Staff's Top 3 Overlays, Alerts and Widgets

If you’re already familiar with Nerd Or Die, you’ll know we’re committed to the creation of top-tier streaming upgrades. Today, we’re delving into a key aspect we’re all too familiar with – overlays, alerts and widgets. We create entire packs designed to give new streamers a starting point, or veteran streamers the ability to completely overhaul their stream. As industry leaders and self-proclaimed experts in overlays for Twitch, Kick and YouTube, we recognize the significance of a compelling overlay with complimenting widgets in elevating your streaming aesthetics. In this blog post, we set out to present our staff’s top three picks, carefully curated to enhance the visual appeal of live content.

Derek’s Picks

Social: @NerdOrDieCom
Founder, CEO, developer, widget developer, lead business development and all things web related. While Derek has the fancy title, he’s very involved in most product development at the ground level from start to finish. Our fearless leader has been making Twitch Overlays for the past 10+ years and has developed a deep understanding of trends and continues to be active in the streaming world. Here’s Derek’s favorite picks:

Nova

Our first dive into pixel art and a personal passion project. When I look back at the work we’ve done, this one (especially the event list widget) really stands out to me. Something that people don’t know about this pack is that for months we tried to find the right artist to help create this pack, always referencing the game MegaSphere. As luck would have it, we eventually got in touch with Anton, the creator of MegaSphere who ending up creating all the art for Nova. Oh, and there’s even some small Easter eggs in the design.

Amused

Colorful, simple, and dynamic. I’ve always been a fan of the “less is more” approach and this pack stands out to me as one that hits that mark perfectly. It’s a design package that might look simple, but under the hood it offers a lot of freedom and flexibility for those that want to be creative, while still being complete stream design for those just getting started.

Uplink

An older pack, but one that I won’t forget for a long time. In Uplink, each of the 7 alert designs was individually crafted and coded to be unique and engaging. It’s one of the first packs that used a lot of the techniques we still use today and one that I know was worth all the effort put into it.

Honorable mentions: StreamOS and ElectroLyte.

Nathan’s Picks

Social: @NathanOrDie
If you’ve ever wondered who does a lot of visuals at Nerd or Die – it’s Nathan. Working on projects for Nerd Or Die has allowed Nathan to flex his background in graphic design, motion design and marketing. Everything from concepting widgets to fleshing out entire stream overlays, to marketing them has likely come from his desk. Here’s Nathan’s favorite picks:

Flow Chat Box Widget

As a huge fan of simplicity, I can’t go past Flow Chat Box as a huge standout right now. With the booming success of Just Chatting as well as VTuber streamers, I find Flow fitting for the current times. This is one of the first products widgets we designed as a standalone item (instead of within a pack). I was a little worried about how that would be received, however the huge array of options to customize the look make this very simple looking product provide huge amounts of value; and as such has adopted by many within our community!

Iridescent

From a technical and artistic viewpoint, Iridescent ticks a lot of boxes for me. It’s a good blend of street, fashion and beauty. The flowing backgrounds, font choices, color options, light and dark mode – it’s so clean. The widgets compliment the look brilliantly, particularly the alerts’ animation. I’ve seen parts of this stream pack used in the wild quite a few times and it never gets old.

Clearview (V2)

This pack has a soft spot in my heart. The original version of Clearview could be credited for allowing me to quit my day job to pursue stream design. It generated enough interest to make it all seem possible. Ignoring the nostalgic values it holds, the goal, alerts and webcam combo are perfect for just about any streamer. It’s simple, easy to customize and effective on stream.

Aaron’s Picks

Social: @mrboost92
If you’ve ever contact Nerd Or Die for customer support via email or Discord, chances are you’ve been in touch with Aaron. His technical knowledge of streaming, streaming software, streaming platforms, and how Nerd Or Die’s packs work is unparalleled. Not only does he lead Customer Support, but he’s a code-guru too. If you use our widgets, there’s a good chance it has Aaron’s handy work in there. Here’s Aaron’s favorite picks:

FlatPack

This is one I’ve personally use for my streams. One of the most versatile packs and beginner friendly. The smallest changes to the overlay can make a huge difference in how it looks. Making it look one of a kind is very easy to do. The alerts working with the webcam frame is a great way to keep clutter on screen to a minimum and the choice of patterns are fun to use, allowing me to inject my own style and widgets into scenes.

Cybernetik

A lot of streamers in our community tout Glitch 2 as being the original and best cyber styled pack. But I disagree. Cybernetik is better than Glitch for several reasons. The looping backgrounds, stylized titles and countdown timers are great, but it’s the awesome widgets that take it the the next level. They’re lightweight and visually so appealing for the tech infused vibes. Very easy to customize these (you’re welcome) to fit right into whatever your brand requires.

Synthwave

The whole layout is like a teleportation vessel straight back to the 80s. The bright colors, flashy widgets, and amazing alerts are all heavily inspired by the 80s era, which still holds relevancy to this day. The colors scream in your face and make you feel like you’re walking through the mall in your denim jacket, with Kiss rocking out over the radio.

Honorable mention: StreamOS.

Chris’ Picks

Social: @itsdefrag
Chris has been leading production, scripting, voicing and editing of Nerd Or Die’s tutorials as well as handling product demo videos. When he’s not busy replying to fan-mail for his beautiful Irish accent, he’s head down slicing up videos in Adobe Premiere or creating incredible sound effects for our widgets. Here’s Chris’ picks:

StickerBomb

StickerBomb has this hyper-saturated late 90s, early 2000s look to it, when Tony Hawk Pro Skater was being played on the daily. I love how the colours are so vibrant but not over-bearing, and it just ticks a lot of boxes for me in feeling nostalgic but also up to date, sleek & modern.

FlatPack

This pack has this simplicity to it that just gives you so many possibilities. I think of this pack not just as something to use for my alerts, overlays etc, but as a real tool that I can blend with so many other ideas. You might even see this pack on a lot of streams, without fully realising it, it’s just so modular and blends with so many varied styles. One of my top picks for so many creative styles.

Electro Junkie 2

In contrast to FlatPack, Electro Junkie 2 has a strong and defined style. It’s for that reason that I love it a lot. There’s a real grit, energy and cinematic presence about this pack. I feel like I need to call my agent and turn down the next Terminator film just seeing the alerts spark up. If I had an agent, and I could act…

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There you have it. Whether you agree or not with us we’ve love to hear from you in our Discord! If none of these took your fancy, be sure to check out the entire collection in our store.