You may be reading this as a new streamer, which means this information is going to be very useful. You may be a veteran streamer and already have this knowledge, but reading is good for the soul. Who knows you may learn something new.

Welcome to another article from Visuals By Impulse. In this article, I'll explain what each design is to help you understand how you can use them to give yourself the professional look you deserve.

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Emotes are used for in your stream chat. Viewers and subs can use the emotes (depending on how you set them up, as most emotes are unlocked for subs, but you can utilize BTTV for free emotes). When commissioning emotes, you want to capture different images that represent your stream's content or your personality. Think of catchphrases, faces, or other content-related ideas to help liven up your chat. Here are some examples-

Animated Emotes are the same as above but have a short animation or movement to them.

When you achieve Affiliate or Partner status on Twitch, you are able to add sub badges for your supporters. These badges are used to signify the people in your community that supports you through subscriptions. You have the option for 4 different badges signifying first-time sub, 3-month, 6-month, and 12-month subs (as an Affiliate. As a Partner, you can unlock more sub badge slots). Using different colors will help differentiate the length of loyalty (i.e. time someone's been subbed).

Cheermotes are specific to Twitch and can be used to replace the "gem" image when a viewer is cheering bits to your channel (again, only available for Affiliates and Partners). Cheermotes can be fun and unique, just as emotes, that add a little flavor to your stream.

The best way to think of screens is "status" messages- your viewers will know the status of the stream. There are 5 main types of screens- Starting Soon, Be Right Back (BRB), Intermission, Stream Ending, and Offline.

*Note- Starting, BRB, Intermission, Ending are added to your streaming software as Scenes (like OBS or SLOBS)

Used at the beginning of your stream while you set-up, play music, or otherwise get yourself ready for live-action.

Need a break? Step away for a drink, answer a phone call, or stretch and use the bathroom and put up a BRB screen to inform new viewers or returning lurkers of your status.

Taking a break from your content, but still, want to interact with your viewers? Use an intermission screen that includes a webcam slot, text box, and game capture/display capture box for an interactive look at your content. Customize the look of your intermission screen for maximum efficiency and uniqueness.

As you put a wrap on your broadcast, let the viewers know you're coming to an end. It's helpful to put social media handles or other pertinent information so viewers know how to reach out to you, or where to catch more content.

It should be noted- Offline screen is NOT a screen you add to streaming software, but your channel itself, so when you are not live, and someone visits your channel, they see an offline screen. Include socials or a schedule for viewers.

When a viewer or community member support you through a follow, host, raid, cheer, donation, or subscription, it's beneficial to use an alert to celebrate the event. Have an alert design that's eye-catching and fun so the viewers are aware of the support you receive.

A live overlay can be very different from person to person, but generally, the overlay will be used for your main content- whether it's playing a game, building something, or just hanging out and chatting.

You can have a top bar, bottom bar, webcam, or anything you want as your Live Overlay. Be sure to include events (recent follows, subs, etc) and/or social media usernames, as this design will be what most of your viewers see on a consistent basis.

Spice up the look and feel of your channel and simultaneously tell visitors to your channel about what they should expect to see in your content. Panels should include information, and in some cases, should have links to other sites (like a donation link, Twitter page, etc).

Not having panels can potentially lose viewers/community members as if they are visiting your channel for the first time, they won't be able to use the panels to find out about you.

The social media banner is what you see on the top of a channel. Twitter, YouTube, and Twitch (and more) all allow you to have customized banners that are visible on the top of your page.

A small image that serves as your platform's identity. You can choose to have your logo or another symbol/logo from your brand as an avatar, and may be very recognizable for viewers when browsing different sites.

A social media announcement graphic is optimized for use on Twitter, Instagram, and other platforms to announce something about your stream. You can have one design for starting or more for other important updates regarding your content.

Logos are questionably the most noticeable and "remember-able" asset in your content's brand. Think of major businesses and companies- they all have memorable and recognizable logos. Time, effort, and significant consideration should go into logo design. 

A word, or a name that represents your content. Text logos can be simple, yet highly effective.

A mascot or icon logo is a figure, symbol, or character that represents your brand. You may have significant meaning to the mascot, or it may be something more casual.

An illustration can be thought of as more of a still image, or a more complex "painting" than a mascot or text logo.