Illustrator
A resolution independent, vector graphics and illustration application used to create logos, icons, drawings, typography and complex illustrations for any medium.
Photoshop
Pixel-based, image editing and compositioning application which is the de facto industry standard in raster graphics editing.
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.
Characters
Individual letters, punctuation, numerals and other elements that are used when setting type. A symbol in writing.
Serif
The small finishing strokes or hairline strokes that project from the main stroke of a letter, e.g. Times New Roman.
Sans Serif
A Typeface without serifs, e.g. Modern.
Baseline
An imaginary line upon which characters seem to stand.
X-height
Height of lowercase letterform, minus the ascenders and desenders, e.g. "x".
Kerning
Adjusting the spacing between specific letters/characters.
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.
Repetition
Having elements repeat to create visual consistency. For example, the same font and point size for the body text throughout the page.
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.
Visual Hierarchy
A solution in which the viewer knows what to look at first, second, third etc.
Contrast
a mix of elements to stimulate attention. _____ in size or color, of different elements on a page to make it visually interesting.
White Space
The background area without text, images or graphics. Use of adequate _____ ______ in a layout ensures visual breathing space for the viewer. It can help define proximity and organize elements.
Unity
The elements in a design that look as though they belong together. It gives a sense of oneness with consistency and repetition.
Vector Graphics
They are made of lines and curves defined by mathematical objects called vectors.
Uppercase
Capital letters or caps of the alphabet. Abbreviated as Caps, UC or simply C.
Lowercase
Small letters of the alphabet, abbreviated as lc.
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.
Letter or Word Spacing
Refers to the space between letters and words respectively.
Selection Tool
V
Direct Selection Tool
A
Pen Tool
P
Rectangle Tool
M
Pencil Tool
N
Type Tool
T
Paintbrush Tool
B
Gradient Tool
G
Eyedropper Tool
I
Free Transform Tool
E
Hand Tool
H
Zoom Tool
Z
Asymmetrical Balance
When the left and right sides of the design are unequal. It is created with a mismatched number of different elements.
Shift Key
Used to constrain (scale) an element or a layer in proportion.
High Resolution
Very clear in appearance and has a relatively large file size.
Low Resolution
Blurry in appearance and has a relatively small file size.
Portable Document Format
Leading
Line spacing, which is calculated from base line to base line.
Tracking
Adjusting of the letter spacing throughout copy.
Graphic Design
Using text and images to artfully communicate a visual message to the end user.
Typography
The study and process of typefaces; how to select, size, arrange and use them in general.
Design
Communicating a clear message to the audience.
Bitmap
A pattern used in forming paint-type graphic images or type characters with a series of dots, with a certain number of dots per inch.
Body Type
The specific typeface that is used in the main text.
Bowl
The enclosed oval or round curve of letters like D, g, b and o.
Cap Height
The height of the uppercase letters within a font.
Dingbats
Once known as "printer's flowers,"these are the small decorative marks, bullets, or symbols that usually make up a specialty face.
Display Face
A larger and bolder version of a text face (14 points or more) which is used for headlines and sub-headlines.
Family
All the type sizes and styles of one typeface.
Font
The complete set of characters for one typeface at one particular type size, excluding attributes such as bold or italic.
Font Family
Group of typefaces with similar characteristics. For e.g. sans serif Arial, Arial Bold, Arial Bold Italic, Arial Italic.
Font, Type or Point Size
The size of type, measured in points between the bottom of the descender and the top of the ascender.
Font Style
Refers to the specific characteristics of the font, e.g. italic, bold, bold italic and roman.
Resolution
The number of dots in an image's screen display or printed output.
Terminals
Not serifs but ends of certain letter shapes such as the letters f, j, y, r and a.
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.
Typeface
A set of characters that share common characteristics such as stroke width and the presence or absence of serifs.
Weight
The measurement of a stroke's width.
CMYK
Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black, the four used in full-color process printing.
RGB
Red, Green and Blue the colors on computer monitors.
