Graphic Design Vocabulary: 242 Key English Terms

The art and skill of choosing and arranging letters so that text is easy to read and looks right: the choice of typefaces, sizes, spacing and line length.

A particular design of letters, numbers and symbols that share the same style, such as Helvetica, Garamond or Futura, usually available in several weights and styles.

One specific style and weight of a typeface, such as Arial Bold, usually stored as a file you install on your computer. In everyday speech it often means the typeface itself.

Adjusting the space between two particular letters so that the gaps look even, for example pulling the A and V closer together in the word ‘AVENUE’.

The vertical distance between lines of text, measured from one baseline to the next. The name comes from strips of lead that printers once placed between lines of metal type.

A small line or foot at the end of the strokes of a letter, as in Times or Garamond. A typeface with these details is also called a serif.

Describes letters without serifs, the small feet at the ends of strokes, as in Helvetica, Arial or Futura. Such typefaces often look clean and modern.

The overall spacing between letters across a whole word, line or paragraph, adjusted evenly to make text look looser or tighter.

How thick or thin the strokes of a font are, from thin and light through regular and medium to bold and black.

The main line of large text at the top of an advert, article, poster or web page, written and designed to catch attention first.

The main, longer text of a design, such as paragraphs in a brochure or article, as opposed to headlines, captions and other short text.

A group of related fonts that share the same design but differ in weight, width or style, for example Roboto Light, Roboto Regular, Roboto Bold and Roboto Italic.

The height of the lowercase letters in a typeface, such as x, measured from the baseline and not counting the parts that go above or below, like in ‘h’ or ‘p’.

The invisible line on which most letters sit. Letters like ‘g’ and ‘p’ go below it, and leading is measured from one baseline to the next.

How easily individual letters and words can be recognised, which depends on the typeface design, size, contrast and viewing conditions.

A very short last line of a paragraph left alone, especially at the top of a new column or page, which looks untidy and breaks the reading flow.

The distance from the baseline to the top of flat capital letters.

An enclosed or partly enclosed space inside a letterform.

A single glyph that combines two or more letters.

Numerals with varying heights and positions, including forms extending below the baseline.

Numerals that share a common baseline and approximately uniform height.

Numerals whose glyphs occupy equal horizontal widths.

Numerals whose widths vary according to their individual shapes.

A type design adapted for a particular range of reading sizes.

A font that provides a range of designs along one or more variation axes.

Instructions or adjustments that help glyphs render clearly on a pixel grid.

A cutaway in a letterform that allows room for ink spreading at tight joins.

The space between a glyph's visible outline and its advance-width boundary.

A typeface style with thick, block-like serifs.

A family of type styles with dense, angular forms derived from historical manuscript lettering.

An extended decorative stroke on a letterform.

A hidden break opportunity that displays a hyphen only when the word breaks there.

A space that prevents a line break between the items it separates.

Placing punctuation partly outside the text edge to make that edge look even.

Apparent channels of white space running through successive lines of text.

An enlarged opening letter extending down beside several lines of a paragraph.

A particular visual form used to represent a character or character combination.

A presentation showing a typeface's forms, features and behaviour in use.

A long punctuation dash, conventionally associated with the width of an em.

A punctuation dash shorter than an em dash, often used in ranges.

A typographic space with a nominal width equal to the current type size.

A typographic length unit equal to twelve points.

Embedding only the glyphs needed from a font rather than the entire font.

A glyph variant selected according to surrounding characters.

A selectable group of alternate glyphs provided by a font.

A smaller character positioned above the usual text baseline.

A smaller character positioned below the usual text baseline.

Describing type in which every character occupies the same horizontal advance width.

Describing a slanted type style whose letterforms may be specially designed rather than mechanically tilted.

Describing a slanted type style that broadly retains the forms of its upright counterpart.

Cyan, magenta, yellow and key (black): the four ink colours used in most colour printing. Mixing them in small dots creates the full range of printed colours.

