Graphic Design Assessment Study Guide

PMS (Pantone Matching System)

Can be used to accurately match colors for anything from fabrics and paints to t-shirts and printed materials. Can be applied in RGB, CMYK, or HEX however the results in converting to CMYK will result in some color vibrance loss.

Lossless Compression

Loses nothing in compression because pixels are not reinterpreted by the application generating the file type. Produces no artifact. Basically rewrites the data of the original file in a more efficient way. Takes up large amounts of disk space.

White

Purity, Sterility, Simplicity, Innocence.

Adobe Photoshop (PSD)

Raster Based. Best for photo manipulation. Pixelation can occur when resizing images. Can repair old photos, correct pictures, remove red-eye, scanning images and combining images.

Four Color Printing

Refers to the CMYK printing process. Printings will only be printed using Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black ink colors. It is the most common printing process and is best for large batches of printing like 500 cards or 1000 brochures. *In some processes it is possible to add a 6 or 8 color print. It is more expensive but offers a wider range of colors*

Rhythm

Repetition of an element in a piece

French Folds

Sheets of paper are folded in half so they are double thickness. the two folds are at right angles to each other and bound on the edge

CYMK (Cyan,Yellow, Magenta, Black)

Used for printed materials. It is a Subtractive Color Process meaning it starts with white and the more colors that are mixed make it darker until it is black. EX. Brochures, Business Cards, Posters, etc.

ENVELOPE MAILER

promotional material enclosed in an envelope; an example of direct mail.

PERIODICAL

publication that appears on a regular basis throughout the year, such as newspapers and magazines

ADVERTISE

to make something publicly known or to describe something in order to sell it

SAN SERIF

The word "sans" means "without" so sans serif typefaces are those without serifs on the ends of the strokes. San serif typeface is typically used more for large print and titles. Because of the lower resolution, san serif typeface is often a better choice for web design because serifs do not look as good, However, with the advent of 4K resolution this has become less of a concern.

Triadic

Three colors evenly spaced on the color wheel. One color dominates, the second supports, and the third accents.

Shade

A color with BLACK added.

Tone

A color with GREY added.

Tint

A color with WHITE added.

Storyboard

A document comprised of a sequence of thumbnails that tells a narrative; ex: comic strip, movie

Line

In drawing, a line is the stroke of the pen or pencil but in graphic design, it's any two connected points.

Assets

"catch all' term referring to all materials needed to successfully complete a design project

WIDOWS & ORPHANS

(No. Not ladies who's husbands have passed away nor parent-less children.) They are poor, lonely words at the beginning or end of a paragraph left dangling at the top or bottom of a column and separated from the rest of the paragraph

Leading

(pronounced "ledding") refers to the space between lines of type in a body of text. It plays a major role in providing readability. The word 'leading' originates from the strips of lead hand-typesetters used to use to space out lines of text evenly.

Brightness

0% brightness, the color is black. 100% brightness, results in a bright color.

WIDOW

A paragraph-ending line that falls at the beginning of the following page or column, thus separated from the rest of the text. (They have a past but no future.)

ORPHAN

A paragraph-opening line that appears by itself at the bottom of a page or column, thus separated from the rest of the text.

Dot Gain

A printed dot that becomes larger than intended due to spreading, causing a darkening of screened images, mid-tones and textures; is dependent on paper stock

SERIF

A small decorative line added as embellishment to the basic form of a character. Serif typefaces have historically been credited with increasing both the readability and reading speed of long passages of text because they help the eye travel across a line, especially if lines are long or have relatively open word spacing (as with some justified type).

Rhetoric

A style of arguing or persuading; a way of engaging a targeted audience

Typeface & Font

A typeface comprises a family of fonts (font family) such as Garamond Regular, Garamond Italic, Garamond Bold, etc. A font is a specific weight or style within a typeface , such as Garamond Italic.

Brainstorming

A visual aid to thinking laterally and exploring a problem, usually by stating the problem in the center of the page and radiating outward spokes for components of the problem

Symbolism

A way of representing an object or word through an image, sound, or another word; ex: a crossed knife and fork on a road sign means a cafe is ahead

Metaphor

A word or image that sets up an association; ex: "A piece of cake" meaning something is very easy.

Tertiary Colors

Achieved by mixing a primary and secondary color together.

Case Binding

Also called edition binding, this method results in what is commonly called a hardcover book. It is the most expensive option yet also the most durable. Stacked signatures are gathered and sewn together for strength. This book block is trimmed on three sides and then glued into a spine, front cover, and back cover (a single unit) made of binders board covered with paper or cloth. The first and last sheets (end-sheets) are then pasted to the board.

Abstraction

An aesthetic concept describing something that is drawn from the real, but has been "distilled" to it most bare minimum form, color, tone and often removed from its original context.

Genre

An artistic type or style; an area of expertise

Color

An element of art that is derived from reflected light

Shape

An element of art that is two-dimensional, flat, or limited to height and width.

Saturation

Color Intensity. The more saturated the color, the brighter it appears. The more DESATURATED the color, the more pale it appears.

Primary Colors (Red, Yellow, Blue)

Colors that Cannot be made by mixing other colors together.

Analogous

Colors that are adjacent to one another on the color wheel.

Complementary

Colors that are opposites on the color wheel.

Secondary Colors (Orange, Green, Purple)

Colors that can be made by mixing other colors together.

Orange

Creativity, Imagination, Warmth, Optimism.

DECORATIVE

Easy to identify because the thought of reading an entire document in that font makes you want to technicolor yawn, you can pretty well figure its a decorative font. They are great for limited use items depending on the font but you want to use them sparingly, not liberally.

Secondary Research

Gathering material that already exists, such as design work, color samples, written texts, newspaper / magazine articles, archival images.

