Do you understand what your Graphic Designer is saying?

Many people are apprehensive to talk to a graphic designer because they don't want to appear ignorant. Here is a list of common terms that can help you when you have that talk. Bleed or Bleeding Edge When a page or a cover design extends to and off the edge of the paper it is called a "bleed". In print design, the artwork or block of color must extend off the edge of the page. The artwork or block of color is then printed on larger-size paper. Then the printed page is trimmed to the desired size. Block quote A long quotation -- four or more lines -- within body text, that is set apart in order to clearly distinguish the author's words from the words that the author is quoting. CMYK Stands for the colors Cyan-Magenta-Yellow-Black. In print design, colors are defined as a percentage of each of these 4 colors. For example, the CMYK abbreviation for the color black would be 0-0-0-100. In contrast, display devices (i.e. computer monitors) typically define colors using RGB. DPI Stands for dots per inch. DPI specifies the resolution of an output device, such as a printer or printing press machine. Print resolution usually runs from 300-1200 dots per inch on a printing press while images shown on display devices (i.e. computer monitors) are typically only 72dpi. Flash Vector graphic animation software from Macromedia that allows Flash graphics to look the same across all browsers, as long as the plug-in is installed. One of the advantages of Flash animations is their relatively fast download time. FTP Stands for File Transfer Protocol. FTP allows you to copy or send files (HTML-documents, graphic images, spreadsheets) from one computer to another via the Internet. GIF Stands for Graphics Interchange Format. GIF images are the most widely used graphic format on the web. GIF images display up to 256 colors. Not recommended for print due to low dpi. Grayscale An application of black ink (for print) or the color black (for the screen) that simulates a range of tones. Grayscale images have no hue (color). In print design, a grayscale graphic image appears to be black, white, and shades of gray, but it only uses a single color ink. JPEG Abbreviation for Joint Photographic Experts Group. File format for full-color and black-and-white graphic images. JPEG images allow for more colors than GIF images and are usually smaller in size. Not recommended for print due to low dpi. Kerning The horizontal spacing between the letters in a word. Leading The vertical spacing between lines of text. LPI Abbreviation for Lines Per Inch. Masthead A masthead is a graphic image placed on top of a web page that tells end users what page they are on. Masthead images can contain photos, text, shapes, and/or image maps. A masthead can also be at the top of a magazine cover or newsletter. Meta-tag Meta-tags are HTML tags that can be used to identify the creator of a web page, what HTML specifications a web page follows, the keywords and description of the page, etc. The most common use of a meta-tag in online marketing is the keyword and description tags, which tell the search engines that index meta-tags what description to use in their search query results. Native File A file in its native format, such as: InDesign (.indd), Photoshop (.psd) or Flash (.fla). PDF Stands for Portable Document Format. Created by Adobe Systems in its software program Adobe Acrobat as a universal browser. Files can be downloaded via the web and viewed page by page, provided the user is computer has installed the necessary plug-in which can be downloaded from Adobe's own web site. PPI Stands for pixels per inch. PPI specifies the resolution of an input device, such as a scanner, digital camera, or monitor. Web page resolution ranges from 72-96 pixels per inch. Resolution The resolution of an image is an important factor in determining the attainable output quality. The higher the resolution of an image, the less pixilated it will be and the curves of the image will appear smoother. RGB Stands for the colors Red-Green-Blue. In web design and design for computer monitors, colors are defined in terms of a combination of these three colors. For example, the RGB abbreviation for the color blue shown below is 0-0-255. In contrast, print designers typically define colors using CMYK. Royalty-Free Photos or Images Photos, graphic images, or other intellectual property that are sold for a single standard fee and may be used repeatedly by the purchaser. Typically with royalty-free clauses, the company that sells you the images still owns all of the rights to the images, and they are allowed for use only by the purchaser (i.e., the same images cannot be used by another company or individual without repurchase). Rights-Managed Photos or Images Rights managed images are considered as the "traditional" way to purchase photography. The images are essentially rented from the photo agency or individual photographer and a price for a specific use is negotiated. An additional fee will be added to the cost of the image rental if it is used for any other purpose. When purchasing rights managed images, you are paying an extra cost to have the photographer or photo agency "manage" who has the "rights" to the image. This option provides extra comfort knowing that a direct competitor or any other industry won't be plastering the same images on their campaigns. Sans Serif A style of typeface that means "without feet." Common sans serif typefaces include Arial, Helvetica, AvantGarde and Verdana. Serif A style of typeface that has "little feet." Common serif typefaces include Times Roman, Garamond, and Palatino. The following graphic image shows serif typefaces. Spider/Robot A software program that search engines use which visits every site on the web, follows all of the links, and catalogs all of the text of every web page that (a) contains text, and (b) it is able to visit or crawl. Vector Graphic A graphic image drawn in shapes and lines, called paths. Images created in Illustrator and Freehand (graphic design software) are vector graphics. They can be made into any size and not lose quality and is the preferred format for logos and symbols. Usually an EPS file. Now that you're armed with some terminology, here are a couple of commonly asked questions and how I answer them to my clients? “It looks different on my screen.” A client might ask for a specific Pantone colour from their Pantone swatch book. The designer sets the file exactly as is required, yet when the client sees an example on their computer monitor they are disappointed that the colour isn’t the same. Why is that? Brightness, contrast, colour settings… all monitors have them. Unless two monitors are calibrating to the exact same settings then the colours will always appear different. The best way to colour-match is using printed proofs, and even then, your choice of paper can critically affect the colour of your printed product. “Can you use the image from the website for our brochure?” Sourcing images can be very time-consuming. Many clients will believe that an image they find online is perfect for their print job. However, in order to look clear, web images must have a resolution of 72 dots per inch (dpi). Print work, on the other hand, requires images to have a resolution of at least 300 dpi. "Can you give me the brochure (business card, booklet, etc.) file when you're finished so I can make future edit?" Many designers do not release source files and require the client to go through them for any future changes or projects. There are very good reasons for designers not to release source files for some projects. For example, a Flash animation file will show exactly how a the animation was made. Giving these to the client would divulge work process and trade secrets, which probably took hundreds of hours to learn. Likewise giving a client a layered Photoshop file would be akin to a chef giving away the recipe with the meal. It is generally understood in the design world that the client is buying the finished file, not the components or instructions that went into making it. If you need the source files, make this clear to the designer prior to receiving a price quote, as the designer may have special pricing for clients requiring a template. Make sure you are clear on this before you choose a designer. You also have to be sure you have the appropriate software to open the file as well as some knowledge about how to make changes. If you have other questions about graphic design, please email me and I will be sure to give you an answer to you can better talk to a graphic designer. 2009-01-24T05:44:05Z