Adding a Logo and Lower Thirds to Your Live Studio Show

Why Branding Matters on a Live Show

Branding is the difference between a video call recording and a live broadcast. A logo, a lower-third with the guest's name, and a consistent visual identity tell viewers, within the first three seconds, that what they're watching is professional.

It also makes your show recognizable when clips circulate later. Someone scrubbing TikTok sees a frame of your show and instantly knows it's yours.

This guide covers adding the two essentials, a logo and a lower-third name graphic, using the Composition Editor.

Open the Composition Editor

In your Live Studio stream, click Composition in the sidebar.

The Composition Editor is a layered canvas that sits on top of your Live Studio sources. Anything you add here shows up across every layout, Spotlight, Showtime, Custom, all of them. Layouts arrange your sources; the Composition Editor decorates everything.

Add Your Logo

1. Click Image in the editor sidebar

2. Click Upload and select your logo file (PNG with transparency works best)

3. The logo appears on the canvas

4. Drag it to a corner, upper-left and upper-right are most common

5. Resize using the corner handles. Keep it small enough not to crowd faces, large enough to read

Logo placement guidelines:

• Upper-left is the most common, it's the first place the eye lands

• Lower-right is the second most common, out of the way

• Avoid the center: it'll fight your sources

• Avoid the lower-left: that's where lower-thirds usually go

Logo size guidelines:

• 5–10% of the canvas height for a watermark feel

• 10–15% for a more visible brand presence

• Smaller is more confident, beginners over-size their logos

Add a Lower-Third for Your Name

A lower-third is the name graphic that appears under a person's face. It's called a "lower third" because it traditionally lives in the lower third of the screen.

1. Click Text in the editor sidebar

2. Type your name, for example, Sarah Chen, Host

3. Style it: pick a font, size, color, and a background or stroke

4. Drag it to the lower-third area of the canvas

5. Resize for readability

Lower-third design tips:

• Use a font that matches your logo. Two fonts max for the whole show.

• Use a background bar or shadow so the text stays readable against any source

• Two lines max: name on top, role/title underneath

• Lower-left is standard placement

• Sized 4–6% of the canvas height, readable but not dominant

Add a Lower-Third for Your Guest

For a guest, add a second text element with their name and update it per show:

1. Add another Text element

2. Type the guest's name and role (e.g., Marcus Lee, CTO at Indie Labs)

3. Position it in the lower-third area, opposite your own name (or in the same spot if only one is shown at a time)

4. Save

You can update the text before each show to match the current guest. Keep the position and styling identical so the lower-third feels consistent across shows.

Add a Now Playing Overlay (Optional)

For shows that play a music bed or pre-recorded clips, the Now Playing overlay shows the title of the current track or clip automatically.

1. Click Now Playing in the editor sidebar

2. Style it (font, color, background)

3. Position it, typically lower-right or top-of-screen

4. Save

The overlay updates automatically as your playlist progresses. Great for music streams and rebroadcast Live Channels.

Save and Apply

When the canvas looks right, click Save. The composition is now active. Switch to your Live Studio canvas, your logo, lower-third, and overlays are visible across every layout.

If you make changes mid-show, click Save again. Updates apply instantly to your live broadcast.

Tips for a Polished Look

• One brand color as the dominant accent. Other colors are neutral.

• One font for the logo, one for text overlays. Two fonts max for the entire show.

• Test contrast against your busiest source. If your guest is in front of a busy background, the lower-third needs a solid background bar.

• Save your composition as a template to reuse across shows. See Creating and Managing Overlay Templates.

Common Mistakes

• Logo too big. Watermark, not billboard.

• Lower-third too high. It's called a lower third for a reason.

• Mismatched fonts. A bold display font for the logo and a thin sans-serif for the text reads as amateur. Pick one font family with multiple weights.

• Bright text on bright sources. Always use a background bar or stroke for readability.

• Overlays covering faces. Position with sources in mind. Test in every layout.

Next Steps

• Live Studio Layouts Explained

• Creating and Managing Overlay Templates

• Using the Audio Visualizer Overlay for Music Streams

• How to Build a Consistent Brand Across Hundreds of Videos

• How to Run Your First Live Show With Guests