In the context of the Web, building a site that everyone is able to access, regardless of their level of physical or mental ability.
A layout system that enables the visual elements in a web page or application to adapt to changes in the size of the application window or capabilities of the device on which the application is running.
Bleed is printing that goes beyond the edge of where the sheet will be trimmed (the bleed is the area to be trimmed off). The bleed is the part on the side of a document that gives the printer a small amount of space to account for movement of the paper, and design inconsistencies. Artwork and background colors often extend into the bleed area. After trimming, the bleed ensures that no unprinted edges occur in the final trimmed document.
A software program that allows a user to view images and read hypertext documents (i.e. web pages). Chrome, Firefox, MS Edge, Opera, and Safari are all browsers.
A means of displaying text over a video in an effort to provide additional or interpretive information to viewers who wish to access it. On the web, captioning is used to enhance and increase usability and accessibility, especially to users with disabilities who are using a screen reader.
Declarations that describe how a document should be presented on the Web. CSS can be written for different media, can be part of an HTML document, or can be a separate file that is applied to multiple HTML documents.
Subtractive primaries: Cyan, magenta, yellow, black, where the colors combine to absorb all light and produce black. Also known as reflective primaries.
Created for presenting the final project to the client for evaluation and approval.
An idea that supports and reinforces communication of key messages by presenting them in interesting, unique, and memorable ways on both intellectual and emotional levels.
A system of computers containing copies of data, placed at various points in a network so as to maximize bandwidth for access to the data from clients throughout the network. A client accesses a copy of the data that resides on a server that is closer to them, as opposed to all clients accessing the data from the same central server.
Software used to manage work flow in a collaborative environment. On the web, a content management system is designed to simplify the publication of web content to web sites and mobile devices—in particular, allowing content creators to submit content without requiring technical knowledge of HTML or the uploading of files. WordPress is a popular CMS.
A piece of text stored by a user’s web browser. A cookie can be used for authentication, storing site preferences, shopping cart contents, the identifier for a server-based session, or anything else that can be stored as text data. Cookies can be encrypted or unencrypted.
A measure of spatial printing, video, or image scanner dot density, in particular the number of individual dots that can be placed in a line within the span of 1 inch.
A WYSIWYG web development application from Adobe Systems. This desktop software program allows users to preview websites in locally-installed web browsers, provides file transfer and synchronization features, the ability to find and replace lines of text or code by search terms and regular expressions across an entire site. The behaviors panel also enables use of basic JavaScript without any coding knowledge.
Approximately the width of a capital letter M. It is used to create a strong break in the structure of a sentence, usually in a pair enclosing a word or phrase.
Approximately the width of a capital letter N (in your current font). So it’s longer than the hyphen. It is used between words that indicate a duration (could be replaced with the word to). You also use it when you have a compound and one or both of the elements is a hyphenated word.
Font describes a set of characters within the typeface that share a style (i.e. Palatino Bold).
File transfer protocol. A point-to-point method for moving files across the Internet.
The total of all of the colours of the spectrum that can be represented by a device, a colour model, or even the human eye. Often represented by a three-dimensional model.
A single character from a font.
Hyperlinks are words or phrases within an HTML document that provide a connection to another HTML document. Hyperlinks create the “web” in World Wide Web.
A simple mark-up language used to create hypertext documents that can be read on any computer. HTML is the structural basis of every web page.
Adobe Illustrator is a professional vector graphics software program developed by Adobe Inc. It is widely used by graphic designers, illustrators, and artists to create and edit vector-based artwork, which consists of geometric shapes and paths that can be scaled and manipulated without losing quality. It is commonly used for creating logos, icons, illustrations, typography, packaging designs, and other types of digital artwork.
A professional desktop publishing software application developed by Adobe used to create and publish a variety of digital and print materials such as flyers, brochures, magazines, newspapers, books, and e-books. InDesign allows users to combine text, images, and other multimedia elements to create visually appealing layouts and designs.
A client-side scripting language originally developed by Netscape and later standardized by ECMA. Programs authored in JavaScript adds interactivity and conditional behavior to web pages. JavaScript, despite its name, has little in common with the programming language Java.
An adjustment to the individual spacing between letters so that they are more visually pleasing.
Spacing between individual letters and words in a single line of text.
