Design a lower-third template that updates automatically from a newsroom data feed.
Public Relations & Media
Motion Graphics and Lower-Thirds Design for News Broadcasts
Design motion graphics and lower-thirds for news broadcasts: template systems, branding consistency, real-time data graphics and fast-turnaround production for live bulletins.
🗓️Duration5 training days
📚Content4 modules · 8 sessions
🎓On completionAccredited attendance certificate
About the programme
Course Overview
The graphics on a news broadcast do more than decorate the screen: a lower-third confirms who is speaking, a ticker carries breaking updates, and a full-screen graphic can explain a complex figure faster than a presenter can read it aloud. This course covers motion graphics design specifically for news broadcasts, starting with the template systems that let a graphics team produce consistent, on-brand output at speed rather than designing each element from scratch. Participants learn how lower-thirds are built to update automatically from a newsroom system, how animation timing affects legibility on screen, and how a graphics package maintains visual identity across bulletins, tickers and full-screen data visualisations. Sessions address designing for a live environment: templates that must render correctly under deadline pressure, safe areas for different screen formats, and colour and typography choices that remain legible on a range of viewing devices. The course also covers real-time data graphics, including how live data feeds are connected to on-screen elements for results, markets or election coverage. Participants finish by building a lower-third and full-screen graphics package for a simulated bulletin.
Expected Learning Outcomes
Build a motion graphics package that maintains consistent branding across a bulletin.
Apply animation timing and legibility principles suited to a fast-paced broadcast environment.
Design full-screen data graphics that simplify complex figures for a broadcast audience.
Connect real-time data feeds to on-screen graphics for results, markets or live events.
Apply safe-area and typography standards that remain legible across screen formats.
Produce a complete lower-third and graphics package for a simulated news bulletin.
Who Should Attend
Broadcast graphic designers producing motion graphics for news programmes.
Motion designers moving from post-production into live broadcast graphics.
Newsroom technical staff who configure and update on-air graphics systems.
Creative directors overseeing a broadcaster's on-screen visual identity.
Freelance designers building graphics packages for news and current affairs clients.
Production staff who need to understand graphics workflow for live bulletins.
Course Modules
Select any module to see its sessions and points.
01Broadcast Graphics Systems and Branding
2 sessions · 8 points
Session 1Template Systems for Broadcast Graphics
- Build a template system that allows consistent graphics output under deadline pressure.
- Design master templates that can be adapted for different bulletin segments.
- Connect a graphics template to a newsroom system for automatic data updates.
- Test a template under live conditions to confirm it renders correctly on air.
Session 2Maintaining Visual Identity Across a Bulletin
- Apply a broadcaster's colour, typography and logo standards across all graphic elements.
- Maintain visual consistency between lower-thirds, tickers and full-screen graphics.
- Adapt a graphics package for a special bulletin while preserving core brand identity.
- Review a bulletin's graphics output for branding consistency after broadcast.
02Designing Lower-Thirds and On-Screen Text
2 sessions · 8 points
Session 1Lower-Third Structure and Animation
- Design a lower-third layout that clearly identifies a speaker's name and title.
- Apply animation timing that allows viewers to read on-screen text comfortably.
- Build lower-third variants for different content types, such as interviews and reports.
- Automate lower-third text updates from a newsroom production system.
Session 2Legibility and Safe-Area Design
- Apply safe-area guidelines to keep text and key graphics visible across screen formats.
- Select typography and colour contrast that remain legible on a range of viewing devices.
- Adjust graphic scale and positioning for both widescreen and mobile broadcast views.
- Test graphics legibility on multiple screen sizes before final approval.
03Full-Screen and Real-Time Data Graphics
2 sessions · 8 points
Session 1Designing Full-Screen Explainer Graphics
- Simplify a complex statistic or process into a clear full-screen broadcast graphic.
- Sequence animated graphic elements to build understanding step by step on air.
- Design comparison graphics, such as charts and maps, for broadcast legibility.
- Brief a presenter on timing cues needed to synchronise speech with a graphic sequence.
Session 2Connecting Live Data Feeds to Graphics
- Connect a live data feed to an on-screen graphic for results or market coverage.
- Test a real-time data graphic for accuracy before it goes live on air.
- Manage fallback procedures when a live data feed fails during a broadcast.
- Update a real-time graphics template quickly when data formats change unexpectedly.
04Production Workflow and Delivery
2 sessions · 8 points
Session 1Fast-Turnaround Graphics Production
- Produce a graphics element from brief to broadcast within a short deadline.
- Prioritise graphics requests during a breaking news event with limited production time.
- Coordinate with producers and presenters to confirm graphics content before air.
- Archive completed graphics templates for reuse in future bulletins.
Session 2Building a Bulletin Graphics Package
- Build a complete lower-third and full-screen graphics package for a simulated bulletin.
- Present a graphics package to a producer for editorial and branding approval.
- Revise a graphics package based on producer and presenter feedback.
- Deliver a finished graphics package in the formats required by the broadcast system.
What the participant receives
4 course modules
A structured syllabus
8 training sessions
across 5 days
32 detailed points
Applied, detailed content
Accredited attendance certificate
On completing the programme
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