Graphic design is a multifaceted field with its own unique language. Learn all the most important terminology with our ultimate graphic design glossary.
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Perhaps you’re thinking about becoming a graphic designer—or collaborating with one on your next creative project. Maybe you’re just curious about the field. Either way, you might find yourself stumped by some of the industry terminology.
From gradients, grids, and gutters to padding, pixels, and prototypes; the language of graphic design can be confusing!
But fear not. We’ve put together a beginner-friendly glossary of all the most important graphic design terms, together with examples. Here they are, ordered from A to Z.
1. Alignment
Alignment is one of the fundamental principles of graphic design. It refers to the arrangement or positioning of elements relative to each other within a design. Alignment helps to create a sense of order and organisation, ensuring a visually cohesive layout. The different types of alignment include left, right, centre, and justified.
Example: In a magazine layout, the headlines, text, and images are aligned along a common vertical or horizontal axis, creating a neat and structured appearance.
2. Analogous (colours)
Analogous colours are groups of colours that are adjacent to each other on the colour wheel and therefore share similar hues. Analogous colour palettes are ideal for achieving a harmonious aesthetic but are not so high on contrast.
Example: Red, orange, and yellow are analogous colours because of where they are located on the colour wheel. See number 12 in our glossary to learn more about the colour wheel.
3. Asymmetry
Asymmetry in design refers to a lack of symmetry or balance between elements. It involves arranging elements in such a way that they do not mirror each other on either side of a central axis. Asymmetry is used to create visual interest and dynamism.
Example: A poster design might have a large graphic element (say, an image) on one side of the page and smaller text on the other, creating asymmetry that draws the viewer’s eye across the composition.
4. Balance
Another fundamental graphic design principle, balance refers to the distribution of visual weight in a layout. It’s achieved by arranging elements so that they create a sense of equilibrium. Balance can be symmetrical, asymmetrical, or radial (where elements radiate outwards from a central point).
Example: In a design with symmetrical balance, elements are distributed evenly around a central axis to create a sense of stability and order. If you’re designing an event poster, for example, you might achieve balance by dividing the poster into two equal halves (vertically) and placing the event title and date in the very centre. You might then place an image directly above this central information, with more text details below.
Example: In a design with symmetrical balance, elements are distributed evenly around a central axis. This creates a sense of stability and order.
5. Bleed
Bleed is a term used in print design (one of the many different types of graphic design). It refers to the area beyond the trim edge of a printed page or graphic where the ink extends. It ensures that there are no white borders when the page is trimmed after printing, allowing colours and images to extend all the way to the edge of the paper.
Example: Imagine you’re designing a flyer for a concert. You want the vibrant background colour to extend right to the edges of the page, without any visible white borders after the flyer is printed and trimmed. So, you add a ‘bleed area’—an additional margin that extends about 3mm beyond the trim edge of the flyer. You then make sure to extend your background colour into this bleed area. After printing, the flyer is trimmed to its final size—with no unsightly white edges to be seen.
6. Body copy
Body copy, or body text, refers to the main text content in a particular design. It is usually the longest piece of text so it’s typically styled in a legible typeface and size for easy reading. See number 50 in our glossary to learn more about typefaces.
Example: In a blog article, the main article text is the body copy, accompanied by a heading and subheadings.
7. Branding
Branding is all about how a product, service, or organisation is perceived by its consumers. It’s a strategic process that focuses on creating a distinctive identity that sets the brand apart from competitors and resonates with the target audience. Branding encompasses visual elements such as logos, colours, and typography, as well as intangible elements such as brand values, personality, tone of voice, and the overall customer experience.
Example: Nike’s branding is instantly recognisable through its iconic swoosh logo, distinctive typography, and “Just Do It” slogan, which collectively evokes a sense of athleticism, empowerment, and quality.
8. Calligraphy
Calligraphy is the art of decorative handwriting or lettering created with a pen or brush. It often emphasises the aesthetic qualities of handwriting such as fluidity, rhythm, and varying line thicknesses. Calligraphy can range from traditional script styles to more contemporary and experimental forms. To see calligraphy in action, check out these 25 calligraphy fonts.
