Balance - The design principle that one side of a layout must be given equal weight compared to another. Balance is achieved through the placement of type and graphic elements.
Banner - The place where a magazine's logo (and it's motto or subtitle) appears
Body Copy - The main text of an article.
Brand - The magazine is a 'brand', in the same way as GAP or Levis is a brand. With the growth of synergy, a magazine might have spin off products such as a radio station, TV channel, clothing line or merchandise.
Bullet - A circle or dingbat before each item on a list
Byline - The name of the article's author.
Callout - Explanation of a specific area of an illustration or diagram.
Caption - Also called a cutline.
Consistency - The principle that a magazine should retain some elements throughout an edition of a magazine and also from month to month. Inconsistency in typeface, design, layout etc can confuse and alienate readers. See also: unity.
Contrast - The principle that important elements are given emphasis on a page through the use of size, colour, texture or placement whilst less important elements are minimised.
Copy - The written text.
Cover - Divided into OFC (Outside Front Cover), IFC (Inside Front Cover)
Cover Lines - Also known as sell-lines. The lines on the front cover that advertise the contents.
Crop - To cut or trim an image.
Deck - Text below a headline that summarises or provides a lead-in to the article.
Display Type - Type that is larger than the body copy, such as sub-headings and pull quotes.
Drop Cap - The large letter, like illuminated writing, sometimes found as the first letter of an article.
Font - All the sizes and styles of a typeface family.
Four F's - Format, Formula, Frame, Function.
Glossy - A magazine with glossy pages. Also refers to a magazine that is the standard magazine sizes of 8 by 11 inches to 10 by 13 inches, or 20 by 28 cm to 23 by 33 cm.
Graphic - The visual element of the magazine like illustrations and photographs, as opposed to typographic or copy which refers to fonts and words.
Grid - An invisible structure that guides the placement of graphics and text on a page.
Logotype or Logo - The name of the magazine, also known as the flag. Found in the banner space, but often repeated elsewhere, like on the contents page.
Margin - The measured white space at the top, bottom, left and right edges of the text. If anything goes over the margins, it is said to bleed.
Masthead - A box, usually about a column wide, that lists the magazine's editors designers, business staff and information about the publishing company, subscriptions and contact information.
Matte - A dull, unglossy finish on a page.
Montage - The assembly of several photos or illustrations into a single piece of art.
Pagination - The process of creating complete page layouts and putting them in order using DTP (Desk Top Publishing) software.
Palette - A set of colours that can be used in a magazine, defined in advance to ensure a consistent look and brand from issue to issue.
Pull Quote - An excerpt from an article, often a quotation from an interview, that has been pulled out, enlarged and used as a design element to break up body text.
Sans-serif - A font without feet.
Sequence - The design principle that the designer can choose the order in which readers look at items on a page, using size, colour, shape and placement.
Serif - A font that has feet
Slab serif - A typeface using heavy, even serifs.
Subhead - A short headline used to break up paragraphs within body copy.
Subtitle - A heading beneath the logotype that acts as the magazines mottos.
Typeface - A style of font or type.
Unity - A consistency in design style throughout the magazine.
