Marketing Vocab

A methodology fundamentally incorporating iteration and continuous feedback to refine and deliver a software system. This is a circular process to continuously build out your ideas. The first stage is user research, getting feedback and seeing how users are using products. From there, the information is used to improve, evaluate and monitor the software. This method is usually more expensive because of the improvements throughout the process.

Ai stands for Adobe Illustrator. It is the primary file type for Adobe Illustrator and is used for vector points. This file type cannot be rendered by a web browser, but can be directly placed in InDesign or Photoshop.

A broad term that encompasses a variety of tools, techniques and processes used for extracting useful information or meaningful patterns from data. Aids in making informed choices.

The back end of a website is the server and database. The back end development is working on building and maintaining the technology that makes the website function.

Bleed is allowing a design to go beyond the edge of the page so that there is no margin. By extending the design to the edges, there will be no white trim around the outside.

A technique using either actual cards or software whereby users generate an information hierarchy that can then form the basis of an information architecture or navigation menu.

CMYK stands for cyan, magenta, yellow and black. They are the four colors used for process printing color images. Also considered subtractive colors.

Reviewing and cataloguing a client’s existing repository of content. A content audit looks specifically at the website to identify what needs to be fixed. This process is beneficial to analyze for SEO. The findings inform how to tweak SEO to see if any of the information can be turned into video or blog content.

Adobe Creative Cloud is a group of software applications from Adobe. These programs allow you to do graphic design, video editing, web development and photography editing. There are multiple options for purchasing the software: monthly and annual subscriptions or packages to purchase more than one applicaton.

DPI stands for dots per inch and PPI stands for pixels per inch. In design they are referred to as the resolution of the image. DPI has to do with printed images, while PPI has to do with digital images.

EPS stands for encapsulated PostScript. This file type can be manipulated in Illustrator and it is good for going between applications from different companies. This file type is most likely to be seen in stock vector images.

The front end of a website is the part the users interact with, so front end development is working on the website's user-facing elements. Front end development involves knowing the three main languages of coding: HTML, CSS and Javascript.

GIF stands for graphic interface format. This file type can be aminated or transparent but does not have the best compression. Used almost exclusively today for animation.

A graphic designer is a professional who uses design elements like typography, motion graphics, or images to communicate messages visually. There are so many facets in graphic design one can specialize in, the opportunities are endless.

A grid is used in print and digital design to help align elements to create consistency. Having a grid allows designers to work and collaborate on a plan to place elements.

A prototype which is quite close to the final product. There is typically lots of detail and a good indication of the final proposed aesthetics and functionality. This is good to use when you want to get opinions the design.

The art and science of organizing and labeling websites, intranets, online communities and software to support usability. The goal is to help the users find informtion on the website.

JPEG stands for joint photographic experts group. This file type has the best compression and is good to use for rectangular images on a website, as they cannot be transparent.

Kerning is a typography term that describes adjusting the space between characters in a word to so that it is visually balanced. For any finished work, you should make sure your headlines and important text is kerned.

Keyword research is an SEO task that takes the popular words and phrases people look for in the search engines and rank them. Keywords gives marketers a better understanding of how high the demand is for certain keywords and how hard it would be to compete for those terms in the organic search results.

Leading is a typography term that describes how lines of text are spaced verticaly,. It is also known as the line height. Too narrow of leading in a paragraph can feel crowded and be difficult to read.

Link building is the process of improving the quantity and quality of inbound hyperlinks from other websites to your own with the objective of increasing SEO rankings. Serch engines use links to find new web pages and determine the ranking of the page in the search engine's results.

A quick and easy translation of high level design concepts into tangible and testable artifacts, giving an indication of the direction that the product is heading.

Marketing is the processes for creating, communicating, delivering and exchanging offerings that have value for customers, clients, partners and society at large.

A native app is an application built to be run as an app on a mobile device, not as a web page. Examples of native apps include using sensors in the phone like GPS or accelerometer, or IR and near field communication sensors.

A rough, often hand-sketched, drawing of a user interface used in a usability test to gather feedback. This is good to do in the eary stages to quicky visualize and test ideas of what the website will look like.

PDF stands for portable document format. It is a great file type for sending items for printing. This file type can also be interactive, contain Photoshop layers and can contain editable vectors.

A fictitious identity that reflects one of the user groups for whom you are designing. Having personas is a good way to identify subtle UX issues more quickly.

PNG stands for portable network graphics. This fie type is transparent, and an ideal format for icons and logos. It has decent compresson and is a good for images that have any typography.

A portfolio contains examples of work to showcase skills and experience, typically with the goal of getting a job. A portfolio can include resume, design work, artwork, reports, lesson plans, transcripts, certifications, articles and letters.

PSD stands for Photoshop document. It is the primary Adobe Photoshop file type. Photoshop file sizes can get very large, but they contain all the informaton for your working file and can be placed directly into Illustrator or InDesign.

Rastor graphics are made up of a grid of pixels that create an image. As each pixel becomes larger it becomes more blurry, which can ruin detail for anything below 300DPI.

RGB stands for red, green and blue. They are used on digital screens and devices. When these colors mix, they make white. Also considered additive colors.

Sales describes the activities that lead to the selling of goods or services. Businesses usually have sales teams broken up into groups to sell to a target customer, particular region, product or service.

Scamp is a rough draft or mockup of a design. A scamp does not have to be elaborate, it can be a quick drawing or more of a formal presentation. Either way it is a good way for the designer to show their ideas.

Search engine optimization is the task of making changes to a websites design, development and content to show up higher in search engines when users search for specific terms.

A complete list of all the pages available on a website. It is a map of how all the pages on the website will be laid out. It's purpose is to inform site engines about the pages that are on you site.

Squarespace is a private content management website for building and hosting websites. Since Squarespace is not open source, there is a fee to build and host a website with them.

SVG stands for scalable vector graphic. This file type is used for vector objects, which can be manipulated in Illustrator or converted to HTML. It is not fully supported by web browsers and doesn't contain all Adobe Illustrator information.

Traffic estimation and prediction systems (TrEPS) have the potential to improve traffic conditions and reduce travel delays by facilitating better utilization of available capacity.

Typography is the art and technique of arranging type to make the language legible, readable and visually pleasing. It is a key skill for those doing graphic design work.

UI stands for user interface design, which focuses on making the user's interaction easy, efficient, and user-friendly.

The step-by-step journey that a user takes to reach their goal. A user journey tests user experience of the entire process and aims to keep user journey cohesive.

UX stands for user experience design. It is the study of the ease of use and learnability of an object, primarily in the web industry. Understanding how people will be using an object or piece of technology — why they are there, how they are going to use it and what limitations exist to make it a good experience.

Vector graphics are points on a plane that are connected by lines and curves to create an image. They are a crisp, clean and ideal for printing at any size.

Hierarchy in design refers to the way content is organized and presented for the viewer to imply importance. It can be achieved by size, color, contrast, alignment, repetition, proximity, style and texture.

A rough guide for the layout of a website or app, either done with pen and paper or with wireframing software. A wireframe shows the minimal, barebones design of a website or app that does not look finished. Wireframes are helpful when communicating a high level design of a website or an app. Wireframes elimiate the situation where a client might get hung up on a specific design element instead of commenting on the overal design.

WordPress is a free open source content management system. This CMS is very easy to use and you don't need to be a developer to use it. The user will need to set up hosting and domain name for the website when using WordPress.