Example: Wedding invitations may feature elegant calligraphy to evoke a sense of sophistication and personalisation.
9. CMYK
CMYK stands for Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and Key (black), which make up the subtractive colour model used in printing. In this model, colours are created by subtracting varying amounts of these four ink colours. CMYK is commonly used in colour printing processes such as offset printing and digital printing.
Example: A designer preparing a brochure for print would convert their digital artwork from RGB (Red, Green, Blue—see number 40 in our glossary) to CMYK mode to ensure that the colours appear accurately when printed using cyan, magenta, yellow, and black inks.
10. Colour palette
A colour palette is a predetermined selection of colours chosen for use in a specific design project, or to form part of a brand’s visual identity. There are six different types of colour palettes: analogous, monochromatic, complementary, split-complementary, triadic, and tetradic. The type of colour palette you choose will shape the overall visual aesthetic, ranging from harmonious and soothing to high-contrast and dynamic. You can learn all about colour palettes in this guide.
Example: A website might use a harmonious colour palette comprising shades of blue and green to create a calming and natural feel, with accents of yellow throughout for contrast and emphasis.
11. Colour theory
Colour theory is the study of how colours interact with each other and how they affect human perception and emotions. It explores principles such as hue, saturation, brightness, contrast, and colour harmony, providing guidelines for effective colour usage in art, design, and communication.
Example: Understanding colour theory helps designers create visually appealing compositions by balancing warm and cool colours, creating focal points, and evoking specific moods or emotions through colour choices.
Learn more: A Complete Guide to Colour Theory in Design.
12. Colour wheel
The colour wheel is an important graphic design tool. It’s a circular diagram that depicts the relationship between colours, as well as their respective tints, tones, hues, and shades. The traditional colour wheel consists of the three primary colours (red, blue, and yellow), the three secondary colours (orange, green, and purple) and the six tertiary colours (chartreuse, teal, violet, magenta, vermillion, and amber).
The best way to get acquainted with the colour wheel is to create your own. We show you how to design a colour wheel in this step-by-step guide.
13. Composition
Composition refers to the arrangement and organisation of visual elements within a design. It involves the deliberate placement of elements such as text, images, and shapes to create a balanced and visually appealing whole. Composition considers factors such as balance, alignment, hierarchy, and focal points to guide the viewer/s as they perceive the design.
Example: If you were designing a poster for a music festival, you’d think carefully about where to place all the different elements such as the name of the festival, performer names, images, and event details. These strategic design choices all come together to create the overall composition of the poster.
14. Contrast
Contrast describes the degree of visual difference between elements in a design. It can refer to differences in colour, texture, size, shape, or weight. Contrast helps to create visual interest, to emphasise important elements, and to establish visual hierarchy (see number 19 in our glossary). In the case of written content, contrast is crucial for ensuring that all text is legible and accessible.
Example: Placing black text on a white background creates high contrast, ensuring that the text is easy to read. Pink text on an orange background, on the other hand, creates low contrast and would be considerably more difficult to read.
15. Font
In typography, font refers to how you apply and style a particular typeface. While the terms typeface and font are often used interchangeably, there is technically a difference between the two. A typeface refers to a particular style of lettering—for example, Times New Roman—while font describes how that typeface is implemented—for example, bold, size 12.
Learn more: Font Types 101—The Ultimate Guide to Font Styles and Their Families.
Example: If you open up a Google Doc and select, for example, EB Garamond from the dropdown list of available typefaces, you then have the option to apply various font styles such as normal, medium, semi-bold, or extra bold.
16. Gradient
A gradient is a gradual transition between two or more colours or shades. It can be linear, radial, or angular, and is often used to add depth, dimension, and visual interest to designs.
Example: A website background featuring a gradient that fades from blue to white creates a sense of depth and adds visual appeal, making the website more engaging for its users.
