This page is a reference list: each term is defined so that it can be read on its own. Use your browser’s find command (Ctrl/Cmd + F) to jump to a term.

Brand strategy · Positioning · Brand architecture · Brand identity · Corporate identity · Logo · Brand guidelines · Tone of voice · Naming · Rebranding · Packaging design · Key visual · Moodboard · Typography · Grid system · Vector graphic · CMYK and RGB · Bleed · Mockup · UI · UX · Landing page · Conversion rate · CRO · SEO · GEO · AEO · Core Web Vitals · Schema.org · Canonical · Hreflang · Motion graphics · Storyboard · ROAS

Brand strategy

Brand strategy is the written set of decisions defining who a brand speaks to, with what promise and against which competitors. Every design and communication choice is derived from it.

Positioning

Positioning describes the category a brand occupies in the audience's mind and the difference it stands for. A single positioning sentence tests every decision from campaign to packaging.

Brand architecture

Brand architecture is the structure that relates a company's master brand, sub-brands and product names. Built badly, marketing budget is scattered across names that never reinforce each other.

Brand identity

Brand identity is the whole made up of a brand's logo, colour, typography, photographic language and tone of voice. Unlike a logo, it is a repeatable system rather than a single mark.

Corporate identity

Corporate identity is the set of rules and templates that make a company look the same at every touchpoint, from business cards and vehicle liveries to decks and email signatures.

Logo

A logo is the visual mark that represents a brand. A good one stays legible at favicon size, on a building sign and in single-colour print.

Brand guidelines

Brand guidelines document how the identity must be used: minimum clear space, colour values, typographic scale and prohibited applications.

Tone of voice

Tone of voice is the set of rules governing how a brand speaks in writing and in person. The same fact told formally, warmly or technically produces different brand perceptions.

Naming

Naming is the development of a brand or product name against strategy, pronunciation, domain availability and trademark clearance. A name is not finished until the legal check is done.

Rebranding

Rebranding is the rebuilding of an existing brand's positioning and/or visual identity. It is not merely a logo change; more often the promise itself changes.

Packaging design

Packaging design produces the product's first and often only sales argument on the shelf. Legibility, regulated information areas and production realities are solved together.

Key visual

A key visual is the master image a campaign repeats across every channel. The medium changes; the core of the composition does not.

Moodboard

A moodboard is a panel of visual references assembled before design starts, to agree on direction. An approved moodboard shortens later revision rounds.

Typography

Typography is the selection and setting of typefaces. In a brand identity it usually covers far more surface than the logo does.

Grid system

A grid system is the invisible structure of columns and rows that page elements align to. It is the technical basis of consistency between pages.

Vector graphic

A vector graphic is defined by mathematical curves rather than pixels, so it stays sharp at any size. Logos are produced as vectors for this reason.

CMYK and RGB

CMYK is the colour space for print, RGB for screens. Some on-screen colours cannot be reproduced exactly in print, so brand colours are specified separately in both.

Bleed

Bleed is the area a design extends beyond the trim line to absorb cutting tolerance in print. Three millimetres per edge is the common allowance.

Mockup

A mockup is a presentation image showing how a design will look on a real surface. It makes an abstract design concrete during approval.

UI

UI, the user interface, is the visible and interactive layer of a digital product: buttons, forms, typography and status indicators.

UX

UX, user experience, is how a user's whole interaction with a product is structured. Good UI does not rescue a badly structured flow.

Landing page

A landing page is a campaign page built around one message and one action. Navigation and outbound links are deliberately reduced.

Conversion rate

Conversion rate is the percentage of visitors completing the intended action — a form, a call, a purchase. Raising it is the most direct way to grow revenue without buying more traffic.

CRO

CRO, conversion rate optimisation, is the systematic raising of conversion rate through measurement and testing. It proceeds on data rather than assumption.

SEO

SEO, search engine optimisation, is the technical and editorial work that increases a site's organic visibility in search results.

GEO

GEO, generative engine optimisation, is the work of getting a brand cited in the answers produced by generative AI systems such as ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity.

AEO

AEO, answer engine optimisation, makes content usable in direct-answer surfaces such as featured snippets and AI overviews. Question-and-answer structure and clear definitions are essential.

Core Web Vitals

Core Web Vitals are Google's page experience metrics — LCP, INP and CLS — measuring loading speed, interaction delay and layout shift respectively.

Schema.org

Schema.org is the shared structured-data vocabulary that tells machines what kind of information a page contains. It is usually added as JSON-LD.

Canonical

The canonical tag declares the principal address when the same content is reachable at several URLs, preventing duplicate-content signals from splitting.

Hreflang

Hreflang links the language and regional versions of the same content. Implemented correctly, a user is served the version in their own language.

Motion graphics

Motion graphics is video in which typography, graphics and icons carry the narrative through movement. It is used to explain a complex process quickly.

Storyboard

A storyboard is a frame-by-frame plan of a film's scenes drawn before the shoot. It reduces uncertainty, and therefore cost, on the shooting day.

ROAS

ROAS, return on ad spend, shows how many times over an advertising investment returns in revenue. It must be read alongside product margin to indicate profit.

Industry Glossary