Red, green and blue: the three colours of light that screens mix to show every colour. It is the colour mode for websites, apps, social media and video.

The limited set of colours chosen for a project or brand, usually with main colours, supporting colours and neutrals, so that all designs look consistent.

A six-character code starting with #, such as #E63946, that defines an exact screen colour using hexadecimal numbers for its red, green and blue values.

The basic colour family of a colour, such as red, blue or green, without considering how light, dark or strong it is.

How strong or pure a colour is. High saturation gives bright, intense colours; low saturation makes colours look softer, greyer or more muted.

Two colours that sit opposite each other on the colour wheel, such as blue and orange or red and green. Side by side they create strong contrast and energy.

A circle that shows colours in order around it, such as red, orange, yellow, green, blue and violet, used to explain how colours relate and to build colour schemes.

A lighter version of a colour made by adding white, or in print by using a percentage of the ink, for example a 20% tint of the brand blue.

A smooth change from one colour to another, or from a colour to transparent, across a shape or background.

A specially mixed ink printed as a single solid colour instead of being built from CMYK dots, used for exact brand colours, metallics and neons. Pantone is the best-known system.

A small data set attached to a file or device that describes how its colours should be shown or printed, helping colours stay consistent between screens, software and presses.

A strategy used in colour conversion to handle differences between reproduction gamuts.

A colour-conversion adjustment that maps source and destination black levels.

A colour match between samples that can fail when viewing conditions change.

A change in perceived colour or lightness caused by surrounding colours.

A numerical measure of colour difference calculated with a specified formula.

A colour representation using lightness and two opponent-colour coordinates, commonly referring to CIELAB.

The visual system's adjustment to the colour of the illumination.

The way text, images and other elements are arranged on a page, screen or poster, including their size, position and the space between them.

A hidden structure of columns, rows and margins that designers use to place elements consistently, so that pages in a book, website or campaign feel organised and related.

The empty space between the content and the edges of a page or screen. It frames the content and keeps important text away from where the paper is cut or bound.

A ready-made file with a fixed layout, styles and placeholders that people reuse to create new designs quickly and consistently, such as a presentation or social media template.

The space between two columns of a grid, or the inner margin of a book or magazine where the pages meet at the binding.

The overall arrangement of shapes, images, text and space in a design or picture, and how they work together to lead the eye and create a feeling.

Two pages that face each other when a book, magazine or brochure is open, designed and viewed together as one wide layout.

A composition guideline that divides an image or layout into a three-by-three grid and places important elements on the lines or where they cross, rather than in the centre.

A heading followed by its paragraph text on the same line.

The flow of text around an image, shape or other page object.

Text that remains in a story but cannot fit into its available frames.

Linking text frames so one story flows from one frame to the next.

A paragraph setting that places later lines inward from the first line.

A reusable page whose shared elements can appear on assigned document pages.

A page object attached to a position in text so it moves with that text.

The front of a leaf, normally the right-hand page in a left-to-right bound book.

The back of a leaf, normally the left-hand page in a left-to-right bound book.

A passage extracted from the main text and displayed prominently within the layout.

A repeated row of dots guiding the eye between separated text elements.

Adjusting text or its typesetting so it fits a specified space.

A container defining the area in which a passage of text is laid out.

A layout structure divided into repeated units by intersecting rows and columns.

The empty areas around and between elements in a design. It does not have to be white; it is any space left free so the design can breathe and the content is easier to read.

The order in which people notice and read the parts of a design, created with size, colour, contrast, position and spacing, so the most important message is seen first.

A clear difference between elements, for example dark and light, big and small or thick and thin, used to attract attention and make text and shapes easy to see.

The way elements line up with each other or with an edge, for example text set flush left, centred or justified, which helps a design look neat and connected.

The way the visual weight of elements is spread across a design so that it feels stable. Balance can be symmetrical, with mirror-like halves, or asymmetrical.

