To study efficiently you should check off all the definitions you already know
and concentrate on the ones you do not have memorized.
Commercial Artist
Work which involves creating images or objects for commercial purposes; rather
than for fine art ones. The client decides what is wanted, not you.
Thumbnail
A thumbnail sketch is a vital preparatory step in drawing;
think of it as a mental warm up. A rough, hand drawn sketch of a design idea.
There is little in the design, just enough to give a general idea.Words
usually are not included.
Rough Draft
Based on chosen thumbnails; the words are written, images drawn to proportion,
and spacing of the layout is much more accurate.
Mock-up
A full size, experimental layout for study and evaluation.
Comprehensive Drawing
Made from the rough draft that is chosen as the best. If color will be used in
the design, it is added at this point. The entire design is spaced exactly as
the end product will be, including all words. Most comprehensives are done on
the computer.
Mechanical
Similar to comprehensives - the mechanicals are the final copy. They are also
know as “camera-ready art”. All work has been proof and all changes have been
made on the mechanicals. They will be sent to the printer and are used for
reproductions of the work.
Copy
The text elements (words) used in producing printed products.
Recto:
In book or pamphlet design, the odd-numbered, right-hand pages.
Verso:
The even-numbered, left-hand pages.
Mugshot:
A head and shoulders photograph of a person.
Italic:
A cursive typeface based on a stylized form of calligraphic handwriting, such
typefaces often slant slightly to the right.
Widow:
A single word or two left at the end of a paragraph, or a part of a sentence
ending a paragraph, which loops over to the next page and stands alone. Also,
the last sentence of a paragraph, which contains only one or two short words.
Pork Chop:
A small headshot of a person, usually half a column wide.
Commplementary Colors
Any two colors that lie directly opposite each other on the color wheel.
Pica
A pica is the fundamental unit of measurement used in graphics. There are
approximately six picas to an inch.
Set-Up
Can be several different things depending what is used to reproduce the
mechanicals. (Filling the page). Example: If designing a business card you can
fit 12 on a page (12 up in printer lingo).
Illustrate
To create designs and pictures for books, magazines, or other print or
electronic media to make clear or explain the test or show what happens in a
story.
Typography
The design, arrangement, style, and appearance of type matter constitutes
typography. The building block of any design.
Point
The standard unit of measuring type, 1/72 an inch. There are 12 points in a pica.
Balance
A principle of design, it refers to the way the elements of art are arranged
to create a feeling of stability in a work; a pleasing or harmonious
arrangement; a proportion of parts or areas in a design/composition.
Rhythm
A visual tempo or beat. The principle of design that refers to a regular
repetition of elements of art to produce the look and feel of movement.
Components which invite the eye to jump rapidly or glide smoothly from one
item to the next.
Contrast
A visual principle in which differences in light, values, texture, color etc..
create the illusion of depth within a two- or three-dimensional composition.
Keyline
This is an image placer in a layout that represents where an image is to go.
The keyline is often a square or rectangle with an X through it.
Character
Any printable symbol, including letters of the alphabet, numbers, punctuation
and special symbols.
Margin
The unprinted space on either side of a block of text. Usually refers to the
space between text and the edge of the page, as opposed to space between columns.
Manuscript
The original material from which type will be set. May be handwritten,
typewritten, emailed or on a disk.
Paste-up
Manual or electronic placement of text, illustration and artwork on a piece of
art board or by a computerized layout program.
Bullet
A round, solid ornament resembling a large period ( • ) usually used to draw
attention to listed items.
Ampersand
The symbol ( & ) meaning and. Originally a ligature for et (the Latin word for
and), expressed as et per se, which gradually evolved to its present form.
Body Text
The main section of a book, brochure, article, or other text manual.
Cap
A contraction of capital, meaning an upper case character.
Cap Height
The height of a point size from base line to the top of the upper case letter.
Descenders
The portion of a character that extends below the base line of the character.
Dingbat
Typefaces that consist of symbol characters such as Pi characters.
Reverse:
White on a color background.
Display Type
Type faces used for headlines and other attention getting elements, as
distinguished from body type. Display type starts at 14pt upwards.
Drop Cap
A single capital letter, larger than the standard text size, set into a block
of text, with one or more lines intended to accommodate the capital.
Ellipsis
A punctuation character consisting of three dots, or periods in a row;
indicates that a word or phrase has been omitted.
Folio
A common term for the page numbers of a printed publication.
Image Area
The area of a page inside the margins in which you put the text and graphics.
Headline
The short lines of emphasized text that introduces detailed information in the
body text that follows.
Gutter
The height of a point size from base line to the top of the upper case letter.
Leading
Pronounced ledding, the distance of the base line of a line of type from the
base line of the line below it, measured in points.
Grayscale
This is a color mode where there are no colors in use. Just black and white
and various shades in between.
Gradient
This is a gradual transition of two or more colors.
Running Head and Foot
A headline or chapter titles or other identifying caption at the top of a
page. Generally running heads and feet appear on a series of pages and may
included folios.
Bleed
Method used in print to have ink printed right up to the edge of a page. The
way this is done is by having the document printed on a larger page. The
printer prints ¼ inch beyond the document size.
