It is easy to get confused by some of the lingo used in the graphic design industry. You can easily feel like you’re speaking a different language if you get involved in a conversation with a bunch of designers – bleeds? Mock ups? Crossovers? It’s easy to get overwhelmed by all the terminologies in this field.
Just like all other careers that require a specific type of knowledge, graphic design has developed its own lingo or jargon and it can be difficult for the rest of us to understand exactly what is meant.
Terms used in graphic design
Graphic design is becoming increasingly important and popular in business as well as in other areas of communication and it is for this exact reason that we have decided to explain a few of the most commonly used graphic design terms:
- Bleed - Part of a printed document which falls outside the boundary lines, used to ensure that documents Print all the way across the page.
- Crossover - Where parts of a document (images or text) run across two or more pages.
- Press Check - Used to ensure that the crossover parts of the document line up before printing.
- Ghosting - When an image is made transparent so that the background shows through – this is a popular graphic design technique.
- Wire Frame - This is a basic layout of a design piece (website, article etc.) that has no design elements as yet. It is generally used for content planning.
- Stock photo - Pre-set, general images available for all to use. Usually cheaper than staging your own shoot.
- Mock-up - A presentation or rendition of a project that is close to the real life product.
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