Subject Terminology

 

Key words & Definitions: 

Designers have a vocabulary all their own. If you’re getting design work done, knowing the right terminology will help you communicate with one another and get the results you envision. (We promise it’s a whole lot easier than high school French.)
Take a look at these design terms. Study them. Commit them to memory. Eh… That’s too much work. Just bookmark this page and use it as your design word cheat sheet. Here are the most important descriptive design words you should know:

Composition and layout

Composition is the arrangement of design elements that form a whole image. A successful composition attracts the viewer and guides their eye across the design. In visual art, you might hear this referred to as “form.” In graphic design, it’s often called layout. Composition is made up of a number of different visual design elements, including balance, proximity, alignment, repetition, contrast and white space.

Balance

This isn’t your ability to walk a straight line after three beers. In design, balance involves the placement of elements on the page so that the text and graphic elements are evenly distributed. There are three ways to achieve balance: symmetrically, asymmetrically and radially.

Symmetrical 

Symmetry is achieved when all design elements are equal on both sides of a central line

Asymmetrical

When graphics and text are not equal on both sides of a central line, a design is said to be asymmetrical. In the example above, there is still balance, but there are graphics on one side and text on the other

The rule of thirds

The rule of thirds is a technique that designers use to determine focal point. Using a grid of three rows and columns, focal points are indicated where the lines converge. Designers use this as a guide to determine where to place important elements in their design.

Hierarchy

In design, hierarchy is the organization of elements by level of importance. Newspapers, magazine spreads and movie posters are good examples of the use of design hierarchy. Headlines (also called display type) are usually placed at the top, while subheads and body copy fall underneath.

Scale

Scale is the size of an object in relation to another object (not that thing in your bathroom that you curse at each morning). Scale can be used to create interest and grab a viewer’s attention.

Font style:

Most fonts fall into one of four different font types.

Serif

Serifs are the small lines and hooks at the end of the strokes in some letters.

Sans-Serif

Sans means “without.” A sans serif font has no serifs.

Script

Script typefaces use a flowing, cursive stroke.

Slab Serif

Slab serif is distinguished by thick, block-like serifs.

Point Size

Point size is the size of text. There are approximately 72 (72.272) points in one inch.

Font Weight

Font weight specifies the boldness of a font.

Italics

When characters slope to the right, they’re in italics, a visual technique used to draw attention to specific words or sentences within a paragraph.

Colour Theory

The study of how colour make people feel and their effects on a design is known as colour theory. colour theory is used to explore the best types of colours to work in different design instances—for example, choosing a pastel scheme for a website that needs to feel soft, or picking red and yellow for a magazine ad that needs to evoke energy.

Hue, Tint and Shade

Hue is pure colour. Tint is a hue with white added. Tone is a hue with grey added. Shade is a hue with black added.

Saturation

Saturation is defined by the intensity of colour

Palette

A palette is the range of colour used in a design. These are colour that work well together and are often aesthetically pleasing. Designers will defines a palette for a project to create consistency and evoke a specific feeling.

Warm and Cool

Warm colour can be found on one half of the colour wheel (reds, oranges, yellows and pinks). Cool colour occupy the other half (blues, greens and purples).

Monochromatic

A monochromatic colour palette uses one single colour.

Greyscale

A monochromatic colour palette based on grey is called grayscale.

Analogous

Colour that are adjacent to one another on the colour wheel (i.e. red violet, red and red orange) are analogous.

Complementary

Complementary colours are opposites on the colour wheel. This relationship will produce visual tension and “shock.”

Triadic

Triadic colours are three colours evenly spaced on the colours wheel. One colours dominates, the second supports, and the third accents.

Gradient

Gradient is a gradual change from one colour to another. (For example, blue transitioning gradually to green).

Opacity

Opacity is synonymous with non-transparency. The more transparent an image, the lower its opacity.

Information taken from: 99designs