Accents - supporting focal points. Accents are not as strongly emphasized as the main focal point.
Advertising - is motivating or persuading the end-users with specific verbal and visual messages. Advertising designers work to create television commercial, print ads, web sites, web banner ads, samples / product placement or mailings.
Advertisement (Ad) - is a specific message constructed to inform, persuade, promote, provoke, or motivate people on behalf of a brand or group.
Aesthetics - is the study of the way something looks and how that affects people's feelings.
Alignment - visual connections can be made between and among elements, shapes, and objects when their edges or axes line up (are in alignment) with one another. The eye easily picks up these relationships and makes connections among the form.
Animation (Two-Dimensional) - 2D animation is a series of images known as frames that loop in a predefined order. The number of frames determines the quality or realism of the animation.
Audience – Any individual or group who is on the receiving end of a message is the audience.
Balance - is an equal distribution of weight in a layout. To balance a design, you must consider visual weight, position, and arrangement. Establishing balance is crucial; the viewer will feel that something is “wrong” if it is imbalanced.
Brand - A brand is a visual identity for a product, service, group, company, business, or social cause that includes all digital media applications.
CMYK - (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Black) Colors used in print media.
Criteria - describe the features or requirements that a solution must include.
Constraints – describe limits to the design process. Constraints may be such things as appearance, funding, space, materials, and human capabilities.
Content - is the body of information that is available to the audience. Content should be well organized and easy to access and understand.
Contrast – the relationship of one element to another.
Critique – is an evaluation of your solution.
Deception - is tricking someone into believing something. This is usually done for economic or political gain.
Design - is the creative process of converting an idea into a plan for a product, solution, or system.
Design Concept – the creative solution to the design problem.
Development - The act of changing the form of something. Usually completed in a series of steps or stages: research, design, model, prototype, test, evaluate, etc. The successive changes are undertaken to improve the quality of or refine the resulting object or software.
Dual Meaning Messages - are messages that have more than one meaning to more than one person. These dual meanings messages may be created intentionally, or they may be the unintentional result of the design.
Emphasis - Is the arrangement of visual elements, giving stress or importance to some visual elements, thereby allowing two actions: information to be easily gleaned and the graphic design to be easily received? Emphasis is making one element stand out from the other elements.
End-User - the person(s) that will be using the product or system. The audience or the person(s) viewing a message are the end-users of a multimedia application.
Ergonomics - is the science of adapting the work environment to people. Most often designers accommodate the middle range of body sizes. Ergonomic designs strive to provide safety and accessibility to all types of people.
Experimentation - The act of trying out the new product, system, idea, or process to ensure it meets the designer's needs or wants and the design criteria and constraints.
Family Resemblance – continuity among the various visual design applications.
Feedback - is the act of monitoring and adjusting the system.
Flow - Elements should be arranged so that the audience is lead from one element to another through the design. The arrangement of type and visuals move your eyes from one element to another.
Focal Point – the part of a design that is most accentuated. The position, size, shape, direction, color, brightness, focus, or texture of the design element can make it a focal point. We are then led to all the other elements in the design because they have been arranged according to emphasis. (Every project should have a focal point)
- Which element will communicate the primary message or information?
- Which element is most important?
- Which element will communicate the primary message or information?
- Which element is most important?
Format – is the substrate or support for the graphic design. (Example: Magazine or Billboard)
Frame - In Adobe Flash, a frame is actually a single instance in time and is the smallest unit of measurement in an animation. Time and animation quality is measured in frames per second.
Functionality - refers to the capability of products, systems, or process to fulfill its intended purpose over the course of its desired life span.
Fundamental Elements of Design – includes lines, shapes, texture, and color.
GIF - (Graphic Interchange Format) files are used for web pages and on-screen displays. GIF images only support 256 colors.
Graphics Standards Manual - a graphics standards manual provide usage guidelines for all design applications. This manual ensure that your logo and design applications remain consistent and are immediate recognizable.
