Aspect Ratio

The ratio of a rectangle's width to its height. It is measured by dividing the shorter side length, here "w" or width, by the longer side length, "h" or height. The aspect ratio may be given as either a fraction or as a decimal.

More terms you might want to know

Pagination

A technique used to sequentially present items in a list or other data set that are too long to display at one time.

Gamification

The process of adding game-like qualities to an experience like a website or application. To ensure that these activities are engaging enough for the users, it often includes gradual rewards such as levels and badges systems, which can further encourage engagement with the app.

Stem

The part of a letter, usually a vertical line, that rise above the x-height.

Serial Position Effect

A phenomenon in psychology in which recalling items in a list imposes an order on the list, with the first and last items remembered best. That is, if given a list of words to remember like "dog apple tree", people will tend to recall "dog" as being at the beginning of the sentence and "tree" as being at the end of it.

Kerning

The process of adjusting the spacing between individual letters to improve or avoid particular visual distortions.

Masthead

The name, logo, and other identifying information at the top of a newspaper or magazine publication.

Pixel-perfect

A phrase that is used in reference to someone's work. The term pixel-perfect can be used to describe something as being flawless without any errors.

Minimum Viable Product (MVP)

A term that means the smallest amount of work that can be done to move a project forward.

PDF File

An abbreviation for Portable Document Format. The PDF format was originally developed to share documents between different operating systems in the late 1980s. Any text document, image or page layout can be saved as a PDF file that includes all of the font information needed to display it without losing quality.

Affordance

Affordances describe a relationship between the environment and an animate object, classified as either positive or negative.

Items, such as a car that leads to movement, have a positive affordance. Things like stairs that lead upwards have a negative affordance because they will not allow for any other form of movement other than up or down if used accordingly.

Problem?

Got a suggestion or found an issue with the glossary?
Let me know!