L

Leading – The vertical space between lines of text.

Loupe – A magnifying glass, often shaped as an upturned cup with the lens at the top, used for examining slides or checking the detail of printed material.

Lossless – Any saving / compression method which retains all the quality of the original, no data is lost.

Lossy – A method where some data (detail) is lost to varying degrees depending on how much compression is applied.

K

Kerning – refers to the spacing between any two particular letters. For instance, ‘AV’ has a closer kerning than some other combinations to give visual balance.

KISS – “Keep It Simple, Stupid”, a useful phrase to remind creatives to make sure that they’re not over-complicating a concept. Carefully considered but simple ideas are the most effective.

Kiss-Cut – A type of cut which just ‘kisses’ the paper. A notable use is in the production of self-adhesive stickers where the stickers are cut to shape, leaving the peel-away backing intact.

J

Java – Not to be confused with JavaScript, this is a programming language which allows small programs to be downloaded onto computers and run.

JavaScript – Is a scripting language which adds interactivity to web pages. Effects such as drop-down menus, roll-overs and slideshows are typically written with JavaScript.

JPEG or JPG – An image file format. Extremely common, many web graphics use this format, as do digital cameras.

jQuery – jQuery is a fast and concise JavaScript Library that simplifies HTML document traversing, event handling, animating, and Ajax interactions for rapid web development.

I

Idea – The same as concept.

Imposition (Pagination) – The process of arranging pages ready for printing. Although we read items in numerical order, a different order needs to be applied depending on how the item is to be printed.

Indirect Visual – An image or graphic that is somewhat related to the headline, either directly or indirectly. Used to convey mood and feeling.

Interface (User Interface) – Either on a web page, mobile phone, or any other interface which a user interacts with.

Interruptive Methods – This refers to web advertising that interrupts the user by using tricks like pop-ups, animated banners etc. Web users find these extremely annoying.

Interstitials – As Interruptive Methods, these are unsolicited web pages that appear to user before they can access the page they wanted to see.

H

Headline Twist – A technique often used by comedians, whereby they lead users thought down one trail, only to reveal an unexpected punchline. In marketing, this can be either humorous or serious.

Hex / Hexadecimal – A numbering system which uses the numbers 0 – 9 and the letters A – F. This system is used to define colours for use on the web, pre-fixed with # to mark it a colour. #000000 is black, #ffffff is white.

HTML – Abbreviation of HyperText Markup Language. The fundamental coding used to develop web pages.

Hickey – A mark, blotch or other artefact left on a printed item. An error usually created by foreign matter affecting the print run.

Hyperlink (or Link) – A clickable element that directs the user to another web page, or part on the same page.

G

Gerunds – These are words which end in “ing”. You should avoid having too many of these close together.

Ghosting – Whereby elements in the background are visible through foreground elements. Sometimes this occurs as an undesired effect when printing.

Gif – An image file designed specifically for the web. It allows transparency, and can also be animated. It typically has a low number of colours and small file size.

Glow – Can provide a similar effect to a drop-shadow, this will provide a glowing edge either on the inside or outside of a shape.

Gradient – A gradient defines with subtle blending from one colour to another.

Grid – A method which is used to layout content either for print or web. Well thought-out grids are based upon mathematical formula.

Guerilla – Usually followed by “advertising” or “marketing”, this applies to ambient media, often using people, stunts and props to create innovative campaigns.

C

Call To Action – On a website or in other marketing media, a ‘call-to-action’ is something which encourages the customers to perform an action e.g. request a brochure.

Campaign – A series or marketing efforts.

Cap Height – In typography, this is the distance from the baseline to the top of the capital letters.

Caption – Copy which accompanies a photo, illustration etc. Descriptive text.

CGI – An external application that is executed by a HTTP server in response to an action you perform in a Web browser, such as clicking a link, image, or another interactive element of a Web page.

Character – This to refers to any symbol, such as a letter, number, punctuation.

CMYK – This is a colour mode used for printing materials: Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and BlacK. The colour amounts are expressed as percentages – meaning a total of 400% is possible, though this can cause issues when printing as the material being printed onto can become over-saturated.

Cliché – Any phrase, visual or idea that’s now trite and hackneyed.

Collate – The act of organising paper into it’s final order, ready for binding.

Colour Channel – Each channel represents one level of color in the image; for example, RGB has three color channels, while CMYK has four. When all the channels are printed together, they produce the entire range of colours in the image.

Comb Bind – A bind using a flexible plastic comb that is curled.

Comparative Advertising – Any ad or campaign that directly or indirectly compares itself to one or more competing brands.

Compression – Refers to the method of ‘compressing’ files, most commonly images and videos, in order to make the file sizes smaller. Compression will reduce quality, so it’s a bit of an art to compress something correctly.

Comps / Comprehensives – Drafts of a piece of work.

Concepts – The concept is the deeper thought behind an ad or strategy.

Contrast and Contradiction – When a headline or other headline conflicts or contradicts the visual, creating tension and surprise.

Contrasting Pair / Headline Twist – Where a strap-line or slogan uses contrasting terms. e.g. Argos’ “Famous names at unheard of prices.”

Copy – Apart from its more obvious meaning, being a duplicate of something, it refers to written text.

Creative Process – A term that encompasses stages that are undertaken as part of a project.

Creep – Refers to the middle pages of a document extending outwards slightly of the outer-most pages.

Crop Marks – Small guidelines which are exported on printed material to indicate where they should be trimmed as part of the print-finishing processes.

Cropping – Cutting out the required part of an image, discarding the rest.

Cure – To allow inks, varnishes and other coatings to dry properly.

Cut Back – A technique in either TV or Radio where after the ‘action’ was interrupted by, for instance a voice over, then cuts back to the action briefly.

Cutting Die – The plate, usually custom ordered, that is used to cut materials.