Cropping
This involves removing the outside edges of a photo to remove excessive or
irrelevant background content of a photo.
Alignment
The positioning of text within the page margins. Alignment can be flush left,
flush right, justified, or centered.
Background
Portion of an image that is behind the principal object being illustrated or
photographed.
Column
One of the sections of text or other matter, such as display ads, that
comprise a vertically divided page. It is measured horizontally and is usually
justified.
Drop Shadow
A shadow of an image appearing behind the image, produced in such a manner
that it is subordinate to the image. Commonly used in logotypes and display
advertising.
Deadline
Final time set for the completion of a task of ANY KIND.
DPI
Dots per inch. This specifies the resolution of an output device, like a
printer or printing press.
Duotone
This is a technique which mixes two colors (Duo = two) which can provide
richer toned images than a monotone graphic. It gives the impression of more
than two colors.
Export
The process of saving a graphic file to a format that can be opened in another
program.
Hue
Another term for color.
Coated Paper
Paper with a mineral substrate applied to it for a smoother, stronger surface.
Debossing
The reverse of embossing, so that the image is sunk into the substrate, rather
than being raised.
Uncoated Paper
Paper that does not have a mineral layer applied over the surface, so it has a
slightly textured feel.
Work-&-Turn
A printing method in which one plate surface is used for printing both sides
of a sheet without changing the gripper edge.
Varnish
A clear protective coating applied to a printed sheet.
Gives it a glossy like shine.
Scoring
Creasing paper mechanically so it will fold more easily.
Motif
The appearance of the overall image in a design; there are three general kinds
of overall images -- non-objective, abstract, and realistic.
CPL
Characters per line
Advertising Campaign
The use of a comprehensive theme to promote and advertise a particular product
or service through brochures, posters, mass mailing, buttons, stickers, etc...
Demographics
The social and economic characteristics of a selected group of people,
including age, sex, education, and income.
Grain: The direction that fibers lie in a sheet of paper.
Long Grain: paper whose fibers run parallel to the long dimension of the
sheet. Also called narrow web paper.
Short Grain: Paper whose fibers run parallel to the short dimension of the
sheet. Also called wide web paper.
Mock-up
A full size, experimental layout for study and evaluation.
Style Guide
A guide used to maintain design continuity and consistency in a publication,
web site, advertising, or other extended message; stylebooks typically speak
to typography, photo style, page structure, logos, and design.
Voice
The tone, attitude, grammar, and visual cues mated to a specific target audience.
Tag Line
A line of copy that is normally placed beneath or near the logo type in an ad;
a creative phrase or word that sums up a product or service’s brand or image.
Accordian Fold
Two or more parallel folds with adjacent folds in opposite directions; a
format that opens much like an accordion, usually a brochure.
Double Truck
A single advertisement that straddles or crosses two facing pages or newspaper
layout.
Sawtoothing
A distortion in a design contours that causes a notched effect.
Framing
Enclosing an element within a frame to set it off from its background or the
rest of the composition.
Montage
A composite picture, usually made of two or more combined photographs.
Registration Mark (the symbol ®)
The federal registration symbol “®” used only on or in connection with the
goods and/or services listed in the federal trademark registration.
Mortise:
An area cut out of a piece of art for the insertion of type or other art.
Flag:
Synonymous with a name plate; the name of the publication in a distinctive design.
Vignette:
An illustration in which the margins appear to fade into the background or an
oddly cropped photo as in the case of a circular or round crop.
Format:
The basic size and shape of a magazine or other medium, along with its
typographic constants and physical features that basically remain the same
from issue to issue.
Stet:
A term meaning “do not change”, used in proofreading
Surprinting
Running type atop of artwork
Master Page
A page composition program feature that can be set up to include the page
geometry, typography, and other elements of a page that will recur in a
documnet. Several different master pages may be used within a single document.
InDesign is a program that you will set up master pages for this class.
Off Color
When the color of the printed job does not match the intended color.
Foil Stamping
The process of transferring a thin layer of metallic tone or color to a
substrate, using heat and presssure.
Demographics
The social and economic characteristics of a selected group of people,
including age, sex, education, and income.
Relief Printing
The process of printing from a raised surface. Ink is applied to the raised
image, then transferred to the paper or other substrate. Letterpress and
flexography are both relief printing processes.
Work-&-Tumble
A printing method in which one flat is prepared, but the sheet is tumbled
(or flooped) so the gripper edge changes when the second side is printed. Only
one plate and press makeready are needed.
WYSIWYG
What You See Is What You Get - This is a common mark up on print samples so
you understand that this is exactly how something will be printed so if the
picture is pixilated, type is blurred, or any other issue it will also be on
the final piece.
Creep
A pushing out or extension of pages on the outer edge of a saddle-stitched
book, causes by the greater thickness at the spine. An allowance for creeep
must be made in the prepress phase. Also called shingling.
Hickey
A small void or “blip” in the printed image caused by contaminated ink
or a defect in the paper’s surface.
Storyboard
A series of panels illustrating key scenes or camera shots within a script for
a film, animation, TV spot, or other medium for moving imagery.
Psychographics
A set of qualitative research used to measure the lifestyle, values,
habits, attitudes, and like of a given audience.
