Lexicon Terms

1. Kerning -refers to the amount of space between two letters (or other characters: numbers, punctuation, etc.) and the process of adjusting that space to avoid awkward-­looking gaps between your letters and improve legibility.  This is  important within design. I found this image on line and being a visual learning, it helped to make sense in topography what kerning is.

2. Emphasis – Emphasis is the focal point of a design.  It is what gets the viewer to stop and look at a piece because with the emphasis we are bringing attention to what is important in the design.  It can be created by contrast and placement, something different attracts the eye.

3. Descender – descender refers to lowercase letters, such as g and y that extend below the base line.  Understanding the length and shape of the descender can affect readability of lines of type.  It also is a identifier for forms of type/typography.

4. Visual Impact –  is the use of imagery, color, shapes, typography, and form to enhance usability and improve the user experience.  I think of how a design impacts what we see, feel, and think.

5. Constraint(s) – Within design, constraints offer the boundaries of design to be created.  It can help to get get started on a project/design by forcing decisions about what, how, size, shape, etc a design will be and then you work within this framework or constraints that you have set up.   In reading, it appears that with design is is a process of decision making and then designing but it is continuous in the process until a project is finished.