Embossing

A decoration technique used primarily on paper, metal, and some plastics in which ink or another printing medium is pressed into the material's surface to create a three-dimensional effect.

More terms you might want to know

Font Weight

The thickness or thinness of a typeface. Common font weights are light, regular/normal, semi-bold, bold and extra bold.

User Interviews

The act of gathering qualitative data about a person's thoughts and feelings related to a product.

Body-storming

A UX design technique to explore and map out a service, product, or system through physical navigation, often completed at the start of a design process to provide designers with an understanding of how users will navigate the system. In addition, body-storming can be used in development to test functionality or measure ease of use.

Gestalt Theory

A theory in psychology that discusses the general idea that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. It's based on a human need to search for stability and meaning, which leads to organic movements towards wholeness. Gestalt Theory assumes there are inherent flaws in how we perceive forms and patterns, and it holds that this innate tendency transforms into an active process of looking for order in reality.

HEART Framework

A framework that helps a company evaluate any aspect of its user experience according to five metrics, which form the acronym HEART. These metrics are: 1. Happiness 2. Engagement 3. Adoption 4. Retention 5. Task success

Tittle

The typographic term for the dot above the letters 'i' and 'j'.

Abstract Mark

An abstract mark is a type of logo where instead of being a recognizable object from everyday life, it is an abstract geometric form representing a business or brand. Famous examples include the BP starburst logo, and the Pepsi divided circle.

Hand-lettering

The art of drawing original characters and symbols — especially for decorative purposes.

Prototype

Usually the first functional form of a new product, created to test a concept or prove out some aspects of design.

Isolation Effect

A psychological principle which predicts that when multiple homogeneous stimuli are presented, the stimulus which differs from the rest is most likely to be remembered. In other words, people tend to remember items in isolation more than those of a similar nature or objects in clusters. This phenomenon has been applied in designing websites and software with various levels of success.

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