17. Grid
A grid is a framework of intersecting horizontal and vertical lines used to align and organise content within a design. Grids provide structure, consistency, and visual hierarchy, making it easier for designers to arrange elements and create balanced compositions. Grids are also used in UX and UI design to support responsive design—a design that adapts to different screen sizes.
Example: In graphic design, you might create a magazine layout based on a grid system to ensure that text, images, and other elements are aligned and spaced consistently across multiple pages, resulting in a cohesive and professional-looking design.
18. Gutter
In graphic design, a gutter refers to the space between columns or other elements in a layout. It helps to visually separate content and improve readability by providing breathing room between different sections.
Example: In a brochure layout, a gutter is the space between two columns of text or images. This prevents them from visually merging and ensures that each element stands out on its own.
19. Hierarchy
Hierarchy refers to the organisation of elements based on their importance or significance within a specific design. It involves establishing a visual order that guides the viewer’s attention and emphasises key information. You can achieve hierarchy by varying the size and colour of different elements, and through contrast, typography, white space, and where you position elements on the page.
Example: If you’re designing a website homepage, you’d want the main heading to stand out in the visual hierarchy. To achieve this, you’d make it larger than other elements on the page, and position it above the fold so that the viewer notices it first.
20. Hue
Hue is one of several terms used to describe the properties of colour. A hue is the purest form of a particular colour—the original, base colour without any shade (black), tint (white), or tone (grey). When you add black, white, or grey to a base hue (for example, red), you can achieve variations of that hue—such as light red, deep red, or vibrant red.
21. Ideation
Ideation is the creative process of coming up with different ideas. It involves brainstorming, sketching, and prototyping—essentially any technique that encourages you to explore different concepts and design directions. Ideation is all about experimentation, collaboration, and remaining open-minded. The goal is to innovate and come up with unique, novel ideas.
Example: Before designing a logo, you might hold an ideation session to come up with multiple concepts and explore different angles and directions the logo might take.
22. Iteration
Iteration is the process of repeating a sequence of steps or actions with the aim of refining and improving a design or concept. It involves creating multiple versions, prototypes, or drafts, where each new version is an improvement on the last based on feedback and insights you’ve gained from testing or design reviews.
Example: When creating a logo, designers will often iterate by creating several versions of the logo concept based on feedback from the client. The logo will go through multiple iterations until everybody is happy with it.
23. Kerning
A typography-related term, kerning is the adjustment of spacing between individual characters in a piece of text. Kerning helps to achieve balance, create visual harmony, and enhance readability.
Example: A designer might run through a piece of text and adjust the kerning between certain letters manually if there are any awkward gaps or overlaps between characters.
24. Leading
Another typographic term, leading (pronounced “ledding”) refers to the vertical space between lines of text. The term originates from the strips of lead that were used to separate lines of metal type in traditional printing presses. Leading impacts the readability and visual appearance of text. Tighter leading results in denser, more compact text, while looser leading creates more breathing room.
Example: In a book layout, the leading determines the spacing between lines of text. Optimal leading ensures that the text is comfortably readable without lines appearing too crowded or spread out.
25. Lettermark
A lettermark, also known as a monogram logo, is a type of logo design that consists of letters, usually initials, formed into a unique symbol. Lettermarks are often used by companies with long names to create a concise and recognisable visual identity. You can learn all about the different types of logo design in this guide.
Example: IBM's logo, consisting of the letters "IBM" arranged in a distinctive, geometric form, is a classic example of a lettermark logo.
26. Logo
A logo is a graphic symbol, emblem, or mark that represents a company, brand, product, or organisation. It serves as a visual identifier and plays a crucial role in establishing brand recognition and differentiation in the marketplace.
Example: The Apple logo, a simple bitten apple silhouette, is instantly recognisable and synonymous with the technology giant's brand identity.
Learn more: Everything You Need to Know About Logo Design.
27. Microcopy
Microcopy refers to the small snippets of text used throughout a website, app, or digital interface to provide guidance, instructions, feedback, and reassurance to the end user. Microcopy enhances the user experience by clarifying actions, reducing confusion, and adding personality to the overall interaction.
