A style of typeface that uses a width-to-height ratio of 1:1.
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.
Small uppercase letters, generally about half as tall as regular uppercase letters.
A data visualisation tool that can be used to explore and group people's thoughts or reactions to a set of concepts. Affinity diagrams are often used in user research and design thinking as an experimental technique for generating new ideas or solutions.
The emergent patterns in these visual representations can help identify which aspects your audience will respond well to, thus enabling decisions on the information architecture and next steps in the process.
It is important to note that affinity diagrams were initially developed for qualitative research but have since been adapted for quantitative research (though they are not typically used with statistical data).
A prediction model used in human-computer interaction. It states that the time required to move to a target area rapidly increases as the distance to the target increases. The law was proposed by Paul Fitts, an American psychologist, in 1954 as a mathematical model of movement with limited cognitive capacity.
Fitts hypothesized that one would quickly select its first apparent target when reaching for an object before considering alternatives — a phenomenon called "target fixation." This tendency would increase progressively with increased distance between the subject and object until it eventually became exponential (i.e., too far away).
The small, non-essential text that appears on an interface. It has been set up specifically to be short and concise to draw attention to an essential user experience.
The path of any movement, mark, shape, or other feature of a design. It can be the border of an element or even the tight edge of a text box, etc.
A set of colors which can be used to create a particular visual effect. It is usually composed of multiple primary, secondary, and tertiary colours.
A portion of an image where the remainder is discarded.
A collage consisting of images, colours and text that is assembled to convey an idea or theme.
The art and technique of arranging type to make written language legible, readable, and appealing when displayed.