This glossary explains the professional terms used across Interactive Media Design, with short definitions and links back to the main guides.
How to use this glossary
Interactive Media Design sits between several disciplines, so vocabulary can become confusing quickly. This glossary defines the terms used throughout the reference guide in plain language.
Definitions are intentionally concise. For deeper context, use the related guide links in the main navigation and source pages.
Glossary terms
Accessibility
The practice of making digital experiences usable by people with different abilities, devices, and contexts.
Accessibility includes semantic structure, keyboard support, focus visibility, contrast, text alternatives, captions, and reduced-motion respect.
Applied AI
The practical use of AI tools inside a workflow for ideation, prototyping, automation, review, or production support.
Applied AI is useful when paired with human verification, source checking, privacy awareness, and clear editorial responsibility.
Creative Coding
The use of code as a creative medium for visual, interactive, generative, or experiential work.
Creative coding can support interactive storytelling, data visualization, motion systems, and experimental interfaces.
Design System
A shared set of tokens, components, patterns, states, and rules for building consistent interfaces.
Design systems connect design and code. Even small projects benefit from reusable components and documented states.
Designer médias interactifs
A French expression for Interactive Media Designer, commonly used in Swiss and Romandie contexts.
The expression helps connect English search intent with Swiss French professional and training terminology.
Digital Product
A software-based product or service experienced through digital interfaces.
Digital products require design, interaction, content, implementation, iteration, and ongoing maintenance.
Front-End Development
The implementation of user interfaces in browser-facing code such as HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.
Front-end literacy helps Interactive Media Designers create realistic prototypes and collaborate more precisely with developers.
Information Architecture
The organization, labeling, and structure of information in a digital experience.
Information architecture helps users understand where they are, what exists, and where to go next.
Interaction Design
The design of how people act within a digital experience and how the system responds.
Interaction design covers states, feedback, navigation, inputs, transitions, and the logic of cause and effect.
Interactive Media Design
The practice of creating digital experiences that connect design, media, technology, and user interaction.
Interactive Media Design is not one output type. It can appear in websites, apps, campaigns, prototypes, interfaces, and digital storytelling.
Interactive Media Designer
A hybrid professional who designs interactive digital communication across visual design, media, interfaces, interaction, and implementation.
The term is used in Swiss professional training and in broader digital practice to describe a profile that works across screens, media, and interaction.
Motion Design
The design of movement, timing, transitions, animation, and audiovisual expression.
Motion can guide attention, explain change, and create rhythm. It should respect reduced-motion preferences and performance constraints.
Multimedia Content
Digital content that combines media such as text, image, video, audio, motion, or 3D.
In Interactive Media Design, multimedia must be prepared for clarity, performance, accessibility, and publication.
No-code / Low-code
Tools and platforms that let teams build workflows, sites, or prototypes with little or reduced custom code.
No-code and low-code can speed up experiments, but designers still need to understand structure, accessibility, and maintainability.
Product Thinking
The habit of connecting user needs, constraints, iteration, and outcomes when designing a digital experience.
Product thinking keeps design connected to use, context, feasibility, and improvement over time.
Prototyping
The creation of testable versions of an idea before final production.
A prototype may be a sketch, a clickable Figma file, a coded demo, or a no-code model. The right fidelity depends on the question being tested.
Responsive Design
Design that adapts to different screen sizes, input methods, and content conditions.
Responsive design is not only about breakpoints. It includes flexible layout, readable type, media sizing, and interaction states.
UI Design
The design of interface surfaces, components, states, typography, hierarchy, and interaction cues.
UI Design makes digital systems visible and operable. In Interactive Media Design, it is connected to media, brand, motion, and implementation.
User Flow
A sequence of steps a person follows to complete a task or move through an experience.
User flows help designers see where decisions, feedback, errors, and exits happen.
UX Design
The discipline of shaping how people understand, navigate, and use a product or service.
UX Design often includes research, flows, prototypes, testing, and service logic. It overlaps with Interactive Media Design around interfaces and usability.
Wireframe
A low-detail layout that describes structure, hierarchy, and flow before visual polish.
Wireframes help separate structural decisions from visual style. They are useful when content and flow are still being clarified.
Sources
Interactive media designer CFC
orientation.ch · official
Swiss official profession page covering the CFC route, training duration, admission, title, and professional activities.
Open sourceCreating helpful, reliable, people-first content
Google Search Central · search guideline
Google guidance for useful, reliable content written for people rather than search manipulation.
Open source