The part of a design that attracts the eye first and holds attention, often created with size, colour, contrast or position.

The design principle that related items should be placed close together and unrelated items further apart, so readers understand at a glance what belongs together.

The size of an element compared with other elements or with the whole design. Changing scale creates contrast, drama and a clear order of importance.

The perceptual distinction between a focal shape and its surrounding background.

The tendency to perceive elements moving together as belonging to one group.

A sense of patterned progression created by repeating and varying visual elements.

Designing information and environmental cues that help people navigate a place.

The tendency to perceive elements inside one boundary as a group.

A designed symbol, word or combination of both that identifies a company, product or organisation and appears on everything it produces.

All the visual elements that make a brand recognisable, such as its logo, colours, typefaces, images and graphic style, used together in a consistent way.

A document that explains how to use a brand's logo, colours, typefaces, images and tone correctly, so that everyone who works with the brand produces consistent designs.

A logo made only of the brand name written in a distinctive way, without a separate symbol, as with many fashion, tech and media brands.

The symbol or graphic part of a logo, without the brand name, which can be used alone once people recognise it, for example as an app icon.

To change a company's or product's brand identity, such as its logo, colours, name or style, so that people see it in a new way.

The minimum empty area that must be kept around a logo so that text, images and page edges do not crowd it. Guidelines often measure it with a part of the logo itself.

Fitting the look, tone and rules of a brand. A design that does not match the brand is described as off-brand.

A fixed arrangement of logo elements such as symbol, name and tagline.

A logo version designed to appear light against a dark background.

A mark formed by combining or arranging a small set of initials.

The structure defining relationships between an organisation's brands and sub-brands.

A central visual treatment that establishes a campaign's recognisable appearance.

An oversized graphic applied across architectural surfaces to shape a space's visual identity.

Extra image or background that extends past the edge of the final page, usually 3 mm, so that no white edge appears when the printed sheet is trimmed.

A trial version of a design, on paper or as a PDF, that the designer and client check carefully for mistakes and colour before the full print run starts.

Describes a final file that meets the printer's requirements and can go straight to press, with correct size, bleed, colour mode, image resolution and fonts.

Thin lines printed at the corners of a sheet, outside the design, that show the printer exactly where to cut the paper to the final size.

A common commercial printing method in which ink is transferred from metal plates to a rubber blanket and then onto paper. It is cost-effective for large quantities.

The type of paper or card used for a printed piece, described by its weight, thickness, surface (coated or uncoated) and colour.

The final size of a printed piece after it has been cut, for example 148 × 210 mm for an A5 flyer, not counting the bleed.

A deeper printed black made by adding some cyan, magenta and yellow to 100% black ink, used for large dark areas rather than small text.

To print one ink directly on top of another, instead of leaving a gap in the colour below. Black text is often set to overprint to avoid white gaps around it.

A custom shape cut out of paper or card with a sharp steel blade called a die, used for packaging, unusual business cards, windows in covers and stickers.

A treatment added to a printed piece to change how it looks or feels, such as matt or gloss lamination, spot UV varnish, foil or embossing.

Grams per square metre: the weight of paper or card. Higher numbers usually mean thicker paper, for example 80 gsm for office paper and 350 gsm for business cards.

Arranging pages on printing sheets so they read in order after folding and binding.

A group of pages produced from a folded printing sheet and used as a binding unit.

The outward displacement of inner pages caused by the thickness of nested folded sheets.

Binding folded sheets with wire staples through the centre fold.

Binding pages by attaching their spine edges to a cover with adhesive.

Binding a book block into a separately made rigid cover.

A fold with panels that open outward like doors to reveal a larger area.

A series of alternating folds that opens into a continuous strip of panels.

The predominant alignment of fibres within a sheet of paper.

An increase in the effective size or coverage of printed halftone dots.

