Glossary of design terms
Logo & Graphic Design Glossary
A - B - C - D - E - F - G - H - I - J - K - L - M - N - O - P - Q - R - S - T - U - V - W - X - Y - Z
A
Adobe Acrobat: suite of applications to create and view PDF files.
Aliasing: A technique usually used for displaying bitmap files.
Ascende: Any part of a lower case character which extends above the X-height.
Anti-alias: The blending of pixel colors on the perimeter of hard-edged shapes, like type, to smooth undesirable edges.
Alpha Channel: Gray scale channel of 8-bits. Used for saving selections.
Animation: Movement created by combining images.
Animated GIF: Animation saved as a graphic interchange format file. It is graphic image that moves.
ASP: Active Server Pages (ASP). Tool or computer application that is used to create dynamic and interactive web pages.
B
Banner: Header or title of magazine or periodical publication and a Web page. Graphical advertisements are placed in banners on web sites.
Bevel: A process of giving raised appearance by using highlighting colors and shadows.
Bitmap graphic: A graphic image stored as specific pattern of dots.
Bit-mapped (mode): The Paint graphics mode describes an image made of pixels where the pixel is either on (black) or off (white).
Bleed: Extending the colors outside the desired area. The printer then cuts of the extra area to get the
desired color presentation.
Browser: Software for accessing, viewing and managing web pages.
Black (font): A font that has more weight than the bold version of a typeface.
Bleed: An element that extends to the edge of the page. To print a bleed, the publication is printed on oversized paper which is trimmed.
Block quote: A long quotation -- four or more lines -- within body text, that is set apart in order to clearly distinguish the author's words from the words that the author is quoting.
Body type: Roman -- normal, plain, or book -- type used for long passages of text, such a stories in a newsletter, magazine, or chapters in a book. Generally sized from 9 point to 14 point.
Byline: In newsletter/magazine layout, a credit line for the author of an article.
C
Cap height: In typography, the distance from the baseline to the top of the capital letters.
Caption: An identification (title) for an illustration, usually a brief phrase. The caption should also support the other content.
Cast Shadow: A method of adding emphasis to a particular graphic object. Cast shadows are usually used in different ways to create 3D effects.
Character: Any letter, figure, punctuation, symbol or space.
Clipart: Images or graphics sold or distributed using publication.
Color spacing: Achieving a pleasing appearance after the line has been set normally.
Cookie: Cookies are the form of temporary files. They identify web site users/visitors.
Crop marks: On a mechanical, horizontal and vertical lines that indicate the edge of the printed piece.
Cropping: For artwork, cutting out the extraneous parts of an image, usually a photograph.
D
Descender: In typography, the part of the letterform that dips below the baseline; usually refers to lowercase letters and some punctuation, but some typefaces have uppercase letters with descenders.
Dingbat typeface: A typeface made up of nonalphabetic marker characters, such as arrows, asterisks, encircled numbers.
Discretionary hyphen: a hyphen that will occur only if the word appears at the end of a line, not if the word appears in the middle of a line.
Display type: Large and/or decorative type used for headlines and as graphic elements in display pieces. Common sizes are 14, 18, 24, 30, 36, 48, 60, and 72 point.
Dither: For digital halftones, the creation of a flat bitmap by simply rutning dots off or on. All dots are the same size there are simply more of them in dark areas and fewer of them in light areas -- as opposed to deep bitmaps used in gray-scale images.
DPI (dots per inch): The unit of measurement used to describe the resolution of printed output. The most common desktop laser printers output a 300 dpi. Medium-resolution printers output at 600 dpi. Image setters output at 1270-2540 dpi.
Drop shadow: Drop shadows are those shadows dropping below text or images which gives the illusion of shadows from lighting and gives a 3D effect to the object.
Duotone: A halftone image printed with two colors, one dark and the other light. The same photograph is halftoned twice, using the same screen at two different angles; combining the two improves the detail and contrast.
E
Egyptian type: Originally, from 1815 on, bold face with heavy slabs or square serifs.
Em space: A space as wide as the point size of the types. This measurement is relative; in 12-point type an em space is 12 points wide, but in 24-point type an em space is 24 points wide.
Emboss: Embossing a graphic image adds dimension to it by making the image appear as if it were carved as a projection from a flat background.
En space: A space half as wide as the type is high (half an em space)
Export: Exporting allows the user to save the file in another format to be opened in other programs.
Expanded (font): A font in which the set widths of the characters are wider than in the standard typeface. (Note: not the intercharacter space -- that is accomplished through letterspacing -- but the characters themselves).
