Building a clean overlay layout

An effective overlay adds context without covering the game, camera or captions your viewers came to see. Start with one job for each element: identity, interaction or information.

A simple layout

• Keep a small identity area for your name or logo.
• Reserve one consistent corner for alerts and new followers.
• Put chat, polls or the hype meter where they will not cover important gameplay.
• Leave generous safe space around the edges because platforms and mobile players may crop the picture.

In the overlay editor, preview at the same aspect ratio as your channel. Use a restrained colour palette and check contrast in both bright and dark scenes. A semi-transparent panel is usually easier to read than a fully opaque block.

Make changes safely

Set the overlay you want to use as Main, then add its browser-source URL to OBS. You can change which overlay is Main later without replacing the source in OBS. Before going live, open the public preview and test every interactive widget with a sample event.

Avoid putting secrets, stream keys or private dashboard links in an overlay. Anything rendered in a browser source should be treated as public.