Glossary
Definitions for common terms and acronyms in the design industryBLEED
When an image or printed colour extends beyond the trimmed edge of a page, it is called ‘bleed’. Bleed ensures that the print extends to the edges of the paper, and the page is usually trimmed to the desired size after printing.
BRAND
A unique and identifiable symbol, association, name or trademark that serves to differentiate competing products or services. It is both a physical and emotional trigger to create a relationship between consumers and the product or service offered.
BRAND ARCHITECTURE
It is how an organisation structures and names the brands within its portfolio. There are three main types of brand architecture systems: monolithic, endorsed and freestanding.
BRAND IDENTITY
The outward manifestation of the essence of a brand, product, service or branded environment.
BRAND POSITIONING STATEMENT
A statement that describes the ‘place’ that a brand occupies in the minds of target customers. It focuses on the equities that meaningfully set the brand apart from the competition.
BRAND STRATEGY
The ‘big picture’ plans and tactics deployed by an organisation or company to create brand equity.
BRAND VALUE
The monetary premium that results from having customers who are committed to your brand and willing to pay extra for it.
BRIEF
The description of the purposes and objectives of a project. It should succinctly detail every requirement and deliverable in a way that a designer can follow and ensure the end product is on brand and correct.
CMYK
Inks used in four-colour process printing. The letters stand for cyan, magenta, yellow and key (black). Also called process colours.
CORPORATE IDENTITY
A corporate identity (CI) is the ‘persona’ of a corporation and it is the image identifying your company. A strong corporate identity strengthens your brand, becoming recognisable to the target audience. It is the visualisation of your corporate strategy. A corporate identity is made up of visible elements ranging from the companies name, logotype, symbols, signs, letterheads, packaging, business cards, etc, which are used in a consistent manner to identify a company. The logo will be present in all the pieces that form the corporate identity system. All these elements and supporting devices are commonly assembled within a set of guidelines. These guidelines govern how the identity is applied and confirm approved colour palettes, typefaces, page layouts and other such methods of maintaining visual continuity and brand recognition across all physical manifestations of the brand.
DIE CUT
A special shape that is cut into a printed piece. The process uses hand-tooled or photo mechanically made brass, copper or magnesium dies. The cost of die-cutting depends on the complexity of the die.
DPI
Dots per inch, a measurement of the resolution of a screen image or printed page.
DPS
Double-page spread, a term used to describe a feature or article that fills two facing pages of a newspaper or magazine.
FONT
A font is a complete set of characters in a particular style and typically consists of a full letter set, a number set and any other special characters. Examples of fonts are ‘Arial’ or ‘Bliss’.
FOUR COLOUR PROCESS
The printing process that reproduces colours by combining cyan, magenta, yellow and key (black).
HIGH-RESOLUTION IMAGE
An image with a high level of sharpness/clarity (a minimum of 300dpi is the best resolution for printing).
KIT OF PARTS
A ‘kit’ contains all branded elements (such as specified colours, lines, shapes and fonts that are unique to the brand). These specified elements can be used in different combinations in corporate communications to convey a uniform message.
LOGO
The terms ‘brandmark’, ‘logo’ and ‘brand signature’ and 'identity' are general terms for a symbol or wordmark that is used to identify a specific brand or company.
LOGOTYPE
The uniquely designed alphabetic letters that communicate the name of the company in the identity.
LOW-RESOLUTION IMAGE
Low-resolution images, 72dpi or 100 dpi, are most commonly used for screen images and are not suitable for high-resolution printing.
PANTONE® MATCHING SYSTEM (PMS®)
A popular colour-matching system used to print spot colours, ensuring the consistent and accurate matching of colours. Pantone® colours do not always accurately match CMYK values.
PROCESS COLOURS
Inks used in four-colour process printing. The letters stand for cyan, magenta, yellow and key (black). Also referred to as CMYK.
RIGHTS MANAGED
Rights-managed photographs/film clips/illustrations etc are licensed on a use-by-use basis. The fee for using a RM product is calculated from several factors including size, placement, duration of use and geographic distribution. Exclusive rights are available for purchase for some rights-managed products. All licences of rights-managed products are subject to terms and conditions.
ROYALTY FREE
Royalty-free photographs/film clips/illustrations etc may be used multiple times for multiple projects without incurring additional fees. Royalty-free pricing is based solely on the file size of the product needed and the number of people entitled to use it (maximum 10), not the specific use. No additional royalties have to be paid on a use-by-use basis. However, the rights granted are non-transferable and personal to the user. Royalty-free licences are always non-exclusive. All licences of royalty-free products are subject to terms and conditions.
SPOT COLOUR
A specific colour in a design, usually designated to be printed with a specific matching ink, rather than through process CMYK printing. The Pantone® Matching System is the most popular and designers work with swatch books to ensure the correct choice of colour. Theoretically, the specified colour should always be the same shade, whenever it is printed.
TYPOGRAPHY
The typestyle specified for brand communications other than the basic brand signature. Typography is often an existing, modified or custom-designed font. Typography is also the art of arrangement, style, appearance and printing of type and typefaces, that can enhance the design in order to communicate through written words.
VARNISH
Is a sealer that overprints ink and paper to protect them from scratching and scuffing. Varnish can be gloss, dull or tinted and can be used in small or large areas.
VECTOR GRAPHIC
Vector graphics are drawn in paths, which allows the designer to resize images freely without getting pixelated edges as is the case with bitmapped images (such as jpegs, tiff’s and png's). Vector format is generally used in printing while bitmap format is used for on-screen display. Vector formats are commonly supplied in Eps, Illustrator (.ai) and CorelDraw (.cd).