PSEB SS Commercial Art flashcards
PSEB SS Commercial Art · Build recall with a focused review session.
31 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.
- Commercial art definition
- Art created for commercial communication and sale, including advertising, packaging, signage, and print media. Success is measured by clarity of message and audience response, not only by personal expression.
- Elements of art
- The basic visual components used to build any composition: line, shape, form, colour, value, texture, and space. Every layout or illustration is assembled from these seven ingredients.
- Principles of design
- Guidelines for arranging elements: balance, contrast, emphasis, rhythm, proportion, unity, and movement. They determine whether a composition reads clearly and holds attention.
- Complementary colours
- Two hues opposite each other on the colour wheel, such as red and green or blue and orange. Placed together they produce maximum contrast and strong visual vibration.
- Analogous colour scheme
- A harmony built from hues adjacent on the colour wheel, such as yellow, yellow-green, and green. It feels unified and calm but offers less contrast than complementary schemes.
- Monochromatic scheme
- A scheme using a single hue varied only in value and saturation, for example light blue through navy. It is easy to unify but can look flat without tonal contrast.
- Triadic colour scheme
- Three hues evenly spaced around the colour wheel, such as red, yellow, and blue. It gives lively contrast while remaining balanced if one hue dominates.
- Warm versus cool colours
- Warm hues like red, orange, and yellow appear to advance and raise perceived energy or appetite. Cool hues like blue and green appear to recede and suggest calm or cleanliness.
- Visual hierarchy
- The ordered ranking of elements so the eye reads the most important message first. Achieved through size, contrast, colour, position, and isolation of the focal element.
- Rule of thirds
- A composition guide dividing the frame into a three-by-three grid. Placing key subjects near the grid intersections creates more dynamic, less static results than dead-centre placement.
- Negative space
- The empty or unoccupied area around and between design elements. Used deliberately, it separates content, improves legibility, and gives a layout an impression of quality.
- Serif versus sans-serif
- Serif faces have small strokes at letter ends and suit long body text in print. Sans-serif faces lack them and read cleanly at small sizes on screen and signage.
- Kerning and leading
- Kerning is the spacing between individual letter pairs; leading is the vertical distance between lines of type. Poor kerning creates gaps, tight leading makes lines collide.
- CMYK versus RGB
- CMYK is a subtractive ink model used for print; RGB is an additive light model used for screens. Designing in RGB and converting can shift bright colours unexpectedly.
- Print resolution and bleed
- Print images are typically 300 ppi at final output size. Bleed is artwork extending past the trim edge, usually about 3 mm, so cutting leaves no white slivers.
- Logo design criteria
- A good logo is simple, scalable, memorable, versatile across colour and monochrome, and legible when tiny. Fine detail and subtle gradients usually fail in one-colour reproduction.
- Poster design sequence
- Define message and audience, sketch thumbnails, choose and enlarge a rough, then produce final artwork. Margins, hierarchy, and viewing distance are checked at the rough stage.
- Thumbnail, rough, comprehensive
- The staged design workflow: thumbnails are small quick ideas, roughs are larger developed layouts, and comprehensives are polished presentations close to the finished artwork.
- One-point perspective
- A frontal view where parallel receding lines converge at a single vanishing point on the horizon. Used for roads, corridors, and room interiors facing the viewer directly.
- Two-point perspective
- A corner view where two sets of receding lines meet two separate vanishing points on the horizon. Most product and building illustrations use this construction.
- Three-point perspective
- Adds a third vanishing point far above or below the horizon so verticals converge. Used for dramatic tall buildings viewed from ground level or from high above.
- Value scale in rendering
- The ordered range from highlight through mid-tone to core shadow, reflected light, and cast shadow. A consistent light source across all forms makes an illustration believable.
- Lettering guide lines
- Horizontal guides drawn before letterforms: cap line, x-height line, baseline, and descender line. They keep letters consistent in height and alignment across a word or panel.
- Stroke weight consistency
- Within one alphabet style, similar strokes carry similar thickness, with thicks and thins following a single logic. Mixed weights make hand lettering look uneven and amateurish.
- Drawing from observation order
- Establish overall proportion and axis with light construction lines, refine contour, then add value. Starting with small details usually produces distorted proportions.
- Packaging panel hierarchy
- Front panel carries brand and product name for shelf impact; side and back panels carry description, ingredients, instructions, barcode, and legal information. Structure follows the dieline.
- Dieline
- The flat template showing cut and fold lines of a package before assembly. Design artwork must respect the dieline so text and images do not fall across folds or cuts.
- Shelf impact
- How strongly a package or poster stands out among competitors at real viewing distance. Tested by viewing the design small, from a distance, and in a cluttered context.
- Grid system in layout
- An underlying structure of columns and margins that aligns elements consistently. It speeds decisions and gives multi-panel work such as brochures a coherent rhythm.
- Proofing colour
- Checking printed colour against a physical proof under standard light rather than trusting a monitor. Screens vary in calibration and cannot reliably predict ink on paper.
- Portfolio staging
- Keeping thumbnails, roughs, and finals together shows the design process, not just the outcome. Examiners and clients assess decision-making as much as the finished piece.