Typography
This is the art of using typefaces to communicate. This skill encompasses both the typefaces and the negative space surrounding them.
Tag: Mixed Media
Common graphic design terms to know
Negative Space
The space surrounding the words and shapes in your design. Some designers choose to use the negative space to create an additional design, like the arrow found between the “E” and the “X” of the FedEx logo.
Common graphic design terms to know
Mock-Up
A realistic representation of how the design will look; a scale or full-size model of the design used to demonstrate, promote and validate the design. This can also be referred to as a “proof.”
Common graphic design terms to know
Orphan
Also known as a widow, this term refers to the words or short lines at the beginning or end of a paragraph. These words are isolated from the rest of the content, often causing an unwanted focal point.
Common graphic design terms to know
Style Guide
A set of design standards for a specific brand to ensure complete consistency in the style and formatting of design assets. This often includes guidelines for color schemes, typefaces and how logos are used and placed within an asset, among others.
Common graphic design terms to know
Tone
Tone is the lightness or darkness of a design element. Tone is crucial because it is responsible for creating the contrast between light and dark that will draw maximum attention in a design.
Common graphic design terms to know
Saturation
Refers to the intensity of color in an image. Increased saturation causes colors to appear purer while decreased saturation causes colors to appear more washed out.
Common graphic design terms to know
Tracking
Similar to, yet importantly different from kerning, tracking is adjusting the spacing throughout an entire word. Once kerning has been used to determine the right spacing between each letter, tracking can be used to change the spacing equally between every letter at once.
Common graphic design terms to know
Pixel
The smallest unit of a digital image or graphic that can be displayed and represented on a digital display device.
Common graphic design terms to know
JPEG
A JPEG is an example of a graphic image file type that contains bitmaps. It is created for compressing full-color or grey-scale digital images of real-world scenes. It was not designed for lettering or cartoons.