Focus
The center of interest or activity, the focal point.
JPEG
Joint Photographic Experts Group, a compression format used for images used on the Internet.
Layout
The arrangement of elements such as type and visuals on a page or screen.
Negative Space
The space between shapes and masses, used mostly in referring to fine art, sculpture or music.
Saturated
A color that contains little gray, an intense color. As saturation increases, the amount of gray decreases.
Branding
The process by which an identity is given a visual expression.
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
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.
Brightness
The __________ (light/dark) of an image, the intensity of a light source or color luminance.
Canvas
Working area in Adobe Photoshop, which can be extended or reduced to fit more image content into the document.
Composition
In the visual arts - in particular painting, graphic design, photography and sculpture - ___________ 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.
Crop
One basic way to modify images is to crop them — remove some part of the image. _______ changes the appearance of images in order to better fit the layout, make a statement, or improve the overall appearance of the design.
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.
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 ______ 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.
GIF
___ images display up to 256 colors. ___ 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
Allows the user to fill an object/ image with a smooth transition of colors.
Grayscale
_________ images contains black, white and 254 shades of gray.
Grid
An underlying structure of columns, rows, margins, and lines, that dictate the way information is organized on a page.
Guide
______ help you position images or elements precisely. Guides appear as non-printing lines that float over the image. You can move and remove guides. You can also lock them so that you don't move them by accident.
Halftone
Any image--such as a photograph--that exists as a series of small dots of varying size and color density, which serve to simulate the appearance of continuous gradations of tone. __________ are necessary in the reproduction of photographic images; most printing presses cannot print continuous tones, so photographic images must first be converted to a series of dots in order to be effectively printed.
Hierarchy
A good design contains elements that lead the reader through each element in order of its significance. The type and images should be expressed starting from most important to the least.
HSB
Hue, Saturation and Brightness is a color model used to describe colors with three values.
Hue
The primary value of a color and how the color red, green, blue, purple, etc. is perceived through the eye.
Layers
______ are like sheets of stacked acetate. You can see through transparent areas of a ______ to the ______ below. You move a ______ to position the content on the _____, like sliding a sheet of acetate in a stack. You can also change the opacity of a _____ to make content partially transparent. They allow the user to assemble, organize and re-edit their artwork with ease.
Line
The visual path that enables the eye to move within the design.
Lorem Ipsum
Used as placeholder text because it approximates a typical distribution of characters in English.
Opacity
A layer's overall _______ determines to what degree it obscures or reveals the layer beneath it. A layer with 1% _______ appears nearly transparent, whereas one with 100% _______ appears completely opaque.
PNG
Portable Network Graphics format. ___ (usually pronounced "ping"), is used for lossless compression. The ___ format displays images without jagged edges while keeping file sizes relatively small, making them popular on the web. ___ files are however generally larger than GIF files. ___ supports transparency.
PPI
Pixels Per Inch. A measurement of the resolution of a scanned image.
Proportion
__________ refers to the relative size and scale of the various elements in a design. The issue is the relationship between objects, or parts, of a whole.
PSD
Photoshop document, the default file extension of the proprietary file format of Photoshop.
Rasterize
______isation (or ______ization) is the task of taking an image described in a vector graphics format (shapes) and converting it into a _______ image (pixels or dots).
Rhythm
______ in design is also called repetition. ______ allows your designs to develop an internal consistency that makes it easier for your customers to understand. Once the brain recognizes the pattern in the ______ it can relax and understand the whole design.
Thumbnail
A small drawing on paper (usually part of a group) used to explore multiple ideas quickly. _________ sketches are similar to doodles, but may include as much detail as a small sketch.
Rulers
______ help you position images or elements precisely. When visible, ______ appear along the top and left side of the active window. Markers in the _____ display the pointer's position when you move it.
Saturation
__________ is the overall intensity of the color, any color that appears dull is referred to as de_______ed.
Selection
_________ refers to an area of an image that is ______ed so it can be edited while the rest of the image is protected.