Grid - is a guide, a modular compositional structure, made up of verticals and horizontals that divide a canvas into columns and margins to provide help in maintaining clarity, legibility, balance, and unity. This helps to establish a flow or sense of visual consistency from one page to another.
Harmony - all elements of the design look as if they belong together.
Home Page - is the primary entrance to a website that contains the central navigation system and most important information. It established the “look and feel” of the site.
Hyperlink – is the term used to indicate the text or visual area that a user selects by clicking the computer mouse directly over it.
Hypertext - is text that is linked to another location in the same web page, on a different web page, or at a different website.
Identity Design - is a coordinated and consistent design program for a product, brand, group, or company. Identity designer work to create unique logos. They incorporate the logos into every aspect of the visual identity.
Information Design - is making large amounts of complex information clear and accessible to the audience. Information designers work to create signs, symbols, web sites, charts, and graphs.
Innovation - altering or improving an object that was developed in the past. Making an electronic device smaller or faster is a common innovation.
Input - all the necessary resources in a system. Resources include information, money, people, time, energy, materials, and tools / machines.
Internet - is a network of computers used to move data around.
Invention - the design and / or development of an entirely new device, product, or system.
JPEG - (Joint Photographic Experts Group) files are used for web images or photos. High resolution photos saved with high compression ratios can be printed.
Key Frame - In Adobe Flash, a key frame is the main position of the characters.
Layout – The process of arranging design elements into a limited space so that the design elements are functional, easily accessible to the viewer, create a visual impact, and communicate a message.
Logo - A logo is a unique label that conveys information and represents everything about a brand.
Maintenance - is the process of inspecting and servicing the parts of a system as a whole on a regular basis in order to ensure proper functioning, to extend its life, and to prevent unnecessary errors.
Management - is the process of planning, organizing, and controlling technology. Management is used to control resources and to ensure that technological processes operate effectively and efficiently.
Margins - are the spaces around design elements.
Mass Communication - includes the many forms of radio, television, newspapers, magazines, and the Internet.
Media - Any means of conveying information. Text, sound, video, graphics, photographs, sketches, art, and animation are forms of media. Media is the term used to describe more than one medium. Media is also a term used to describe forms of mass communication: radio, television, newspapers, magazines, Internet etc.
Medium - Any means of conveying information. (plural media) Text, sound, video, graphics, photographs, sketches, art, and animation are forms of media. Media is the term used to describe more than one medium.
Mock-up - A mock-up is a scaled or full-size model of a design, used for demonstration, design evaluation, promotion, and other purposes.
Multimedia - is the combination of media (text, photos, graphics, still images, moving images, sound, video, animation, and art) to produce dynamic interactive displays. Multimedia can be as simple as a newspaper, (combination of text and images) or as complex as a interactive flash animation (combination of animation, text, graphics, sound, and video). This web site is a example of multimedia, because it combines text, graphics, photos, animation, video, and sound.
Navigation Systems - consist of buttons or links that connect one location on a website to another location, which can be at the same website or a different one.
Non-linear video editing - editing video on a computer.
Optimization - is a process or methodology of designing or making a product, process, or system to the point at which it is most fully functional, effective, or near perfection.
Pattern - can be defined as a repetitive arrangement of elements, like a wrapping paper design or plaid shirt.
PDF - (Portable Document Format) file that ensures fonts, images, graphics etc. transfer and display successfully on various computers and devices.
Persistence of Vision - In animation technology, the persistence of vision is when one frame persists in your eye as the next frame is displayed. This gives the illusion of continuous stream of video, rather than the flashing of individual photos.
PNG - (Portable Network Graphic) is a file format for graphics or photos. It incorporate the best qualities of JPEG and GIF formats into one file format. PNG is the standard format for Adobe Fireworks Files.
Portfolio - is a body of work which includes a range of projects that reflect your ability to solve different types of design problems. Works should be presented in a neat, clean, and consistent manner.
Processes - Anything necessary to convert the inputs in a system into the finish products.
Promotional Design - is design intended to introduce, promote, and sell products, events, or services. Promotional design usually falls under the category of advertising. Promotional designer work to create web sites, packaging, posters, book covers, CD / DVD jackets, graphics for video, catalogs, pamphlets, and announcements.
