Glossary of Design Terms
Alignment: The arrangement of elements along a common axis or edge, such as left, right, center, or justified.
Balance: Balance refers to the distribution of visual weight in a design. It's about creating a sense of equilibrium among the various design elements so that no one element overpowers or dominates the others.
Symmetrical: If the design is split in half, both sides match.
Asymmetrical: One side has the element and the other side is essentially blank directing the eye.
Radial balance: The focal point is at the center and the props move out from there.
Branding: The process of creating a unique and identifiable image or identity for a product, service, or company.
Character: a single element. such as a letter, numeral, or mark of punctuation.
Color scheme / Palette: A set of colors chosen to be used together in a design or composition.
Composition: The arrangement of visual elements in a design to create a sense of balance, unity, and interest.
Contrast: The difference in visual properties that makes an object distinguishable from other objects and the background.
Emphasis: Using visual elements to draw attention to a specific part of a design.
Focal point: The element in a design that immediately catches the viewer's attention.
Font: a set of printed letters, numbers, and other symbols of the same style.
Font Family: An attribute of an element that indicates the font to be used when rendering the text value of the element.
Typeface: a particular design of type.
Gradient (Ombre): A gradual transition between two or more colors.
Grid: A framework of horizontal and vertical lines used to align and organize design elements.
Hierarchy: The visual arrangement of elements in a design to create a sense of order and importance.
Hue: The property that distinguishes one color from another.
Kerning: space between individual characters.
Layout: The arrangement of text, images, and other elements on a page or screen.
Leading: The space between lines in a paragraph.
Logo: a symbol or other design adopted by an organization to identify its products, uniform, vehicles, etc.
Logo Type: A single piece of type that prints a word or group of separate letters.
Logo Mark: an image or symbol used to represent a company
Page: A page refers to one side of a sheet of paper.
Photography: Creating art through the use of a camera.
Flat Lay: top-down photo of the product with props strategically placed around it.
Product Photo: Simple shot of the product on a white or solid background.
Lifestyle: A shot of the product being used or showing how it could be used.
Proportion: The relationship between the sizes of various elements in a design.
Repetition: The use of the same design element multiple times within a composition.
Saturation: The intensity or purity of a color.
Scale: The size of an object or element in relation to another object or element in a design.
Spread: a spread is a pair of facing pages that are typically designed to work together to form a cohesive visual experience.
Texture: The surface quality of a design element that can be seen or felt.
Tracking: Space between letters in a word.
Typography: The art and technique of arranging type to make written language legible, readable, and appealing when displayed.
Unity: The harmonious relationship between all of the elements in a design.
White space: The empty or negative space around and between design elements that helps to create balance and improve legibility.
*We were able to clarify some of these terms with the help of chatGPT!