Branding and
Marketing Terms
Brand
A definable set of values uniquely associated
by people with a particular product, service or
company trade mark.
Brand Identity
The visual ways in which a brand presents itself,
i.e. through a distinctive name, letterform or
symbol.
Brand Positioning
The defining and managing of what a brand
represents in the minds of customers, in relation
to the competition.
Brand Values
The essence of a brand, usually expressed in
a small number of key words, e.g. progressive,
responsive and efficient.
Brand Signature
A graphic device which uniquely identifies an
organisation, company, brand or product. It can
be a combination of letterforms and a symbol.
Corporate Brand
Term used to describe a company or
organisation which has attained brand status.
Corporate Image
The mental picture people form of a company
– partly controlled by the company itself (e.g.
visual identity), and partly by external influences
(e.g. press and public opinion).
Registered Trade Mark
A Sign capable of being represented graphically
which distinguishes a company, product or
service from another.
Sub-brand
A distinctive element that uniquely identifies
a separate product/service offer to a distinct
target customer.
Tagline
A key phrase which encapsulates what the
company does and how it does it. It can be
used in both corporate and promotional
contexts.
Visual Identity
The sum of all the visual elements used
by a company to distinguish itself from its
competitors.
Production Terms
Artwork
The base materials from which printing films
and plates are produced.
Baseline
The line (not printed) on which letters sit or
align.
Bleed
That part of an image that extends up to and
beyond the trimmed edge of a page.
Bromide
An image or text in black and white, reproduced
on photosensitive paper, used in the production
of artwork.
Coated/Uncoated
Coated is a general term used for paper on
which the surface has a mineral coating applied
which gives a smooth finish; uncoated paper
does not have this extra coating applied.
Cropping
Selecting an area of a image or illustration to fit
into a defined space.
Film
Transparent plastic materials, usually cellulose
acetate, which can be coated with light-sensitive
emulsion for imageic recording
of an image.
Font
The complete character set of a particular
typeface.
Four color process
A method of printing which achieves a full color
appearance in image or illustration by using the
four process printing colors: cyan, magenta,
yellow and black (CMYK).
Gloss
A shiny surface on paper or ink.
Grid
A measuring guide set up for page layouts to
help ensure consistency, show type column
widths, picture areas etc, but are never actually
printed themselves.
Kerning
Increasing or decreasing the space between
individual typeface characters.
Keyline
An outline which defines the size and position
of printing or non-printing image.
Baseline
Horizontally formatted i.e. width greater than
height.
Line spacing
The space between lines of text
(from baseline to baseline).
Letterspacing
The space between individual typeface
characters.
Lowercase
Small letters (a, b, c).
Pantone or PMS
Internationally accepted color matching/ mixing
system.
Point or pt
Typographical measurement in the US and UK,
equivalent to 0.351mm.
Portrait
Vertically formatted, i.e. height greater than
width.
Print
A copy of a image on photo-sensitive paper.
Proof
A test print provided by the printer so you can
check quality/color etc. before asking the printer
to proceed with actual printing.
Serif and Sanserif
Serifs are the short, fine lines at the ends of
main strokes of characters in a typeface. Sanserif
typefaces do not have serifs.
Stock
Type of paper or card.
Tint
The effect achieved by breaking up a color into
a percentage, using dots, which allows white
paper to show through (sometimes referred to
as tint laying).
Transparency
A imageically developed image on transparent
film. The term usually refers to a positive image
in color, though it is also applicable to any
image on a transparent base.
Typeface or Type
A complete set of letterforms and other
characters (e.g. numerals and punctuation)
which has been designed in a specific and
distinctive way.
Type style
The particular design or ‘cut' of a typeface (e.g.
roman, italic, condensed or extended).
Type weight
The thickness or width of a typeface (e.g. light,
regular, bold or black).
Typography
The art, design and general appearance
of printed matter using type.
Uppercase
Capital letters (A, B, C).
Weight
(of paper stock) Weight or grammage of a sheet
of paper, normally expressed in gsm (grammes
per square metre).
Wordspacing
The space between individual words.
Glossary of Terms
