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white•space

Typography

Whitespace is not merely ‘blank’ space; rather it is a critical element of design that supports the objects in it. This balance between positive and negative space is key to aesthetic composition. In web and print page layout, whitespace is that portion of a page left unmarked. It is the space between graphics, margins, gutters, letters, lines of type, figures, drawings and photographs. Whitespace is not necessarily white; it is simply the absence of content-negative space. The term arose from graphic design practice, where printing processes generally use white paper. Judicious use of whitespace can make a page appear elegant.

wireframe

Web design / architecture

The wireframe is an initial design sketch where the general placement of images is outlined in black-and-white using boxes and lines, and words and content are included in simple text without attention to color, font choice or typographic layout, in order to get a general idea of page content and navigation.

This eases and speeds the web design process by removing additional need for revisions after the time-intensive graphic design stage has begun.

It is sometimes difficult for clients to visualize the design concept through the wireframe, though it benefits the site architecture in any case.

WYSIWYG

NOUN

Desktop publishing / online administration / blogging

ACRONYM What You See Is What You Get.

This term emerged in the early days of desktop publishing to describe a screen display that represented what you would see on the printed page. Now it also applies to web publishing platforms, such as blogs and content management systems for websites.