Primary Research

Gathering material that does not preexist, such as photographing, drawing, making prototypes, conducting interviews

Vector Graphics

Graphics based on a mathematical equation. Scale able without losing resolution or quality. EX. AI, INDD, EPS, PDF, SVG.

Registration Marks

Hairline marks at the corners of a printed page to help ensure color plates are aligned properly and to designate what will be cropped off in finishing

Green

Health, Energy, Money, Recycling.

SCRIPT

Includes all typefaces that appear to have been hand lettered calligraphy pen or brush. Some connect, some do not, some look hand-printed, some look very fancy.

Color Theory

It explains how humans see color. Organized into 3 groups; Primary, Secondary, and Tertiary.

Perfect Binding

Method similar to paperback binding where loose sheets are encased in a heavier paper cover, then glued to the book spine. (edges are trimmed to be flush with one another)

Saddle Stitching

Method where sheets of paper are folded in the center, stitched together along the fold then glued into the cover spine

Tracking

Not to be confused with kerning, tracking is the adjustment of space for groups of letters and entire blocks of text. Tracking affects every character in the selected text and is used to change its overall appearance.

Gate Fold

Outer quarters of the page are folded to meet in the center resulting in a fold that opens like a set of symmetrical doors

Hue

PURE COLOR.

Red

Passion, Anger, Danger, Appetite.

Raster Graphics

Pixel-based graphics, based on the number of pixels that occupy a 1-inch x 1-inch space. EX. PSD, PNG, JPG, GIF, BMP.

Gang-Run Printing (Ganging)

Printing several different jobs that will all get the same finishing, together on a gigantic sheet of paper

Lossy Compression

Results in lost data and quality from the original image. Typically associated with image files such as JPGs. Takes up less disk space.

Purple

Royalty, Luxury, Imagination, Playfulness.

Representation

Something that looks like, resembles or stands for something else.

Blue

Stability, Trustworthiness, Peace, Serenity.

Kerning

The adjustment of space between pairs of letters in the same word. Certain pairs of letters create awkward spaces, and kerning adds or subtracts space between them to create more visually appealing and readable text.

RGB (red, green, blue)

The color profile used for digital screens and devices. Mixes red, green, and blue light to make the lights on the screen. It is an Additive Color Process which means it starts with black and the more colors that are added make it brighter until it is white. EX. Websites, Mobile Apps, Videos, etc.

Hyphenation

The point at which a word is broken at the end of a line of continuous text and a hyphen is inserted

Consumer Profiling

The process of creating parameters or a set of information that defines the desires, trends, or interests of a demographic so that designs can be pitch or marketed to them

Contextualization

The process of placing something within the interrelated systems of meaning that make up the world

Juxtaposition

The process of putting two or more unrelated or opposite elements or objects together to create different effects.

Documentation

The recording of written, visual, or aural (audio) form of what is of interest

Brand Identity

The visual image the public has of a product or company.

Spot Color Printing

Typically used for jobs which require no full color imagery, such as for business cards and other stationary, or in monotone literature such as black and white newspaper print. Involved the process where specialized ink is created to make a perfect match that corresponds to your desired color, such as Pantone swatch. Colors are layered on-top of each other.

InDesign (INDD)

Vector Based. Best for larger projects like books, ePubs, larger menus, catalogs, and anything where photos, illustration and text are used.

Adobe Illustrator (AI)

Vector Based. Type, Logos, and Illustration. Regardless of sizing increase or decrease, pixelation never occurs. Illustrator is best for projects involving brochures, cards, labels, signs, menus, and anything that uses type to be read and easily understood.

Yellow

Warmth, Energy, Happiness, Appetite.

Black

Wealth, Luxury, Power, Sophistication.

ADVERTISING AGENCY

a company devoted to creating advertising for others.

Harmony/Unity

a composition in which a sense of wholeness results from the successful combination of all of the elements.

NEWSLETTER

a publication that contains information about a certain area or topic of interest to a specific community or group of people.

Style Guide

a set of rules created by designers to help preserve consistent and organized layouts

ADVERTISING JINGLE

a short, memorable song about a business or product.

SELF MAILER

a single sheet folded, sealed and mailed without an envelope; an example of direct mail.

DIRECT MAIL

also called junk mail or ad mail; advertising sent via the postal service directly to individuals.

SPACE ADS

also called print ads; advertising pages or portions of pages in periodicals

AD CAMPAIGN

coordinated series of advertisements built around a particular concept and design solution.

Exhibit Design

describes a range of designs from signage to booth design for exhibitions and conventions as well environmental design (billboards) with the purpose of creating awareness for the advertiser

DIMENSIONAL MAILER

direct mail advertising materials that are not simply flat.

DIGITAL BILLBOARD

electronic public display that changes every few seconds; shared by multiple advertisers

Typography

element of art focused on the style, arrangement, and appearance of text

Concertina Fold

folds in alternate directions

Imbue

inspire or permeate with a feeling or quality

Art Direction

management of the creative and production process for a given project, including instructing a photographer or illustrator on the content and composition of an image

BILLBOARD

outdoor advertising structure usually placed along roads or highways, built to convey messages to passing pedestrians or motorists

Movement

perception of movement in a piece

Balance

symmetry and asymmetry in the element of art

FPO (For Position Only)

text or photo to indicate where actual items will go when obtained; allows designer and client to see the layout before its completion

Target Market

the audience to whom a design is intended to appeal

Texture

the element of art that refers to how things feel, or look as if they might feel if touched

Space

the element of art that refers to the emptiness or area between, around, above, below, or within objects

Emphasis

the element of emphasis has more to do with an object, color or style dominating another for a heightened sense of contrast.

Scale

the scale and size of your objects in the element of art