tag line

In logo design the tag line normally refers to a line of text that accompanies the company name below or next to the logo. Typically the tag line would be below the company name.

The tag line can contain anything the client wants - including a slogan, web address, toll-free number etc.

template logo

A template logo (in most cases) is a logo that is resold to many companies. The idea is that you purchase a template which then functions as a starting point for your own logo. Often the template is used as is, without any changes.

While this offers a very low cost solution for small businesses, the use of template logos will usually lead to trademark issues down the line.

Also see pre-designed logos

text to outlines / text to curves

"Text to curves" and "text to outlines" refer to the same concept. It refers to an action where the logo designer would convert text in a design to curves/outlines. The text becomes an object, no longer editable as text. The purpose is to create a file that displays correctly on any computer, whether or not the fonts used in the design are installed.

TIFF

Tagged Image File Format, or TIFF for short, is a graphics file format. It was developed as a desktop publishing format, but has become outdated.

title case

Title case refers to the form of capitalization where the first letter of every word is capitalized, as often found in the titles of books, articles, movies etc. Stop words in the title are typically not capitalized.

This is an Example of Title Case

trace

A trace, in logo design, refers to a design that is closely based on an existing design or image. In logo design the aim is usually to create a unique, once-off image though, so traces are frowned upon by most in the industry.

Certain graphic design applications such as CorelDraw and Adobe Illustrator offer an "auto-trace" function, where the software renders any image, such as a photo, in vector format.

tracking

The distribution of letters and word across a given line or block of text.

Also see kerning

trademark

A trademark (registered or not) is any image, text, sound, smell etc. that identifies a commercial product. Most logos automatically function as trademarks. Trademarks are indicated through the use of the TM tag next to the image.

transparent background

In logo design, logo with a transparent background can be placed on top of any other image, with the background image showing through the negative space.

Transparent background logos are often used in slide presentations, advertisements web design etc. For on-screen uses these logos must of course be saved in a raster format that supports transparency, such as GIF or PNG.

Thanks to Biz-Logo.com for the logo example.

turnaround time

Referring to the time it takes a logo designer to deliver something. Most online logo designers publish turnaround times on their web sites. These are usually between 1 and 5 business days. It is important to note though that, in most cases, this indicates turnaround per revision, not total turnaround from the order to the delivery of the final logo.