Student Outreach: Terminology Archives

Vocab Lesson 18: Folios

Terminology 10.27.10 posted by The Editors

A page number is known as a page number, right? Well, in magazine-speak, not necessarily... … MORE

Vocab Lesson 17: Display Type

Terminology 10.20.10 posted by The Editors

If you've read through our 2011 Student Competition rules, then you've come across the term display type. But in order for our instructions to make sense, we thought it might help if we clarify just what display type is... … MORE

Vocab Lesson 16: the Wall

Terminology 10.06.10 posted by The Editors

Pink Floyd's. The Berlin. Your Facebook one. The word wall conjures up lots of associations, and we've got one to add to the list...

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Vocab Lesson 15: Hed and Dek

Terminology 09.29.10 posted by The Editors

Everyone likely knows what a headline is, but have you ever heard it called a hed? We magazine types like to abbreviate things, so...
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Vocab Lessons

Terminology 09.15.10 posted by The Editors

POP QUIZ: Know what that phrase means?
If not, you should check out our Vocab Lesson series from last fall. This is where we try to give you some insider info on the terms and words you'll hear in the magazine world. Some are graphic design terms you might already be familiar with, while others are total magazine-ese ... things like spread, gutter and F.O.B. ... and no, it's not what it might sound like. Before we start this fall's lessons, let's take a look back at what we've already covered. How many of these words do YOU know?

Smart Quotes â€¢ Spine â€¢ F.O.B., B.O.B. and the Well â€¢ Rules â€¢ Gutter â€¢ TK â€¢ Flatplan â€¢ Circulation â€¢ Dummy Copy â€¢ Trade/B2B Magazine â€¢ Body Copy â€¢ Spread â€¢ Shipping â€¢ Cover Lines

Look for the enlightenment to continue starting next week!

Vocab Lesson 14: Cover Lines

Terminology 12.16.09 posted by The Editors

If you've been reading any of the media blogs lately, you've probably come across news about the coverlines on Men's Health magazine. The definition of cover lines is probably pretty obvious, but just to make it official...

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Vocab Lesson 13: Shipping

Terminology 12.09.09 posted by The Editors

No, this is not a post on how to get your holiday gifts to their recipients on time. And it's not even about the process of magazines being shipped out to their subscribers. Shipping in magazine-speak is why your magazine friends can't do dinner this week ... it's deadline time!

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Vocab Lesson 12: Spread

Terminology 12.02.09 posted by The Editors

Know how there are some things in life that it seems like you've known about forever? Like Harry Potter or reality television ... was there ever a time where we DIDN'T know about them? Well, the term spread is kinda like that. It's such a foundation of editorial design, particularly magazine design, that once you know it, you can't imagine not knowing it. Well, for those of you who are just beginning to learn about magazines and editorial design, we're here to help you out.

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Vocab Lesson 11: Body Copy

Terminology 11.18.09 posted by The Editors

You may have to make a copy or two (or 300) with the copy machine in your internship, but in publishing terms, copy actually refers to the text. It is the writing. And body copy refers to a certain piece of writing. It is what truly separates editorial design from the rest ...

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Vocab Lesson 10: Trade/B2B magazine

Terminology 11.11.09 posted by The Editors

So as a design or advertising student, you've probably heard of Advertising Age. If you're into fashion, you also probably know WWD (Women's Wear Daily). And if you're into architecture, you're likely aware of Metropolis, maybe even Interior Design and arcCA magazines. But what about Institutional Investor, Dairy Today or IEEE Spectrum?

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Vocab Lesson 9: Dummy Copy aka "Lorem Ipsum"

Terminology 11.04.09 posted by The Editors

No, it's not a journalism version of those how-to "for dummies" books ... dummy copy, or dummy text, is fake text that designers use as a placeholder for the real story. It is also referred to as filler copy, placeholder text, greeking and lorem ipsum (more details on that term later). Does your publication staff or professor call it something else? Tell us what in the comments section below.

But why wouldn't you use the real thing, you ask?

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Vocab Lesson 8: Circulation

Terminology 10.28.09 posted by The Editors

Circulation is the average number of copies of each publication issue that are distributed, whether through subscription or newsstand purchases or through other no-cost methods.

These numbers can range widely: AARP The Magazine has a circ of 24 million readers; Martha Stewart Living has about 2 million; ReadyMade has about 300,000; while a quarterly literary journal like Tin House has a circ of only 12,000. But a large circulation does not automatically mean success, nor does a small circ mean failure. What matters most is that the magazines are satisfying their readers, no matter how many of them there are.

What does this have to do with design, you ask? Well...

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Vocab Lesson 7: the Flatplan

Terminology 10.21.09 posted by The Editors

When you work on a design project with more than a few pages, you quickly realize you need a plan to figure out what content should go on each page. If you've ever sketched out a few boxes to help you do that, then congratulations! You've created a flatplan!

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Vocab Lesson 6: TK

Terminology 10.14.09 posted by The Editors

When you start dealing with copy for a magazine or other publication, you'll quickly encounter the use of TK ...

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Vocab Lesson 5: the Gutter

Terminology 10.07.09 posted by The Editors

It has many meanings, but in publishing, the gutter refers to the space where 2 facing pages meet. Much like in bowling, you don't want things to fall into it...

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Vocab Lesson 4: Rules

Terminology 09.30.09 posted by The Editors

No, we're not talking about what you were trying to escape as a kid or the seemingly-arbitrary rules your professors make you follow ... we're talking about lines. Yes, lines are more than just lines. Learn more after the jump.

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Vocab Lesson 3: F.O.B., B.O.B. and the WELL

Terminology 09.23.09 posted by The Editors

If you spend enough time around magazine staffers (and if you're attending tomorrow's Pub Crawl event), you're likely to hear the terms F.O.B. and B.O.B. and the well. No, these aren't variations on a common curse phrase... these are real terms that you need to know. Instead of pretending you're in on the game, learn what they really mean after the jump...… MORE

Vocab Lesson 2: SPINE

Terminology 09.16.09 posted by The Editors

Over on our "Grids" blog on the homepage of www.SPD.org, Josh Klenert wrote a post about GQ magazine's recent attention to detail. The photo he posted is shown here (but feel free to check out his post here). So, aside from Michael Jackson, what is that a picture of? Think you know? Find out for sure after the jump.
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Vocab Lesson 1: SMART QUOTES

Terminology 09.09.09 posted by The Editors

As our first Vocab Lesson of the fall semester, we're going to make sure you know the meaning of "smart quotes." They are one of those things that can scream "amateur!" no matter how good a designer you are. Plus it's a term we use a lot here (you'll see soon enough). And in order for you to truly appreciate how witty we are, you gotta know what it means. So...

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Words to the Wise: "Above the Fold"

Terminology 10.08.08 posted by The Editors

As part of our efforts to make this blog more helpful to you, we're starting a new series of posts called "Words to the Wise" all about editorial and media design lingo. If there's a term you've heard but can't quite figure out, email us or post a comment and we'll define it in a future post.

To start us off, today we're featuring a phrase heard several times in last night's SPD@FIT Paper to Pixels panel discussion. "Above the Fold" is...
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