10 design terms every marketer needs to know

It is an established fact that visual content is more appealing than textual content. Visuals tend to capture the attention of your audience almost instantly and for a longer period of time as compared to text. All marketing channels make abundant use of imagery, making it vital for marketers to be fluent in ‘designer-speak’. Be it website designs or infographics, marketers can only do full justice to visual content when they can communicate with their design team effortlessly. Here are 10 design terms every marketer must be aware of.

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Wireframes

A wireframe is a basic layout which displays the functional elements of a page or a website. It is typically used to plan a site's structure and functionality without incorporating the design elements.

White space

White space is any section of a design or document that is left empty to drive focus to other elements on the page. It helps separate text and graphics to make the design look less crowded.

Gradient

Gradient is when one colour fades gradually, giving way to another colour, or when the design moves from opaque to transparent seamlessly.

Below the fold

A lot of times, like in the case of infographics, a design is long and requires the user to scroll down to see the rest of it. The part of the design that requires viewers to scroll down is known as below the fold.

Responsive

Users are constantly online on their mobiles and tablets as they are on the go. Any web design that adjusts its layout depending on the screen size of the user is known as a responsive design.

Vector images

One can scale a vector image to any size without the fear distorting it. This type of graphic is chiefly used in printing as the design can be enlarged without losing image quality.

Saturation

Saturation is the quantity of colour that an image contains. A design should be moderately saturated as excess saturation can impair the display quality of the image.

Image banks

Image banks are photographs accumulated in a folder that one can access when looking for a particular type of image. Keeping an image bank is handy as it helps save time and effort when you need an image instantly.

Information visualisation

The main aim of information visualisation is to educate the viewer about the information at hand as quickly as possible. It is aesthetically engaging and gets viewers hooked almost instantly.

Visual storytelling

Visual storytelling utilises visual communication to craft a narrative that describes a concept and often evokes an emotional reaction. This kind of communication aims to persuade the viewer to reach a definitive conclusion.

Understanding the language and important terms of design will make communication easy between a marketer and a graphic designer. It will also help the marketer sell the design to the client when he is proficient in designer speak.