1. Computing & Technology

Page Layout and Design Glossary

From Jacci Howard Bear, About.com Guide

Learn the components of a page and the process of design and page layout through definitions, examples, and tutorials. Take a look at the terminology of page layout and graphic design, especially as it applies to desktop publishing. Get definitions, examples, and tutorials. This is one of several subsets of the About.com Desktop Publishing glossary.
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AA

AAs or Author's Alterations are changes made to projects...

Acknowledgment

The acknowledgment is part of a book's front matter...

Additive Primaries

Colors that add up to white light...

Adjacent Caps

A big letter off to the side...

Adjacent Colors

Color wheel neighbors...

Agate

A standard unit of measurement found primarily in newspaper publishing...

Agate Line

Still used as a unit of measure in advertising space in some newsletters...

Alignment

A principle of design...

Alley

The space between some columns...

Artwork

In desktop publishing artwork is the pictures but sometimes it's the text too when we're talking about camera-ready artwork.

Asymmetrical

Not out of balance, but not perfect mirror images...

Balance

principle of design

Bleed

When any image or element on a page touches the edge of the page leaving no margin...

Bleed

layout and printing term

Bleed Allowance

layout and print term

Block Style

Business letter formatting...

Blurb

One or more lines of text found between the headline and the body of the article...

Body Copy

The main text found in publications we read...

Border

page layout component

Bottom Out

A type of text alignment...

Box (Border)

page layout component

Brainstorming

Thinking up ways to do things...

Busy

Too much can be too busy...

Byline

Identifies the author of a piece of writing...

Call Out

graphics and page layout component

Caption

graphics and page layout component

Center Marks

layout and printing term

Clashing Colors

Opposites that attract attention...

Clipping Paths

graphics and page layout term

Collaterals

Support materials for sales, marketing, and promotion...

Colophon

It's the technical specs of a book or magazine...

Column Guides

page layout tool

Comp, Composite, Comprehensive

layout and printing term

Consistency

Uniform use of fonts, colors, alignment, and more...

Continuation Head

The headline after the jump...

Complementary Colors

Colors that complete one another...

Contrast

One of the principles of design...

Contrasting Colors

Colors that might clash or compliment can contrast...

Corner Marks (Crop Marks)

layout and printing term

Coupon

Voucher for saving money...

Creative Printing

desktop publishing term

Creep

layout and printing term

Creep Allowance

layout and printing term

Crop Marks

layout and printing term

Crop, Cropping

layout and printing term

Desktop Publisher

Someone who does desktop publishing...

Deck

One or more lines of text found between the headline and the body of the article...

Deck

page layout component

Desktop Publishing

The page layout process...

Dropped Caps

Big letters dropped into a hole in a paragraph of text...

Downrule

layout and graphics term

End Sign

page layout component

Emphasis

Creating a focal point...

Flush

A type of alignment...

FPO - For Position Only

A type of placeholder...

Frame (Border)

page layout component

Graphic Design

the process of design

Gray Text

It's not just a color...

Greeking

layout and type term

Guides

page layout tool

Gutter

Where two pages meet in the middle...

Hanging Punctuation

Putting punctuation outside the text alignment...

Initial Caps

The first letter in a paragraph, enhanced...

Kicker

Text that kicks you into noticing it...

Jumpline

Go here, you came from there...

Lorem Ipsum

Lorem ipsum dolor placeholder text...

Magnification (Zoom)

page layout tool

Margin Guides

Dotted lines that represent the page margins of a document...

Margins

Usually empty space around the edges of the page...

Master Guides

Non-printing guides on master pages...

Masthead

page layout component

Mood Board

Prior to thumbnails, part of the design process...

Mug Shots

Pictures of people focusing on the head...

Nameplate

page layout component

Page Layout

Doing desktop publishing...

Pica

Unit of measurement sometimes used in page layout...

Signposting

Something to get your attention...

Book Jacket

Wraps around a book...

Pull-Quote

A specially formatted quote, pulled from a story...

Raised Caps

A bigger letter that rises up above the text (not dropped into it)...

Recto

page layout term

Repetition

Repeat a font style, a color, a placement...

Rule

It's a graphic divider...

Rule of Thumb

Better than a guess...

Ruler Guides

Non-printing guidelines that assist in precise placement of elements...

Standing Elements

Elements that appear on all pages...

Symmetrical

Type of balance that is visually the same side to side or top to bottom...

Template

page layout

Text Composition

typography and page layout

Text Feathering

Forcing bottom alignment...

Tombstoning

Heads that line up horizontally in a multi-column layout...

Thumbnail

Small preview versions of images, sketches...

Trim (Crop)

graphics and layout and printing term

Type Composition (Text Composition)

typography and page layout

Verso

page layout term

Vertical Justification

Aligning text...

Web Design

design and electronic publishing term

White Space

White space is the absence of text and graphics...

Zine

A self-published specialty magazine or fanzine...

Zoom

page layout tool

Glossary Index



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