Example: Error messages, button labels, form fields, and pop-up messages are all examples of microcopy that help the user navigate digital products with ease.
28. Mockup
A mockup is a realistic representation or model of a design concept, typically created to showcase how a final product will look and function. Mockups can be static or interactive and are often used for presentations, client approvals, or testing before the final implementation.
Example: A graphic designer might create a mockup of a website design using design software or prototyping tools to simulate user interactions and demonstrate the layout, typography, colours, and functionality of the website before development begins.
29. Monochrome
A monochrome design is one that uses a monochromatic colour palette—a colour scheme comprising just a single base colour in varying shades, tints, and tones. Monochrome designs inspire a cohesive, harmonious, and minimalist aesthetic.
Example: You might choose a monochrome blue colour scheme for your design project. This would comprise a base hue of blue and then lighter and darker variations of that hue.
30. Moodboard
A moodboard is a visual collage or collection of images, colours, textures, patterns, and other design elements assembled to convey a particular style, theme, or mood. It serves as a tool for designers to explore ideas, gather inspiration, and communicate concepts to clients or team members.
Example: Before starting a branding project for a nature-inspired skincare brand, a designer might create a moodboard featuring images of nature, vibrant colours, and organic textures to evoke a sense of freshness, vitality, and eco-friendliness.
31. Opacity
Opacity refers to the degree of transparency or translucency of an object or layer in a design. It determines how much light can pass through an element, affecting its visibility and appearance. An object with low opacity is more transparent, allowing underlying elements to show through, while an object with high opacity is more opaque, obscuring underlying elements.
Example: In graphic design software, designers can adjust the opacity of layers or objects to create effects such as overlays, fades, and blends, enhancing the depth and visual interest of the design.
32. Padding
Padding refers to the space between the content of an element and its border or edge. It provides breathing room and visual separation between elements, improving readability and enhancing the overall appearance of the design. Padding can be applied to text, images, buttons, and other elements in a layout.
Example: In a website layout, padding around text blocks or images ensures that content is not cramped against neighbouring elements, creating a more balanced and visually pleasing design.
33. Pixels
The term pixels comes from “picture elements”, and it refers to the smallest individual units of colour that make up a digital image or display. Pixels are square-shaped and arranged in a grid pattern, with each pixel representing a single point of light. Pixels are fundamental to digital imagery, used to create and display everything from photographs and illustrations to text and graphics on screens.
Example: The resolution of a digital photograph is measured in pixels, with higher resolutions containing more pixels per inch (PPI) or pixels per centimetre (PPC), resulting in sharper and more detailed images.
34. Proportion
Proportion refers to the relative size, scale, and relationship of elements within a design. It involves balancing the visual weight of different components to create a harmonious and aesthetically pleasing composition. Proportion helps to establish hierarchy, emphasise key elements, and maintain visual balance.
Example: In typography, headings and subheadings are often set in larger font sizes than body text to establish a clear hierarchy of information and guide the reader's attention.
35. Prototype
A prototype is a preliminary version or mockup of a product, design, or concept, created to test and validate ideas, functionalities, and user interactions before proceeding to full-scale production or development. Prototypes can be low-fidelity sketches, wireframes, or high-fidelity interactive simulations, depending on the stage of the design process and the goals of testing.
Example: A UX designer creates a clickable prototype of a mobile app interface to demonstrate user flows, navigation paths, and interactions to stakeholders and gather feedback before finalising the design.
36. Proximity
Proximity is a fundamental graphic design principle. It refers to the visual closeness or grouping of different elements within a layout. Elements positioned in close proximity to each other appear related or connected, helping the viewer to understand that there is a relationship between them.
Example: If you were designing the packaging for a sandwich, you’d use the proximity principle to group essential and related information such as ingredients and nutritional values. This makes it easier for the consumer to find the information they need.
37. Raster / raster images
Raster refers to a type of graphic composed of a grid of pixels, where each pixel contains colour information. Raster images are resolution-dependent, meaning they have a fixed number of pixels and can lose quality when resized or scaled up. Common raster file formats include JPEG, PNG, and GIF.