Creating small overlaps between adjacent printed colours to conceal registration gaps.

The sum of ink percentages at a location in a colour-separated print image.

An image that represents tones using a pattern of printing dots.

The orientation of a regular halftone dot pattern relative to a reference direction.

An unwanted larger pattern produced by interference between repeated fine patterns.

Halftone screening that varies dot placement or frequency to represent tones.

Checking a document against specified technical requirements before output.

Information in a PDF identifying the intended colour reproduction condition.

An on-screen simulation of how colours may reproduce under a specified output condition.

A proof agreed upon as the colour reference for judging a print job.

A trial impression made on a printing press to assess the proposed production result.

Setting up and adjusting a printing press for a particular job before its main run.

The area of a sheet reserved for the press grippers that hold and transport it.

Unwanted transfer of fresh ink from a printed sheet to another surface.

The visibility of printing on the opposite side through the paper.

A controlled film of ink applied to a substrate to assess its appearance.

Raising a design in a material without adding ink or foil to that impression.

Pressing a design below the surrounding surface of a material.

A PDF page boundary defining the area that includes the intended printing bleed.

A PDF page boundary defining the intended finished size after trimming.

A family of PDF standards intended to support reliable exchange of print documents.

A system that interprets page data and creates raster output for a printing device.

A printing process that transfers ink from flexible relief plates.

A printing process in which recessed cells carry ink to the substrate.

Printing by pressing an inked raised surface against the receiving material.

Transferring a thin decorative foil layer onto a selected area of a material.

A varnish applied to selected parts of a printed surface.

A line of small cuts or holes allowing part of a sheet to tear away.

A cut through an adhesive face material while leaving its backing intact.

An inspection of printed sheets during press setup or production.

A physical sample folded to test a publication's structure and sequence.

A leaf or set of leaves at the front or back of a book, often joining its block to the cover.

The measured thickness of a sheet of paper or board.

Dividing artwork into the individual ink components needed for printing.

Printed reference targets used to align separate colour impressions.

The number of repeating halftone screen lines per unit distance.

The amount of detail in a digital image, shown by how many pixels it has or how many pixels or dots fit into one inch. Print usually needs about 300 dpi at final size.

An image made of points, lines and curves defined by mathematics rather than pixels, so it can be scaled to any size without losing quality. Logos and icons are usually vector graphics.

A digital image made of a grid of tiny coloured squares called pixels, such as a photo. It has a fixed resolution, so it loses quality when enlarged too much.

Dots per inch: a measure of print resolution showing how many dots of ink fit into one inch. About 300 dpi at final size is the usual standard for sharp printed images.

Portable Network Graphics: a raster image format that keeps full quality and supports transparent backgrounds, often used for logos, icons and screen graphics.

A very common raster image format for photos that makes files small by removing some detail. It does not support transparency and loses quality if saved again and again.

The smallest single point of colour in a digital image or on a screen. Raster images are made of thousands or millions of pixels arranged in a grid.

Describes an image that shows visible square pixels and jagged edges, usually because a low-resolution file has been enlarged too much.

Scalable Vector Graphics: a vector file format for the web that stays sharp at any size and is often used for logos, icons and simple illustrations on websites and apps.

A ready-made photograph that you license from an online library instead of organising your own photo shoot. The licence controls how and where it can be used.

Making an image or other file smaller in size. Lossy compression removes some detail, as in JPEG; lossless compression keeps all of it, as in PNG.

The relationship between the width and height of an image or screen, written as two numbers such as 16:9, 1:1 or 4:5.

An image reproduced with two inks whose tonal contributions are controlled separately.

Image encoding in which pixel values refer to entries in a colour palette.

An additional image channel that can store transparency or a saved mask.

Changing an image's pixel dimensions by calculating a new set of pixels.

The number of bits used to encode a pixel or an individual colour channel.

Smoothing jagged raster edges with intermediate pixel values.

