GLOSSARY

A list of terms associated with copywriting and graphic or web design.

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Alt tags
Alternate text associated with a web page image or graphic that is displayed when the Internet user hovers the mouse over the graphic. Alt tags should convey what the graphic is for or about and contain good relevant keywords.

Bleed
When any element touches the edge of the page, on one or more sides, leaving no margin, it is said to bleed. Elements that bleed can sometimes add to the cost of printing if a larger size of paper has to be used to accommodate the bleed allowance.

Body copy
The main text of an article, excluding headlines, sub-headings and captions.

Bot
A program that visits websites and ‘reads’ the text and code in order to create entries for a search engine index. All major search engines have them. Also known as a ‘crawler’ or a ‘spider’.

Brand
Your brand is what sets you apart visually from your competitors. It’s your visual identity, and comprises your name, logo, colour scheme and strapline or slogan. It may or may not be trademarked.

Brand identity
How you want the consumer to perceive your product or your brand.

CMYK
Stands for cyan, magenta, yellow, and key (black). Often referred to as process color or four color. Used in color printing to describe exact colour values.

Crawler
A program that visits websites and ‘reads’ the text and code in order to create entries for a search engine index. All major search engines have them. Also known as a ‘spider’ or a ‘bot’.

dpi
Dots per inch, used to measure the resolution of display and printing systems. The more dots, the better and sharper the image.

DTP files
Original design files, in editable form. Usually InDesign or Quark.

Font
A style of typeface, such as Times New Roman, Arial or Verdana.

GIF
Graphics Interchange Format. A low-resolution format best suited to on-screen display. The vast majority of non-photographic images seen on Web pages use the GIF format.GIF reduces images to 256 colors or less, so it’s less suitable for images with millions of colors, such as photographs.

JPG/ JPEG
A file format developed specifically for photographic images by the Joint Photographic Experts Group. Best used for on-screen display or email exchange of large, low-resolution photographs.Not suitable for high resolution commercial printing.

Mark-ups
Copywriter jargon for the changes that need to be made, usually ‘marked-up’ on the original document. Changes are usually marked up using standard proof marks.

Page size
Usually standard ISO A sizes: A4 is similar to a sheet of typing paper, A5 is half A4, A3 is twice A4.

A1 594×841mm

A2 420×594mm

A3 297×420mm

A4 210×297mm

A5 148×210mm

A6 105×148mm

PDF
Portable Document Format. Allows users to share files that will look the same (layout, fonts) on multiple computer systems.

PMS spot colour
Pantone Matching System, used by printers to identify ink colours and reproduce them accurately.

Point
A standard unit of measurement, used to measure type.

Print marketing
Any promo piece that is printed, from catalogues, leaflets and flyers to brochures, beer mats, mouse mats and t-shirts.

Print PDF
A high resolution PDF (1200dpi) suitable for print.

Process colour
Colour created using four basic colours: cyan, magenta, yellow, and key (black).

Proof
A ‘test’ version of a document or file, used to check for errors or inaccuracies.

Proof marks
A system of symbols and abbreviations used to indicate changes that need to be made to a proof of a document.

Proofread
To check copy with an eagle eye in order to detect and mark errors to be corrected.

Pull-quote
A small selection of text “pulled out and quoted” in a larger typeface, to attract attention or highlight information.

Register
Otherwise known as tone of voice, the register should be adapted to suit the audience of your promotional piece.

ROI
Return on Investment – the money or business you get from a promotion weighed against the money you have spent.

Sans serif
Type which does not have serifs. (From French, sans=without). Arial is a sans serif font.

Screen PDF
A low resolution PDF (72dpi) suitable for on-screen display, email and the internet.

Serif
The little extra stroke found at the end of main vertical and horizontal strokes of some letterforms. Times New Roman is a serif font.

Sherpa proof
A colour-accurate proof sent by the printer. Check it thoroughly for errors, including missing characters or images, inaccurate page layout or incorrect text and fonts.

Spider
A program that visits websites and ‘reads’ the text and code in order to create entries for a search engine index. All major search engines have them. Also known as a ‘crawler’ or a ‘bot’.

Strapline
Another name for a slogan or tagline.

Target audience
The group of people that you are aiming to reach with your marketing campaign.

Target market
The group of people that you are trying to reach with your marketing campaign.

TIFF
Tagged Image File Format. A bitmap graphics format, ideal for high resolution printing.

Title tag
Text displayed in the blue bar at the very top of the browser window. Perhaps the most important text on a webpage as far as search engines are concerned, words in the title tag are assigned more importance and are often displayed in search results, and so should be thought through carefully.

URL
Uniform Resource Locator, or more simply, the web address of documents and other resources on the World Wide Web.

USP
Unique Selling Proposition (or Unique Selling Point): the factors that differentiate a product or service from its competitors.

White space
Often undervalued, white space is the absence of text and graphics, providing ‘breathing space’ for the eye.