Example: Photographs captured with digital cameras (e.g. your smartphone camera) are raster images as they are composed of pixels arranged in a grid to form the image.
38. Readability (legibility)
Readability, or legibility, describes the ease with which text can be read and understood. It is influenced by factors such as font choice, font size, line spacing, contrast, and background colour. Designers must strive to enhance readability in order to ensure that text is accessible and comprehensible for readers.
Example: You can improve readability by using a legible typeface (such as a sans-serif typeface—see number 41 in our glossary) and ensuring sufficient contrast between the text and the background colour (for example, black text on a white background).
39. Resolution
Resolution refers to the clarity and level of detail in an image or display, typically measured in pixels per inch (PPI) or dots per inch (DPI). Higher-resolution images contain more pixels per unit of measurement, resulting in sharper and more detailed visuals. Resolution also applies to displays (e.g. a smartphone display or TV screen), indicating the number of pixels available for rendering content.
Example: A high-resolution image printed at 300 DPI (dots per inch) contains more dots per inch than a low-resolution image printed at 72 DPI, resulting in a crisper and more detailed print.
40. RGB
RGB stands for Red, Green, and Blue, which are the primary colours of light used in digital displays and colour reproduction systems. In the RGB colour model, colours are created by combining different intensities of red, green, and blue light. RGB is an additive colour model, meaning that combining the maximum intensities of all three primary colours produces white light. See also CMYK, a subtractive colour model used in print (number 9 in our glossary).
Example: Computer monitors and television screens use RGB to display colours, with each pixel containing red, green, and blue subpixels that emit light to create a wide range of colours.
41. Sans-serif
Sans-serif refers to a typeface—that is, a particular style of lettering—that does not have small decorative strokes (serifs) at the ends of its characters. Sans-serif typefaces are characterised by a clean and modern appearance and optimal readability. As such, they are a popular choice for digital design projects such as websites and apps.
Examples: Arial and Helvetica are well-known examples of sans-serif typefaces commonly used for text on websites and other digital products.
42. Serif
Serif typefaces are those that feature small decorative strokes, known as serifs, at the ends of their characters. Serif typefaces are often associated with tradition, formality, and readability in print media. See also: sans-serif (number 41 in our graphic design glossary), typeface (number 50), and font (number 15).
Example: Times New Roman and Georgia are classic serif typefaces commonly used in newspapers, magazines, and books for body text.
43. Shade
A colour-related term, shade refers to a variation of a colour that has been darkened by adding black to the base hue. Shades are created by reducing the lightness or brightness of a colour, resulting in a deeper or darker version of the original hue.
Example: Adding black to the base hue of blue creates shades of navy or midnight blue, which are darker variations of the original blue colour.
44. SVG (Scalable Vector Graphics)
SVG stands for Scalable Vector Graphics, an XML-based vector image format used for displaying graphics on the web. SVG graphics are composed of mathematical shapes and lines rather than pixels, allowing them to be scaled infinitely without loss of quality. SVGs are ideal for logos, icons, illustrations, and other graphics that need to be displayed in different sizes and resolutions. See also: pixels (number 33 in our glossary).
Example: A website logo created as an SVG can be resized to fit various screen sizes and resolutions without losing quality, ensuring crisp and clear rendering on all devices.
45. Texture
Texture refers to the tactile quality or surface appearance of an object or material, both in the physical world and in visual representations. In graphic design, texture is simulated or implied through the use of visual elements such as patterns, gradients, and brush strokes to add depth, dimension, and visual interest.
Example: A website background featuring a subtle grunge texture adds depth and character, giving the design a tactile feel and enhancing its visual appeal.
Source: 254 Online
46. Tint
A tint is a variation of a colour that has been lightened by adding white to the base hue. Tints are created by increasing the lightness or brightness of a colour, resulting in a softer or pastel version of the original colour. See also: hue (number 20 in our glossary), shade (number 43) and tone (number 47).
Example: Adding white to the base hue of red creates tints of pink or rose, which are lighter variations of the original red colour.
