Designer’s Lingo
You want to hire a designer to create your logo or website and you have no experience in this field what so ever. Having a conversation with a designer is sometimes confusing when you have no idea what they are talking about. Here are a few words, definitions and acronyms designers use.
- Vectors: Vector graphics are visuals that are comprised of geometrical shapes, as opposed to tiny pixel dots. Their advantage to the pixel-based Bitmap graphics is that they can be scaled better for much larger sizes. Technically, vectors are made by stretching strokes from one point to the other. Though you may be imagining squares or triangles, vector graphics are also used to create a huge variety of images. They’re most commonly used for logos, icons and infographic designs.
- Bitmap: Unlike vectors, bitmap visuals are made out of pixels – those tiny color dots that are now infamous for 80’s computer game design. Bitmap images always depend on the resolution. If you zoom in too much, you will be able to see the dots that comprise the full image. For instance – every photo that you take with your camera is a Bitmap image.
- CMYK: Also known as “Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Key (Black) Color Model”, CMYK is a common color scheme identified with print graphics. The four colors at the base of this model represent the ink colors injected by printers. Their various combinations create the color spectrum you see on printed materials.
- RGB: Also known as “Red, Green and Blue Color Model”. If CMYK is print, RGB is the color model of digital graphics. Unlike printers, computer screens “transmit” red, green and blue colors to create the digital palette. RGB is therefore the color model for web design.
- Responsive: What can web design respond to, you ask? To the type of device that it’s viewed with, of course. With the rise of mobile and tablet web usage, responsive design – web design that makes sure your site looks great on all devices – is a key condition when designing a website.
So the next time you talk with your designer, you will sound like a pro.