Graphic Design

KISS

"Keep it simple stupid" this principle highlights that fact that simplicity is a desirable objective in producing effective designs.

Sans Serif

A Typeface without serifs, e.g. Helvetica.

Drop Shadow

A commonly used visual effect consisting of drawing that looks like the shadow of an object, giving the impression that the object is raised above the objects behind it.

Filter

A filter is applied to images or art works to easily create special effects or to achieve a look that would be too difficult to create manually.

Duotones

A grayscale image printed with two printing inks instead of one. If you want to reproduce fine details in a black and white image, make it softer or tint it a color other than pure black, you use duotones. You usually print with black plus one spot color of your choice.

Display Face

A larger and bolder version of a text face (14 points or more) which is used for headlines and sub-headlines.

Branding

A marketing function that identifies products and their source and differentiates them from all other products

Illustrator

A resolution independent, vector graphics and illustration application used to create logos, icons, drawings, typography and complex illustrations for any medium.

Typeface

A set of characters that share common characteristics such as stroke width and the presence or absence of serifs.

Widow Line

A single word on a line of a paragraph at the bottom of a page or column.

Visual Hierarchy

A solution in which the viewer knows what to look at first, second, third etc.

Ligature

A special double character in a font representing two letters as one.

Point

A unit of measurement in typography. 12 points in a pica or 1/72 of an inch.

Pica

A unit of measurement used for type. A pica is equal to 12 points and 1/6th of an inch.

Tracking

Adjusting of the letter spacing throughout copy.

Kerning

Adjusting the spacing between specific letters/characters.

Alignment

Align images, text and graphics for structure and to achieve a more visually appealing page. It is the arrangement of elements in a fixed or predetermined position.

Family

All the type sizes and styles of one typeface.

Gradient

Allows the user to fill an object/ image with a smooth transition of colors.

Perfect Binding

An adhesive binding technique. Edges of printing signatures are glued, then covered. The covered book is then trimmed clearly on the remaining three sides.

Baseline

An imaginary line upon which characters seem to stand.

Grids

An invisible structure used as a guide, to help arrange elements on the page.

Die-cutting

An off press process. Printed products that should have a shape other than a rectangular one are die-cut. The die-cut or blade must be specially ordered and adds to the overall cost of the job.

Proximity

Arranging similar elements together on a page, closeness. The appropriate spacing of elements in the layout. Elements that have a relationship should be placed close to each other.

Saddle Stitched

Binding with wires, similar to staples.

Low Resolution

Blurry in appearance and has a relatively small file size.

Uppercase

Capital letters or caps of the alphabet. Abbreviated as Caps, UC or simply C.

Symmetrical

Centered and Balance. It offers a conservative, safe and peaceful atmosphere when designing.

CMS

Color management is the controlled conversion between the color representations of various devices, such as image scanners, digital cameras, monitors, TV screens, film printers, computer printers, offset presses, and corresponding media. The primary goal of color management is to obtain a good match across color devices

Contrast

Contrast is a mix of elements to stimulate attention. Contrast in size or color, of different elements on a page to make it visually interesting.

Acrobat

Create, edit, convert, digitally sign, encrypt, export and publish PDF documents and forms.

Graphic Design

Creative process that combines art and technology to convey a message. Utilizes ideas, concepts, text and images and presents them in a visually engaging form through print, electronic or other media.

CMYK

Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black, the four used in full-color process printing.

Dominance

Dominance is created by contrasting size, positioning, color, style, or shape. The focal point should dominate the design with scale and contrast without sacrificing the unity of the whole.

Balance

Equal distribution of weight. When a design is balanced we tend to feel that it holds together. Symmetrical and asymmetrical balance.

TrueType

Fonts that can be used for both the screen display and printing, thereby eliminating the need to have two font files for each typeface.

Font Family

Group of typefaces with similar characteristics. For e.g. sans serif Arial, Arial Bold, Arial Bold Italic, Arial Italic.

Repetition

Having elements repeat to create visual consistency. For example, the same font and point size for the body text throughout the page.

Running Head or Headers

Headings at the tops of pages that indicate the section and locations of materials. A running head can contain a page number, or folio. A running foot or footer is the same element positioned at the page foot.

X-height

Height of lowercase letterform, minus the ascenders and desenders, e.g. "x".

Composition

In the visual arts - in particular painting, graphic design, photography and sculpture - composition is the placement or arrangement of visual elements or ingredients in a work of art, as distinct from the subject of a work. It can also be thought of as the organization of the elements of art according to the principles of art.

Characters

Individual letters, punctuation, numerals and other elements that are used when setting type. A symbol in writing.

JPEG

Joint Photographic Experts Group, a compression format used for images used on the Internet. A common compression method that shrinks a file's storage size by discarding non-important picture detail. Excessive compression can cause poor image quality.

Leading

Line spacing, which is calculated from base line to base line.

Body Copy

Main text part of an advertisement or any printed matter (as distinct from the logo, headline, subheadings, and graphics) that provides the 'meat' of the communication. Usually a professional copywriter writes this.

Bezier Curve

Mathematically defined curve used in two-dimensional graphic applications. The curve is defined by four points: the initial position and the terminating position (which are called "anchors") and two separate middle points (which are called "handles").