47. Tone
Tone refers to the addition of both black and white (i.e. grey) to alter the saturation or brightness of a base colour or hue. When you edit a photo on your phone, you can dial the saturation up and down. The same goes for colour—you can add different amounts of black and white to a base colour to create more muted tones.
Example: In a grayscale image, different shades of grey represent variations in tone, ranging from light grey (highlights) to dark grey (shadows).
48. Tracking
A typography-related term, tracking—also known as letter-spacing—refers to the uniform adjustment of spacing between all characters in a block of text. It’s used to improve readability and visual consistency, adjust text density, and create visual balance in typography.
Example: Increasing the tracking of a headline or title can help to improve legibility and create a more airy and spacious appearance, while decreasing the tracking can make text appear denser and more compact. See also: kerning (number 23 in our glossary) and leading (number 24).
49. Trim
Trim refers to the final size of a printed document or graphic after it has been cut to its intended dimensions. It represents the finished size of the product as specified in the printing specifications or design layout.
Example: In print production, designers include trim marks on the layout to indicate where the printed piece should be trimmed to its final size after printing.
50. Typeface
In typography, a typeface is a set of characters, letters, and symbols that share a consistent design style. Choosing an appropriate typeface is essential for creating a meaningful brand identity and ensuring that the text is legible. Within a typeface, you have various font styles, weights, and variations such as regular, bold, italic, and condensed. This enables you to create contrast and emphasis while maintaining a cohesive visual appearance.
Example: Helvetica is a popular typeface known for its clean and versatile design, available in various styles and weights for use in print and digital media. See also: sans-serif (number 41 in our glossary) and serif typefaces (number 42).
51. Typography
Typography is the art and technique of arranging typefaces, fonts, and text within a design to enhance readability, legibility, and visual appeal. It involves selecting appropriate typefaces, font sizes, line spacing, and alignment to convey information effectively and create a cohesive visual hierarchy.
Example: A magazine layout utilises typography to establish a consistent visual identity, with headlines, subheadings, body text, and captions styled and arranged to guide the reader's attention and create an engaging reading experience.
For an in-depth exploration of this fascinating discipline, read our full guide: What Is Typography? Everything You Need To Know.
52. Vector image
A vector image is a graphic composed of geometric shapes, lines, and curves defined by mathematical equations rather than pixels. Vector images are resolution-independent, meaning they can be scaled infinitely without loss of quality, making them ideal for designs requiring scalability and flexibility.
Example: Logos, icons, and illustrations created as vector images can be resized for various applications, from small icons on a website to large banners on billboards, without losing clarity or sharpness.
53. White space
White space, also known as negative space, refers to the empty or unmarked areas in a design layout that surround or separate visual elements. White space plays a crucial role in design composition by providing breathing room, improving readability, emphasising content, and creating visual balance.
Example: In a minimalist website design, ample white space around navigation menus and content blocks creates a clean and uncluttered layout, allowing users to focus on the essential information and navigate the site with ease.
Learn more about graphic design
You’re now fluent in the most important graphic design terms. Great stuff! We hope this will enable you to approach your work, studies, or creative endeavours with confidence. And remember: you can always bookmark this post and return to refresh your memory.
If you’d like to learn more about the wonderful world of graphic design, continue with these guides:
- The 15 Best Graphic Design Quotes of All Time
- 21 Graphic Design Books to Add to Your Reading List in 2024
- How To Learn Graphic Design: A Step-by-Step Guide (Including Resources)
In case you need further assistance, here are some of our resources you can consider:
- Watch this session by design veteran and AND’s Academic Head, Prachi Mittal, and our Course Lead, Soumya Tiwari.
- Talk to a course advisor to discuss how you can transform your career with one of our courses.
- Pursue our Graphic Design courses - all courses are taught through live, interactive classes by industry experts, and some even offer a Job Guarantee.
- Take advantage of the scholarship and funding options that come with our courses to overcome any financial hurdle on the path of your career transformation.
Note: All information and/or data from external sources is believed to be accurate as of the date of publication.
