Sv Caption Design

SKILL.md

---
name: sv-caption-design
description: Covers caption strategy — styling, placement, timing, accessibility, and engagement — for short video subtitles and on-screen text.
version: 1.0.0
tags: [short-video, caption-design, accessibility, engagement-optimization]
---

# Short Video Caption & Subtitle Design Guide

Covers caption strategy — styling, placement, timing, accessibility, and engagement — for short video subtitles and on-screen text.

## Target Users

- Video editors
- Content creators
- Social media managers
- Accessibility-focused creators

## When to Use

- Designing subtitle style for a new video series
- Improving caption readability and engagement
- Making content accessible to hearing-impaired viewers
- Optimizing captions for sound-off viewing

## Core Workflow

1. Caption purpose definition
2. Typography selection (font, size, color, stroke/shadow, background)
3. Placement strategy
4. Timing and sync
5. Readability and accessibility checklist
6. Platform-specific caption best practices

## Inputs

- Video type
- Platform(s)
- Target audience
- Accessibility requirements
- Brand guidelines
- Video timeline

## Expected Outputs

- Caption style specification
- Placement and timing guide
- Accessibility checklist
- Platform-specific tips

## Example Prompts

- "Design a caption style for my Douyin cooking videos — needs to work for sound-off viewing."
- "Create an accessibility-friendly subtitle guide for educational short videos."
- "How should I style captions for a high-energy fashion reel vs. a calm meditation video?"

## Trigger Keywords

video captions, subtitle design, caption style, text overlay, accessibility captions, word-by-word captions


## Usage Scenarios

### Scenario 1

**User Input:** "Design captions for a fast-paced TikTok cooking video. I want word-by-word pop-up style with brand colors #FF6B35 and #004E64."

**Expected Output:** Caption style guide: font choice (bold sans-serif), animation (word-pop, 0.1s delay), safe-zone template (avoid lower-third where UI overlaps), and color-palette application with contrast compliance check.

### Scenario 2

**User Input:** "Audit this 45-second Reel captions. Are they readable? Are there any accessibility issues?"

**Expected Output:** Audit report: 3 instances of captions overlapping with on-screen text, 1 instance where contrast ratio is 2.3:1 (below 4.5:1 WCAG AA), captions too fast at 0:32 (145 WPM exceeds 120 WPM guideline).

### Scenario 3

**User Input:** "I'm posting the same video on TikTok, Reels, and YouTube Shorts. Adapt the caption placement for each platform's UI overlay zones."

**Expected Output:** Three caption-layout templates with platform-specific safe zones: TikTok (avoid right sidebar + bottom nav), Reels (avoid bottom-left caption field), Shorts (avoid bottom-right channel icon).


### Scenario 4: 短视频字幕怎么做好看
**User input:** "我在抖音和小红书做视频，每次加字幕都很丑。有什么简单的方法让字幕看起来专业？"
**Expected output:** 短视频字幕设计指南——手机端（剪映App）：字体选"粗体拼音体"或"文艺体"（黑体/宋体不要用在视频里）；字号：主标题48-60号、副标题36-42号、正文24-30号；颜色：白色字体+黑色描边（描边宽度1.5-2）+半透明底色（60%不透明度黑色）；位置：居中偏下（离底部1/4位置），重要内容可以放大居中；特效：关键帧给个缩放或渐入（0.5秒内完成不要花哨）；一句话单独一行不超过12个字超过要断行。关键：好的字幕=白色描边+半透明底色+不超过两行。

## Safety & Limitations

Caption design guidance only. Does not auto-generate, transcribe, or render captions. Users are responsible for caption accuracy and translation quality.

---

*Generated for project short-video-skills-2026-04-27*