A term that is more relevant or of higher importance in a given page of content on the web. A popular form of keywords on the web are tags that are directly visible and can be assigned by non-experts also.
The space between lines of text (measured from baseline to baseline).
A special character that combines characters into a single character. They were created to keep characters from colliding when set next to each other.
Media and content that uses a combination of different forms. Multimedia includes some combination of text, audio, still images, animation, video, and interactive content.
The degree to which light is prevented from traveling through an object.
A very short line, a word, or the end of a hyphenated word at the end of a paragraph or column.
Adobe Photoshop is a professional raster graphics editing software program developed by Adobe Inc. It is widely used by photographers, graphic designers, and digital artists for editing and manipulating digital images, as well as creating original artwork. Photoshop is known for its robust image editing capabilities, including advanced photo retouching, photo compositing, and digital painting, and it is widely used in industries such as advertising, marketing, web design, photography, and multimedia production.
A widely used, general-purpose scripting language that was originally designed for web development to produce dynamic web pages.
Used to measure line lengths and page dimensions.
Used to measure both type sizes and the space between the lines of type (leading).
Pixels per Inch; the number of pixels per inch in an image. Measurements of the pixel density of an electronic image device, such as a computer monitor, or image digitizing device such as a camera.
Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Key (Black). CMYK is the standard color mode used for printing.
A font whose character widths differ depending on the character shape itself and its relationship to other characters.
On the web, typically a low-fidelity proof-of-concept application or interface to be used for testing the usability or viability of that interface or application.
An image represented by a grid of pixels that denote color and tone.
The number of distinct pixels in each dimension that can be displayed. A higher number of pixels displayed equals a higher resolution.
Red, green, and blue color (RGB), where the colors combine to form the entire spectrum or white. Also known as transmissive primaries.
Renderings of thumbnails that explore the potential of forms, type, composition, and elements of a designer’s best concepts.
A software program that reads the contents of the screen aloud to a user. Screen readers are a form of assistive technology used primarily by individuals who are blind.
A web application designed to search for information across publicly available pages on the World Wide Web.
The process of improving the visibility of a website to search engines.
Colors that are made of mixed inks and that must each be applied independently to the printing surface.
In design and communications, the predefined group of people that the communication is intended to appeal to.
Temperature of light is the relative warmness to coolness of the color of light, measured in degrees Kelvin. Typical daylight ranges from 5000 to 6500 degrees Kelvin.
Small, simple hand-drawn sketches presenting minimal information. These are intended for the designer to help inspire and guide the design process.
The spacing between the characters in a word, line, or paragraph of text.
Slightly overlapping colors that fit together without any white space showing between them. Also refers to the layering of ink on a printing press so that the inks lay down on, or ‘stick’ properly to, the previous layer of ink.
Typeface describes a whole family of characters, regardless of size or style, that share the same design features (i.e. Palatino).
The style or appearance of text. Also, the art of working with text.
A Uniform Resource Locator (URL) is a Uniform Resource Identifier (URI) that specifies where an identified resource is available and the mechanism for retrieving it. The best-known example of the use of a URL is for the address of a web page.
The interaction a user has with an interface. From a planning perspective, the user experience is typically defined in wireframes, but every aspect of the web design and development process—from wireframing to copywriting to design to programming—affects the user experience.
An image created with vectors: points connected by straight or curved lines. Vector graphics have the unique advantage over raster (bitmap) graphics in that the points, lines, and curves may be scaled up or down to any resolution with no aliasing.
Technologies for creating and interpreting web-based content. Web standards are developed by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) and other groups and standards bodies and are carefully designed to deliver the greatest benefits to the greatest number of web users while ensuring the long-term viability of any document published on the web.
A document or information resource that is suitable for the Web and can be accessed through a web browser and displayed on a monitor or mobile device.
A collection of related webpages, images, videos, or digital assets that are addressed relative to a common URL.
A single word, part of a word, or very short line that appears at the beginning of a column or a page.
A basic visual guide used in interface design to suggest the structure of a website and relationships between its pages. A webpage wireframe is a similar illustration of the layout of fundamental elements in the interface. Typically, wireframes are completed before any artwork is developed.
What you see is what you get. Refers to imagery that will reproduce consistently on any output device.
Extensible Markup Language. A computer programming language that adheres to rules for a concurrent human and machine-readable document structure.