Highlight is a term used in various fields of design to refer to the strategic use of contrasting elements to draw attention to specific areas or features of a composition. In graphic design, a highlight can be achieved through the use of color, typography, or imagery that stands out from the surrounding elements, creating a focal point that guides the viewer's eye and emphasizes key information. Similarly, in interior design, a highlight might involve the use of accent lighting, a bold piece of furniture, or a striking architectural feature that serves as a visual centerpiece within a space. In product design, a highlight can be a unique material, an innovative functional component, or an eye-catching aesthetic detail that sets a product apart from its competitors. The use of highlights is a fundamental principle of design, as it helps to create visual hierarchy, convey meaning, and evoke an emotional response from the viewer or user. Effective use of highlights requires careful consideration of contrast, balance, and context, as well as an understanding of the intended audience and the desired message or effect. When used skillfully, highlights can elevate a design from ordinary to extraordinary, making it more memorable, engaging, and impactful.
contrast, emphasis, focal point, visual hierarchy, accent, attention
Highlight is a term that can be used in various contexts, from photography to literature to sports. In sports, to highlight a player means to showcase their exceptional skills or performance, often through replays or commentary. In literature, highlighting can refer to the use of a marker or pen to emphasize important passages or quotes in a text. In the context of makeup, highlight refers to a cosmetic product that is used to add a luminous glow to certain areas of the face, such as the cheekbones, brow bone, and cupid's bow. Highlighter products come in various forms, including powders, creams, and liquids, and can be applied with a brush, sponge, or fingers. In web design, highlighting can refer to the visual effect that occurs when a user hovers over a clickable element, such as a button or link. This effect can be achieved through various techniques, such as changing the color or adding an underline to the text. Overall, the term highlight is used to draw attention to something, whether it be a specific part of an image, a player's performance in a game, an important quote in a text, or a clickable element on a website.
photography, literature, sports, makeup, web design
The English word Highlight has an etymological origin stemming from the Old French word Hau-Lit, with its eventual evolution from the Proto-West Germanic language Hauzlit. The word has the morphology of two words; the prefix “high” which implies something of great importance and the word “light” which has been derived from the Proto-Indo-European language “Leykt-” and implies an illumination, focus or increased visibility. In its pragmatics, the word has moved from being used to merely describe the sharpening of the end of a quill for writing, to now being used to capture the heightened importance of a thing, idea and/or action.
Etymology, Morphology, Pragmatics, Evolution, Historical.
Highlight is a verb, referring to the action of drawing attention to a specific piece of information. Synonyms for this word can include illuminate, accentuate, and emphasize, while antonyms can be downplay, devalue, and degrade. Cognates include the German word ‘hervorheben’ and the Spanish word ‘destacar’. Variants of the word ‘highlight’ include or highlight, highlighting,highlighted, highlights.
Etymology morphology Highlight, linguistic origins, language change, semantic shift, language families, semantic structures.
Highlight refers to the emphasis of certain parts of a piece of text, image or film, in order to draw attention to it. Whilst the term is mainly used in English, equivalent words in other languages abound. In Spanish, the words Resaltar and Destacar are used to refer to the same task; in German, hervorheben and Unterstreichen are popular; similarly, in Italian, Evidenziare and Enfatizzare are in common use. Portuguese speakers often use Realçar and Sublinhar whilst French speakers prefer to use Mettre en évidence and Souligner. Other languages with their equivalents include Urdu (Surkhaal karna), Malay (Mengecam), Chinese (突出), Danish (Fremhæve), Dutch (Uitlichten), Finnish (Korostaa), Greek (Επισημάνει), Hebrew (להדגיש), Hindi (बड़ी छाप लगाना), Hungarian (Kiemelni), Icelandic (Áhersla), Indonesian (Tertingkik), Irish (Airdeall a Chur), Italian (Evidenza), Japanese (ハイライトする), Korean (강조), Latin (Sublimare) and Lithuanian (Išryškinti).
Highlighting, resaltar, destacar, hervorheben, unterstreichen, evidenziare, enfatizzare, realçar, sublinhar, mettre en évidence, souligner, surkhaal karna, mengecam, 突出, fremhæve, uitlichten, korostaa, επισημάνει, להדגיש, बड़ी छाप लगाना, kiemelni, áhersla
Highlight is an exposure technique in photography that emphasizes brightness and contrast in the image. This technique is often used to draw attention to certain parts of the image, making them stand out from the background. It is achieved by increasing the exposure and changing the shutter speed, aperture and ISO settings. Ansel Adams, Man Ray and Edward Weston are some of the most prominent photographers who used this technique to create iconic photographs.
Photography highlight, exposure, contrast, brightness, Ansel Adams, Man Ray, Edward Weston.
CITATION : "Olga Ivanova. 'Highlight.' Design+Encyclopedia. https://design-encyclopedia.com/?E=209067 (Accessed on June 18, 2025)"
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