Ever found yourself in a room with a graphic designer and felt like you needed a translator? 😵💫 Trust me, you’re not alone. graphic designers have their own secret lingo, packed with jargon and specialist terms that can make anyone’s head spin. Sometimes we get so caught up in our creative world that we forget our clients might be thinking, “What on earth are they talking about?” 🤔⁉️
But don’t worry—you don’t need to become fluent in ‘Designer-ish’ 🗣️ As a client, you’re not expected to know every tool, term, or what the heck a hex code is. That’s our job. However, having a little insider knowledge can help you understand our creative ramblings and give you the power to provide even better feedback.
So, I’ve rounded up some of the most common terms you might hear me and other designers toss around. Let’s break them down, have a laugh, and demystify the world of graphic design together!
Table of Contents
Colours
It’s no secret that graphic designers LOVE colours. It’s one of my favourite parts of the job! And while there are hundreds of ways we could talk about colours, most of us tend to stick to these 4.
CMYK: Shorthand for Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black (Key). These are the four process colours used in printing – and the ones you’ll find in your home printer!
RGB: The abbreviation for Red, Green and Blue, which are the three colours of visual light used to display images on computer screens.
Pantone: A standardised colour matching system created by Pantone®, used to ensure consistent colour reproduction across different materials and products. Each colour is identified by a unique code, allowing designers and manufacturers to precisely match and replicate the exact shade, ensuring brand consistency.
Hex Code: A six-character code used in digital design to specify exact colours on screens. It ensures colour consistency by telling computers exactly which shade to display.
By the way, this is why it’s so important that your designer knows if their work will be used in print or web, because it changes the colour spectrum we use. I talked in more depth about colour models in this blog, so if that got you interested, give it a read boo.
Graphics
There are generally only two graphic types, and your designer will choose the best option for your specific project.
Raster Image: An image that is made up of a grid of pixels, each with its own colour value. Commonly used for photos and detailed graphics, raster images can lose quality when scaled up because they depend on their pixel resolution. And no, this has nothing to do with Rastafarians!
Vector Graphic: A graphic that uses mathematical equations to create shapes, lines, and colours, allowing it to be scaled up or down without losing quality. Unlike raster images, vector graphics remain sharp and crisp at any size, making them ideal for logos and illustrations.
File Formats
There are a lot of different file formats out there, but thankfully most graphic designers will typically stick to six core file types when it comes to building a brand. When chatting with your designer, you’ll probably hear about:
EPS: (Encapsulated PostScript) is a graphics file format used for vector images. It’s commonly used for logos and print media because it retains high quality at any size and can be easily edited in graphic design software.
AI: Similar to an EPS, an AI file is specifically created and used within Adobe Illustrator and is best suited for editing vector graphics. An EPS file, on the other hand, is a more versatile vector graphics format that can be used in various graphic design programs. While both maintain high quality at any size, EPS files are more universally compatible across different software platforms.
PDF: (Portable Document Format) is a versatile file format that preserves the layout, fonts, and images of a document, making it look the same on any device. It’s widely used for sharing documents because it can be viewed and printed consistently across different platforms.
JPG: (Joint Photographic Experts Group) is a commonly used image format that uses compression to reduce file size, making it ideal for storing and sharing photos online.
PNG: (Portable Network Graphics) is an image format known for its lossless compression, preserving image quality without losing detail. It supports transparent backgrounds, making it ideal for web graphics and logos.
SVG: (Scalable Vector Graphics) is a format for vector images that allows for infinite scaling without loss of quality. It is widely used for web graphics because it supports interactivity and animation, and can be easily edited with code or graphic design software.
Typefaces
Yes, this is about fonts, but not in the way you think. A typeface is like the parent category for fonts, and groups them together into similar styles. Each typeface will have a series of fonts that include the full range of characters like numbers, letters, punctuation and special characters. There are generally five typeface groups:
Serif: A typeface characterised by small lines or strokes attached to the ends of its letters, adding a classic and formal appearance. e.g. Times New Roman.
Sans Serif: A typeface that lacks the small lines or strokes at the ends of its letters, giving it a clean and modern look. e.g. Arial.
Slab Serif: A typeface with thick, block-like serifs at the ends of its letters, offering a bold and robust appearance. e.g. Rockwell.
Script: A typeface that mimics cursive handwriting, featuring fluid, elegant, and often decorative strokes. e.g. Kaufmann.
Display: A typeface designed for large-scale use in headlines and advertisements, often featuring unique and elaborate designs to capture attention. e.g. Bourton.
Typography
If you’re getting your design printed in any fashion, like business cards, roller banners or something similar, then there are a few other terms you might need to know. You might be asked to tweak your designs with these things by the printer, or your designer might bring them up during the design process.
Kerning: A fancy word that means, the adjustment of the spacing between individual characters in a font to improve visual appeal and readability.
Leading: The space between lines of text. It’s pronounced as ‘led-ding’ too, just to confuse things.
Orphan: When an element of text is left on its own. This usually happens when the first line of a paragraph is first onto the page, with the rest on the next page. It just looks a little lonely!
Widow: The opposite of an orphan, this is when a single word carries over from the end of a paragraph to the next column or page.
Wanna Learn More Designer Jargon?
Got a headache yet? 😅 Sorry about that! But now, you hopefully have a better idea of what your graphic designer might be saying and what it all means. If you’re eager to learn more about speaking ‘graphic designer’ check out my eBook over on Template Emporium or book in a FREE Curiosity Call, where I’ll happily answer all your design jargon questions.
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