Extended type: Typefaces that are wide horizontally -- Hellenic, Latin Wide, Egyptian Expanded, Microgramma Extended, etc.
F
Feather: A process of applying a blur to an image. This process gradually dissolves the area of the image on which the feather is applied.
Flash: Vector graphic animation software developed by Macromedia that creates browser-independent graphics (graphics that look the same across all browsers). An advantage of Flash animation is that their download time are relatively fast.
Flight Check: Program used to identifies missing fonts, embedded graphics, bad traps, and many other possible problems.
Folio: A page number, often set with running headers or footers.
Font: Attributes added to a type face like bold, size, and style etc.
Four-color process: The printing process that reproduces colors by combining, cyan, magenta, yellow and black. If you look through a magnifying glass, you'll see that the printed image consists of dots in these four colors. These dots are printed on top of each other, next to each other or just close to each other, depending on the color and tonal values wanted.
Forms: Source of collecting information from the viewer or user.
G
Galleys: In traditional publishing, the type set in long columns, not laid out on a page. In desktop publishing, galleys can be printed out using a page-assembly program, for proofreading and copyfitting purposes.
GIF: (Graphic Interchange format) GIF images display up to 256 colors. GIF images generally have very small file sizes and are the most widely used graphic format on the web. The low quality resulting from compression makes them unsuitable for professional printing.
Gradient: A function in graphic software that allows the user to fill an object/image with a smooth transition of colors, for example a dark blue, gradually becoming lighter or red, gradually becoming orange, then yellow.
Greeked text: In page-assembly programs, text that appears as gray bars approximating the lines of type rather than actual characters. This speeds up the amount of time it takes to draw images on the screen.
Graphic design: Visual representation of an idea or concept. The term is used as a collective name for all activities relating to visual design, including web design, logo design etc.
Grey scale: A color mode in which Black and White colors and in combination. Grey Scale, as the words tells us, has various shades of Grey, Black and White.
Gutter: In double-sided documents, the combination of the inside margins of facing pages; the gutter should be wide enough to accommodate binding.
GUI: Graphic User Interface allows user to use graphics, picture and icon instead of text.
H
Halftone: A tone that is halfway between highlight and dark shadow. The tones are broken up by fine screen into different sizes of dots.
Head: Line on the top of the body of content which is in big and bold fonts.
Hexadecimal: A number system used for web colors. The first six numbers used in this 16 based numbering system are 0-9 and the next 5 are A-F.
Hue:
the actual color of an object. Hue is measured as a location on a color wheel, expressed in degrees. Hue is also understood as the names of specific colors, like blue, red, yellow, etc.
I
Interlace: A technique of retrieving images in different stages, with rough image appearing first and gradually getting more refined.
Italic: Fonts with a tilt the right. (Italic)
J
JPEG: Joint Photographic Experts Group, file format to store and retrieve images.
K
Kern: To squeeze together characters, for a better fit of strokes and white space. In display type, characters almost need to be kerned because the white space between characters at large sizes is more noticeable.
Kicker: A brief phrase or sentence lead-in to a story or chapter; usually set smaller than the headline or chapter title, but larger than text type.
Knockout: In printing, when one color is to be printed immediately adjacent to another color; actually they are printed with a slight overlap.
L
Landscape: Width wise orientation of document. In this style document width is more than its height.
Lap register: Used with knockouts, images of different colors are slightly overlapped, to avoid the appearance of a white line between the two inks.
Leader: A line of dots or dashes to lead the eye across the page to separated copy.
Leading: (pronounced "led-ding") the space between lines of type, traditionally measured baseline-to-baseline, in points.
Letterforms: In typography, the shapes of the characters.
Logotype: A symbol, mark, or identifying name. Commonly known as a logo, is the graphic element of a trademark or brand, which is set in a special typeface/font, or arranged in a particular, but legible, way. The shape, color, typeface, etc. should be distinctly different from others in a similar market.
M
Mezzotint: For a halftone, a special screen that produces connected, dusty-looking dots.
Multimedia: Combination of video, music, lighting, CD-ROM and the internet for learning, work or teaching.
N
Negative space: In design, the space where the figure isn't -- in artwork, usually the background; in a publication, the parts of the page not occupied by type or graphics.
Nested stories: In newsletter/magazine layout, stories run in multiple columns at different column depths.
O
Objected-oriented (mode): Draw graphics mode. A set of algorithms describe graphic form in abstract geometrical terms, as object primitives.
