I have VLC 3.0.12 installed on Raspberry PI for Desktop https://www.raspberrypi.com/software/ra ... i-desktop/ (debian 10 buster) on an old Inspiron Mini 1018 Laptop (notebook). This had a 1024x600 screen.
If I change Preferences-> Appearance Settings -> Defaults -> 'For small screens' then the GUI icons and text do not render. If I change this to 'For medium screens' then it works ok.
Passing this on FWIW in case others have issues on VLC on small, low resolution, screens