Asymmetrical

Off-balance. It offers a fun and energetic mood when designing.

Dingbats

Once known as "printer's flowers,"these are the small decorative marks, bullets, or symbols that usually make up a specialty face.

Crop

One basic way to modify images is to __________ them. remove some part of the image.

InDesign

Page design and layout for print and digital publishing. It can be used to create digital magazines and publications, print media, books and e-books.

Focal Point

Part of the design that is emphasized, so the viewer sees it first.

Ascender

Part of the lowercase letter that extends above the X-height, e.g. b, d or h.

Descender

Part of the lowercase letter that falls below the baseline, e.g. p, y, or g.

Pixel

Picture Element, it is a square dot that represents the smallest unit displayed on a computer screen. Also, a single point in an electronic image.

Photoshop

Pixel-based, image editing and compositioning application which is the de facto industry standard in raster graphics editing.

PDF

Portable Document Format

Spot Color

Printing inks of special colors, for example from the PMS system. Used to achieve an exact color that four color inks cannot provide because spot color is mixed according to a recipe.

Bevel

Raised effect created by applying highlight and shadow colors to the inside and outside edges of the border of an image or text area in order to create the illusion that the image or text area has three dimensions.

Letter or Word Spacing

Refers to the space between letters and words respectively.

Font Style

Refers to the specific characteristics of the font, e.g. italic, bold, bold italic and roman.

Lowercase

Small letters of the alphabet, abbreviated as lc.

Running Text

Solid copy, normally not interrupted by headings, tables, illustrations, etc.

Emphasis

Something that is singled out or made more prominent has emphasis. An element of a design that dominates or becomes the center of interest has emphasis.

DPI

Stands for dots per inch and refers to the resolution of an image when printed.

TIFF

Tagged Image File Format is a format for electronically storing and transmitting bitmapped, grayscale, and color images.

Layout

The arrangement of elements such as type and visuals on a page or screen.

Baseline Shift

The baseline is an invisible line onto which all type characters sit. Moving characters up or down in relation to the baseline and using it effectively can make a huge difference to the professional look of your type.

Focus

The center of interest or activity, the focal point.

Font

The complete set of characters for one typeface at one particular type size, excluding attributes such as bold or italic.

Unity

The elements in a design that look as though they belong together. It gives a sense of oneness with consistency and repetition.

Bowl

The enclosed oval or round curve of letters like D, g, b and o.

Orphan

The first or last line of a paragraph that has become separated from the rest of its paragraph and is positioned at the bottom or top of a page or column, alone.

Rhythm

The flow or movement established by repeating or varying the visual elements.

Cap Height

The height of the uppercase letters within a font.

Brightness

The lightness/darkness of an image, the intensity of a light source or color luminance.

Weight

The measurement of a stroke's width.

Type or Point Size

The size of type, measured in points between the bottom of the descender and the top of the ascender.

Serif

The small finishing strokes or hairline strokes that project from the main stroke of a letter, e.g. Times New Roman.

Body Type

The specific typeface that is used in the main text.

Typography

The study and process of typefaces; how to select, size, arrange and use them in general.

Identity

The sum of the qualities that are synonymous, with the level of service with an organization.

Ragged

The uneven alignment of text lines.

Porportion

The visual size and weight of a each graphic element on the page.

Compression

There are two types of image file compression algorithms: lossless and lossy. Lossless compression algorithms reduce file size while preserving a perfect copy of the original uncompressed image. Lossy compression algorithms on the other hand allow for variable compression that trades image quality for file size.

Vector Graphics

They are made of lines and curves defined by mathematical objects called vectors.

GIF

This file types images display up to 256 colors. 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.

Em Dash

Used for grammatical or narrative pauses.

Asymmetrical Grid

Used for page layout that is the same on both the recto and verso pages.

En Dash

Used for the passage of time or to connect numbers, it is half of an Em Dash.

Shift Key

Used to constrain (scale) an element or a layer in proportion.

Columns

Vertical blocks of text in which images and text flows from the bottom of one to the top of the next.

High Resolution

Very clear in appearance and has a relatively large file size.

Bleed

When an image or printed color extends beyond the trimmed edge of a page. Ensuring that the print extends to the edges of the paper. The paper is usually trimmed to the desired size after printing. This is so that we can cut into the art so no white edge will be left on the page after trimming

Asymmetrical Balance

When the left and right sides of the design are unequal. It is created with a mismatched number of different elements.

Canvas

Working area in Adobe Photoshop, which can be extended or reduced to fit more image content into the document.

Blend Mode

determine how the pixels in a layer blend with pixels on underlying layers. Most commonly used modes are Normal, Multiply, Screen and Overlay.

Grayscale

images that contain black, white and 254 shades of gray.

Feather

is a technique used to smooth or blur the edges of a feature.

Contiguous

is a term used in Adobe Photoshop for a couple of tools (like the Magic Wand). It means neighbouring, adjacent or connected. If this option is checked then the Magic Wand will only sample from neighbouring areas with similar colours and will stop at the edges. When turned off the selection can spread freely.

Margins

the white area above, below, left & right of the live area. Art can continue outside the live area into them, but this should never be a crucial part of the page as it comes close to the trim line & could be cut off.