Outline: The outer edge of text or graphic.
P
Pantone matching system: The Pantone matching system is used for specifying and blending match colors. It provides designers with swatches of over 700 colors and gives printers the recipes for making those colors.
Pica: A measurement used in typography for column widths and other space specifications in a page layout. There are 12 points in a pica, and approximately 6 picas to an inch.
Pixel (picture element): The smallest unit that a device can address. Most often refers to display monitors, a pixel being the smallest spot of phosphor that can be lit up on the screen.
PNG: Portable Network Graphics. Bitmapped image format that employs lossless data compression. The PNG format displays images without jagged edges while keeping file sizes relatively small, making them popular on the web.
Point: A measurement used in typography for type size, leading, and other space specifications in a page layout.
PPI: Stands for pixels per inch. PPI specifies the resolution of an input device, such as a scanner, digital camera, or monitor. Web page resolution ranges from 72-96 pixels per inch.
Posterization: For a halftone, the reduction of the number of gray scales to produce a high-contrast image.
Printer font: High-resolution bitmaps or font outline masters used for the actual laying down of the characters on the printed page, as opposed to display on the screen.
Process color separation: In commercial printing, used for reproduction of color photographs. The various hues are created by superimposition of halftone dots of the process colors: cyan (a greenish blue), magenta (a purplish red), yellow, and black.
Q
Quark X Press: Software used by the publishing industry.
Quick Time Video: Video streaming technology developed by Apple.
R
Resolution: The crispness of detail or fineness of grain in an image. Screen resolution is measured in dots by lines (for example, 640 x 350); printer resolution is measured in dpi (for example, 300 dpi).
Reverse: A method used in printing where background color is generally black color or where background becomes inked and the image and lettering appears in the color of the paper.
RGB: RGB is a color mode that stands for RED-GREEN-BLUE colors that are used on computer display.
Run-around: Type that is set to fit the contour of an illustration, photo, ornament or initial.
Run-in heading: A heading set on the same line as the text, usually in bold or italic type.
Running heads/feet: Titles (often accompanied by page numbers) set at the top/bottom of text pages of a multipaged publication.
S
Sans Serif Typeface: Means “Without Feet”. Sans Serif is the font or type face that lacks the strokes on the end of letters. Arial, Verdana are examples of San Serif type faces.
Saturation: Intensity of color. It refers to the degree of difference from gray. High saturation will appear to be bright and low saturation will appear dull.
Serif: Meaning "little feet." Common serif typefaces include Times Roman, Garamond, and Palatino.
Solarization: Over exposure that results in reversal of a photographic image.
Spot Color: Refers to the use of solid color. A term used in printing when each color is printed with its own ink and not going through the process of using CMYK colors.
T
Tags: A set of characters used in the mark up language for providing formatting information of a document.
Template: A preformatted page or design that can be changed or customized to the users requirements.
Text wrap: A feature of using pictures and graphics with text. This is a feature supported by word processors.
TIFF (Tagged Image File Format): For digital gray-scale halftones, a device-independent graphics file format. TIFF files can be used on IBM/compatible or Macintosh computers, and may be output to PostScript printers.
Type alignment: the distribution of white space in a line of type where the characters at their normal set width do not fill the entire line length exactly. Type maybe aligned left, right, centered, or right-justified.
Typeface: the set of characters created by a type designer, including uppercase and lowercase alphabetical characters, numbers, punctuation, and special characters. A single typeface contains many fonts, at different sizes and styles.
Type families: a group of typefaces of the same basic design but with different weights and proportions.
U
USP: Stands for Unique Selling Proposition. This refers to the specific offer placed by seller to the customers. This offer of sale is different than the other sales offers given by other sellers.
V
Vector graphic: It is a graphic format that uses lines and shapes called paths. Vector graphics are resolution independent and be zoomed in or zoomed out with distorting the edges. Vector graphics are mostly used for logo designing and line art.
W
Weight: denotes the thickness of a letter stroke, light, extra-light, "regular," medium, demi-bold, bold, extra bold and ultra bold.
White space: in designing publication, the areas where there is no text or graphics -- essentially, the negative space of the page design.
Widow: in a page layout, short last lines of paragraphs -- usually unacceptable when separated from the rest of the paragraph by a column break, and always unacceptable when separated by a page break.
Word wrap: in a word processor or text editor, the automatic dropping of characters to the next line when the right margin is reached.
X
x-height: The height of the lowercase "s." Sometimes referred to as "body height." More generally, the height of the lowercase letters.
Y
Z
Non-relevant