Every professional field has its own internal language. With that in mind, we thought we’d take a little time to break down some of our designer terms. What’s common language for us may not be for you, especially when it comes to typography and printing!
Typography
- Typeface or font: typeface refers to the collective design (e.g., Helvetica) and font is the specific use (e.g., 12pt Helvetica Bold)
- Serif is a reference to the tiny feet connected to the ends of strokes in letters. (Times Roman is a serif typeface.)
- Sans serif is the very opposite of serif; there are no feet. (Arial is a sans serif typeface.)
- Kerning is the process of adjusting the space between individual characters.
- Leading refers to adjusting the vertical space between lines of text.
- Tracking is the process of loosening or tightening a block of text.
Printing and Output
- Raster images are composed of pixels and can start to look fuzzy when enlarged. File formats include jpg and png. Most photos are raster images.
- Vector images are rooted in mathematical theory, meaning they can be scaled limitlessly. File formats may include eps and ai. It’s best to work with logos and graphics as vector files.
- DPI (Dots Per Inch) refers to the sharpness of an image for printing.
- PPI (Pixels Per Inch) refers to the sharpness of an image for digital use.
- Bleed is the part of the image that goes beyond the edge of where the paper will be cut. In other words, the bleed is the area to be trimmed off. It ensures that the design will extend to the very edge of the piece.
- Crop marks are thin lines placed at the corners of an image, page or artwork layout to indicate where the paper should be trimmed after printing.
So there it is, a brief glossary of terms that you may encounter. Any other terms catch your attention, let us know!