CMYK
Stands for the colors Cyan-Magenta-Yellow-Black. In print design, colors are defined as a percentage of each of these 4 colors. For example, the CMYK abbreviation for the color black would be 0-0-0-100. In contrast, display devices (i.e. computer monitors) typically define colors using RGB.

Color Cast
A color cast changes the hue (color) of a selected part of an image while keeping the saturation and brightness intact. Viewing an image with a color cast can be similar to viewing it through colored lenses on eyeglasses. A commonly known color cast (in graphic design) is a duotone.

Bevel
Adding a beveled effect to a graphic image gives the image a raised appearance by applying highlight colors and shadow colors to the inside and outside edges.

Creative
Standard term for a banner advertisement; can refer to the design or format of a banner. It can also refer to the process of creating a design.

CSS
Abbreviation for Cascading Style Sheet, a feature of HTML developed by the W3C. With Cascading Style sheets, both web designers and end users can create style templates (sheet) that specifies how different text elements (paragraphs, headings, hyperlinks, etc.) appear on a web page. Currently, not all browsers express CSS formatting in the same manner.

Emboss
Embossing a graphic image adds dimension to it by making the image appear as if it were carved as a projection from a flat background.

Feathering
Feathering the edge of a graphic image gradually dissipates the edge, making the edge look blurry.

Flash
Vector graphic animation software from Macromedia that allows Flash graphics to look the same across all browsers, as long as the plug-in is installed. One of the advantages of Flash animations is their relatively fast download time.

Font
A font is a complete set of characters in a particular size and style of type. This includes the letter set, the number set, and all of the special character and diacritical marks you get by pressing the shift, option, or command/control keys. For example, Times NewRoman Bold Italic is one font, and Times NewRoman Bold is another font. Times NewRoman is a single typeface.

GIF
Stands for Graphics Interchange Format. GIF images are the most widely used graphic format on the web. GIF images display up to 256 colors.

Glow
A glow is the opposite of a shadow in that it creates a surrounding highlight of an image. A high radiance creates a soft, subtle glow and a low radiance creates a hard, bright glow, such as a neon glow.

Hexadecimal
A numbering system which uses a base of 16. The first ten digits are 0-9 and the next six are A-F. Hexadecimal numbers are used to color web pages. For example, the hexadecimal equivalent for the color white is #FFFFFF.

HTML
Abbreviation for Hypertext Markup Language; a cross-platform text-formatting system for creating web pages, including copy, images, sounds, frames, animation and more.

Hue
The actual color of an object. Hue is measured as a location on a color wheel, expressed in degrees. Hue is also understood as the names of specific colors, like blue, red, yellow, etc.

Image Map
An image map is a single graphic image containing multiple, clickable hyperlinks.

Interstitial
An interstitial is a web advertisement that appears in a separate browser window, other than the target web page.

Java
Java is a programming language, created by Sun Microsystems, which allows small applications to be downloaded into your computer for playback. Java can be used for such simple applications as animation to more complex applications such as a calculator.

JavaScript
JavaScript is a scripting language developed by Netscape. JavaScript can make web pages more animated and dynamic in terms of graphics and navigation. One of the most common graphic JavaScript effects is called a mouseover, and Javascript navigation is commonly created using drop-down menus.

JPEG
Abbreviation for Joint Photographic Experts Group. File format for full-color and black-and-white graphic images. JPEG images allow for more colors than GIF images and are usually smaller in size.

Kilobyte
A kilobyte is a storage unit capable of storing 1,024 bytes of information.

Leading
The vertical spacing between lines of text.

Lossy Compression
A term coined by graphics programmers to refer to a technique of shrinking file sizes by giving away some precision of detail. JPEG is an example of a file that is compressed this way. By reducing the so-called quality of a picture when you save it, you can make the file size smaller. Many photos can take of loss of fine detail before it becomes noticeable on a web page.

LPI
Abbreviation for Lines Per Inch.

Masthead
A masthead is a graphic image placed on top of a web page that tells end users what page they are on. Masthead images can contain photos, text, shapes, and/or image maps.

Modem
A modem (modulator/demodulator) is the hardware required to connect telephone lines and is essential for dial-up connections to the Internet.

Moderated Discussion List/Newsgroup
The person who categorizes the topics and selects posts is the moderator. Thus, a moderation discussion list or newsgroup is a service in which the moderator organizes participants' comments or suggestions are organized into topics or categories.

Neon Glow
Type of glow on a graphic image that gives the appearance of neon lighting.

Newbie
Someone who is new to the web, a newsgroup or e-mail, or any other Internet application.

Online
If you are connected to the Internet, you are online. Online advertising is done exclusively on the web or through e-mail.

Online Marketing
Online advertising is done exclusively on the web or through e-mail. Various types of online marketing include:

PDF
Stands for Portable Document Format. Created by Adobe Systems in its software program Adobe Acrobat as a universal browser. Files can be downloaded via the web and viewed page by page, provided the user is computer has installed the necessary plug-in which can be downloaded from Adobe's own web site.

Plug-In
A software extension that provides added capabilities to the browser, for purposes such as viewing, hearing, or saving specially formatted files. Most plug-ins are available via the creator's web page for downloading.

Quick Time Video
Quick Time Video is the Apple technology that allows video, digitized sound and music, 3D, and virtual reality to be viewed on your web site. It's available for Macintosh and Windows-based computers.

RGB
Stands for the colors Red-Green-Blue. In web design and design for computer monitors, colors are defined in terms of a combination of these three colors. For example, the RGB abbreviation for the color blue shown below is 0-0-255. In contrast, print designers typically define colors using CMYK.

Rich Media
Typically, a web site or banner ads that use technology more advanced than standard GIF animation. Rich media banners include: Flash, Shockwave, streaming video, Real Audio/Video, pull-down menus, search boxes, applets that allow for interactivity, and other types of special effects.

Saturation
The color intensity of an image. An image high in saturation will appear to be very bright. An image low in saturation will appear to be duller and more neutral. An image without any saturation is also referred to as a grayscale image.

Screen Font
A part of the font suitcase (of Adobe Type 1 fonts), describes the shape of each character to the operating system so that the font can be seen on a computer screen.

Traffic Node
A group of information pages on a web site.

Typeface
A typeface contains a series of fonts. For example, the typeface Arial contains the fonts Arial, Arial Bold, Arial Italic and Arial Bold Italic.

USP
Abbreviation for Unique Selling Proposition.

Vector Graphic
A graphic image drawn in shapes and lines, called paths. Images created in Illustrator and Freehand (graphic design software) are vector graphics. They are usually exported to be bitmap images.

Video
A series of framed images put together, one after another, to simulate motion and interactivity. A video can be transmitted by number of frames per second and/or the amount of time between switching frames. The difference between video and animation is that video is broken down into individual frames.

Web Site
A web site is a collection of electronic pages generally formatted in HTML (Hypertext Markup Language) that can contain text, graphic images, and multimedia effects such as sound files, video and/or animation files, and other programming elements such as Java and JavaScript.

WYSIWYG
Abbreviation for What You See Is What You Get.