I recently sat down with a client to discuss her logo design and overall brand look. During our conversation, she mentioned to me on several occasions that she didn’t know how to articulate her thoughts and that I had “all the right words” to describe what she was thinking. It made me realize that we live and breathe this stuff – advertising design. We know the lingo and how to talk the talk. Do you? 

Here are just a few common buzzwords that will have you sounding like a slick ad guy (or chick) straight out of Mad Men. Well, there are more than a few – so here are A-L!

Bad Break – refers to widows or orphans in text copy or any line breaks that cause awkward spacing or reading.

Bleed – when a design element (i.e. photo or color bar) continues beyond the final edge of the piece. The printer can then trim without a white edge showing. No bleed means the elements are with in a safe distance from the trim line of the piece. 

Click/Clickthrough – A click is when a user interacts with an online advertisement and is directed toward the advertiser’s destination. Although often used interchangeably, clickthroughs imply that the user actually landed on the advertiser’s page.