Text Styles that Teach

Lower-thirds and annotations that stay readable

In educational video, text isn’t decoration – it’s part of the teaching. A beautifully shot experiment or explanation can be undermined instantly by captions that are too small, poorly placed, or fighting the background. If the viewer has to work to read the text, they stop listening.

Here’s what actually works in real classrooms, YouTube lessons, and social feeds.

---

1. Design for the worst screen

Assume your video will be watched:

• On a phone

• In bright light

• With the sound off

That means:

• Big fonts (bigger than you think)

• High contrast (light text on dark panels, or vice-versa)

• No thin weights – hairline fonts vanish on mobile

If it’s readable on a phone at arm’s length, it’ll work anywhere.

---

2. Lower-thirds: say less, say it clearly

Lower-thirds are for identity and context, not essays.

Good uses

• Speaker name + role

• Experiment title

• Key variable (“Independent Variable: Length of Wire”)

Bad uses

• Full definitions

• Paragraphs of theory

• Anything the presenter is already saying word-for-word

A lower-third should be readable in 2 seconds or less.

---

3. Annotations should support thinking, not distract

On-screen labels and arrows are powerful – but only if they are calm and purposeful.

Best practice:

• One idea per annotation

• Appear exactly when needed, then disappear

• Use consistent colours for the same concept (e.g. forces = red, measurements = blue)

Avoid the temptation to label everything. Silence on screen can be as helpful as text.

---

4. Placement matters more than style

Viewers naturally scan:

• Centre → lower third → corners

So:

• Keep key annotations away from faces and hands

• Respect safe margins (especially for vertical and square crops)

• Never park text where YouTube captions will sit

Good placement reduces cognitive load – the brain doesn’t have to search.

---

5. Motion should be subtle and purposeful

Educational text should arrive, not perform.

Use:

• Simple fades or short slides (5–10 frames)

• No bouncing, spinning, or elastic effects

• The same animation style throughout a series

Consistency builds trust and helps students focus on the content, not the editing.

---

6. Teaching beats branding (every time)

Logos, colours, and brand styles matter – but clarity matters more.

If forced to choose:

• Choose legibility over logos

• Choose contrast over colour

• Choose timing over clever animation

Your audience remembers what they understand, not what looked flashy.

---

Final thought

Great educational text styling is invisible when done well.
Students shouldn’t notice the graphics – they should notice that the explanation suddenly makes sense.

That’s when video editing stops being decoration and starts being teaching.