If you are new to working with a studio or designer, you may not be familiar with some of the terms they use. Since every profession has vocabulary specific to their industry, it can help you communicate better to learn a few words from their “language”.
We have put together 10 words and definitions you should know to make working with your designer a lot easier.
1. Swipe File:
A file of ideas and inspiration to refer to when starting a new project. A designer swipe file may contain logo designs, interesting layouts, website navigation, typefaces, or stock photos.
2. Comprehensive,”Comp” (print) or Wireframe (web):
an outline sketch or rough layout of a proposed design to show where text, images, and other design elements will be placed. Designers show comps to clients so they can see various design ideas and a rough idea of how the layouts will look when finished.
3. Mockup:
A full-size version of a design, with all the type and images in place. Usually designers will show comps or wireframes before doing a mockup. We only show mockups as these are the best representation of the final version.
4. Greeking:
nonsense or dummy text, often set in greek or latin. Greeking is used when a layout is in development and actual text is unavailable. This allows the designer to show how the text will eventually appear in placement, typeface, size, style, color, etc.
5. Negative space or white space:
The empty space in a design or layout that acts as a quiet space that keeps the layout from becoming cluttered. The more white space in a design, the easier it is for the viewer to focus on what is most important.
6. Resolution or “Res”:
The quality of an image and how well it reproduces. In printing, it refers to the number of Dots Per Inch (DPI) printed on a page. Generally, the more dots per inch, the better quality the image. In websites, it refers to Pixels Per Inch (PPI) on the screen.
7. Raster vs Vector:
A raster image is a way to represent photos or illustrations as digital images. If a raster image is enlarged too much, it will appear to be jagged, fuzzy or low quality. Vectors use points, lines, curves, and shapes to represent images in computer graphics. Vector graphics can be enlarged without a loss in image quality.
8. CMYK vs RGB:
CMYK is a printing method in which a color image is reproduced using only four colors – Cyan (C), Magenta (M), Yellow (Y) and Black (K). RGB stands for “Red Green Blue” and refers to the three colors of light that mix together to form any color. TVs and computer monitors use RGB to create the images you see on the screen.
9. Knocked out or reversed out:
White type on black is “reversed” type in which the background prints and the text is “knocked out” so that it doesn’t print, letting the white background (or paper color) show through.
10. Above & below the fold:
This term is a carry-over from newspaper publishing. “Above the fold” refers to content on the upper half of the page (above the actual fold in the paper). In web design terms, “above the fold” refers to the content that is above the point first viewable to the website visitor in their browser (viewers would have to scroll down to see “below the fold” content).