Using patterns of available colours to suggest intermediate tones.

Converting overlapping transparent artwork into a representation suitable for output without live transparency.

One level in a design file that holds its own elements, stacked on top of others like transparent sheets, so each part can be edited, hidden or moved separately.

To save a copy of a design from your software in another file format, such as PDF, PNG or JPEG, so it can be printed, shared or used online.

A separate page-like area inside a design file, especially in Illustrator and similar tools, so one file can hold several sizes or versions of a design.

A drawing tool in design software that creates precise straight lines and smooth curves by placing anchor points and dragging handles to shape them.

A software feature that uses one shape or layer to show only part of another image or object, hiding everything outside the shape without deleting it.

How solid or see-through an element is, usually set as a percentage: 100% is completely solid and 0% is invisible.

The outline or line drawn along the edge of a shape, path or text, with its own colour and thickness. The colour inside the shape is called the fill.

One of the points along a vector path that define its shape. Handles attached to an anchor point control how the curve bends.

To turn live, editable text into vector shapes, so the file looks correct even on a computer that does not have the font. The text can no longer be edited as type.

To collect a layout file together with all its linked images and fonts into one folder, so another designer or printer can open and print it without missing files.

A named set of formatting rules applied to whole paragraphs.

A named set of formatting attributes applied to selected text within a paragraph.

A reusable set of appearance or frame settings applied to page objects.

A rule applying character formatting to a defined portion within a paragraph style.

A colour swatch linked to artwork so editing it updates its uses.

An object containing multiple paths whose combined fill can include holes.

A rule determining which areas count as inside a path for filling.

A threshold limiting how far a pointed stroke join may extend.

A path generated at a specified distance inside or outside another path.

To convert an object's live appearance effects into editable artwork objects.

An editing mode that restricts interaction to a selected group or object.

A rule controlling how an object's colours combine with colours beneath it.

A network of editable points that controls colour transitions across a vector object.

Reshaping artwork through a controlling outline or mesh.

An image placed in a document while its source remains in an external file.

An image whose data is stored inside the document containing it.

The workspace surrounding a page or artboard where objects can be kept temporarily.

A layer holding tonal or colour adjustments without directly rewriting the underlying image pixels.

An image-editing container that preserves source content while supporting editable transformations and effects.

A mask controlling which parts of a layer are visible and by how much.

A short document that explains what a design project must achieve: the goal, audience, message, deliverables, budget, deadline and any rules the designer must follow.

A realistic image or model that shows how a design will look in real life, for example a logo on a shop sign or a label on a bottle, used mainly in presentations.

Comments and opinions from a client, art director or colleague about a design, telling the designer what works and what should change.

A change made to a design after feedback, or a new version of the design that includes those changes. Contracts often limit the number of revision rounds.

A collection of images, colours, textures and type samples put together at the start of a project to show the visual direction and feeling of the design.

The main idea behind a design and one early version of it shown to the client, explaining how the design answers the brief.

The specific files and items a designer has agreed to hand over at the end of a project, such as logo files, a print-ready PDF or a set of social media posts.

To give final approval to a design, proof or stage of a project, so that the work can move on to production or the next step.

A selected collection of a designer's best work, often with short project descriptions, used to apply for jobs, win clients or enter design schools.

A senior creative person who decides the visual style of a project or campaign, guides designers, photographers and illustrators, and makes sure the work fits the idea.

The original, editable working files of a design, such as AI, PSD, INDD or Figma files, as opposed to final exported files like PDFs or PNGs.

A presentation of ideas made to win a new client or project, often in competition with other agencies or studios.

The slow growth of a project beyond what was originally agreed, as the client keeps adding small requests, without extra time or budget.

A vague but very common request to make a design or element more eye-catching, usually without saying exactly what should change.

An explanation connecting design decisions to the project's aims and constraints.

A page of small images used to compare and select from a larger set.