Proof Sheet - A sheet of sample designs made to be reviewed, selected, checked, corrected, and approved.
Propaganda - is the use of multimedia to control someone. This usually involves a point of view held by a government or movement.
Proportion - size relationship between one part to another.
Publication Design - is the process of making information accessible, clearly communicated, and visually appealing to the end-users. Publication designers work to create newsletters, books, magazine, and newspapers.
Purpose of Information Technology – inform, persuade, entertain, educate, train, report, or control.
Quality - is the degree of excellence with which a product is made
Quality Control - is a planned process to ensure that a product, service, or system meets established criteria.
Raster images - are also know as bitmap images. They consist of individual picture elements called pixels. The computer reads the file and knows the color and position of each pixel.
Research - The act of acquiring information.
Resolution - is description of the visual clarity of a graphic, expressed in either dots per inch (dpi) or pixels per inch (ppi).
Onscreen Designs: 72 dpi
Documents: 180 dpi
Photos: 300 dpi
Onscreen Designs: 72 dpi
Documents: 180 dpi
Photos: 300 dpi
Resources - are the inputs or elements of technology in a system. (Tools, Information, Materials, Energy, and People)
RGB Color – when working with light, the three primaries are red, green and blue. RGB colors are used for onscreen graphics.
Safety - the product or service should cause no harm, even after failure. When technological solutions have potentially negative effects, people must decide whether the solution's benefits outweigh its risks. Designer try to keep risk as low as possible
Scenes - In Adobe Flash, a scene is each timeline within a single movie. Flash movies may contain multiple timelines, called scenes. Action Script is usually used to jump from scene to scene.
Slander - is presenting a negative image of another person, product, or system with the intent of economic or political gain. This is very common among politicians during elections.
Splash Page - is the first page in a website the visitor sees; it serves as an introduction to a website and usually features animation or an engaging visual.
Stage - In Adobe Flash, the stage is a visual description of the position and orientation of objects. This is the are that people who view the animation will be able to see.
Symbols - In Adobe Flash, a symbol allows you to create reusable components in your movies that helps you keep your file sizes smaller.
System - the inputs, processes, outputs, and feedback that when combined produces a desired result.
Target Audience - specific group of people who is on the receiving end of the digital message.
Technology - is the way that humans use resources and process to solve practical problems and extend human capabilities.
Template – a compositional structure with designated positions for the visual elements, such as the title, page number, graphs, text, and constant elements.
Text - consists of written words, numbers, and symbols. Text is a medium used for communicating messages.
TIFF - files are high resolution format. Converting TIFF files reduces the details.
Timeline - In Adobe Flash, the timeline is used to layout what you want to happen and when you want it to happen by defining the layout over time.
Trade-Off - choosing one option over another. This may be due to cost, form, function, or availability or materials.
Troubleshooting - to locate and find the cause of problems related to technological products or systems.
Tweening - In Adobe Flash, tweening is inserting all the frames in-between the key frames.
Type and Lettering Design - is the creation and design of fonts. Type designer create custom fonts.
Unity - where the elements in a design look as though they belong together. When you repeat design elements such as colors, shapes, textures, or fonts, you may establish a visual connection or correspondence among the elements. All design elements are used consistently.
Vector Graphics - consist of points, lines, arcs, and polygons that are defined by a mathematical equation.
Visual Hierarchy - which means arranging elements according to emphasis. Decide on the importance of the elements that are part of your deign. Use factors such as position, size, value, color, and visual weight to make sure your audience sees these elements in the order of importance. Create a flow of information from the most important element to the least.
- Where do you look first?
- Where do you look second?
- Where do you look third?
- Where do you look first?
- Where do you look second?
- Where do you look third?
Visual Texture – the impression of tactile quality of a surface or the representation of such a surface quality is a texture.
Web Design - involves strategy, collaboration, creativity, planning, design, development, and implementation.
Website - is a collection of “pages” or files linked together and made available on the World Wide Web.