Avoid the middle third of the screen—this is where plays develop and viewers track movement.
• Don’t cover the ball/puck path area (often center-ish and slightly ahead of the play).
• Keep overlays consistent throughout the game so viewers always know where to look.

Sport-specific “do / don’t” (quick guide)

Sponsor graphics: readable, respectful, and not distracting

Sponsors work best when they’re clear and consistent. On a phone, tiny logos turn into unrecognizable blobs. Aim for “instantly recognizable” rather than “fits everything on one banner.”

Make sponsor graphics phone-friendly

• One sponsor per placement is usually cleaner than squeezing three logos into one tiny space.
• Use a simple logo version (no tiny tagline text).
• Give logos breathing room—crowded logos look blurry on live video.
• Prefer horizontal layouts (better fit for typical scoreboard bars).

Where sponsors usually work best

• Next to the scoreboard (small “Sponsored by” tag)
• In a corner bug (small logo that stays put)
• During breaks (bigger sponsor card when play is stopped)

A fast “overlay check” before you go live

Common mistakes (and the easy fix)