graphic design Graphic design is a profession, academic discipline and applied art that involves creating visual communications intended to transmit specific messages to social groups, with specific objectives. Graphic design is an interdisciplinary branch of ...

and

printing Printing is a process for mass reproducing text and images using a master form or template. The earliest non-paper products involving printing include cylinder seals and objects such as the Cyrus Cylinder and the Cylinders of Nabonidus. The ...

, the phrases for position only or for placement only, or the

initialism An acronym is a type of abbreviation consisting of a phrase whose only pronounced elements are the initial letters or initial sounds of words inside that phrase. Acronyms are often spelled with the initial letter of each word in all caps wi ...

FPO, indicate materials that have been used as placeholders in a layout prior to it being declared finished and ready for publication. These placeholders, commonly either blank frames or stock photographs, indicate that as-yet-unavailable images or illustrations will be placed in the final layout. That allows design work to continue without risk that the

pagination Pagination, also known as paging, is the process of dividing a document into discrete page (paper), pages, either electronic pages or printed pages. In reference to books produced without a computer, pagination can mean the consecutive page num ...

or other elements of the layout will be changed when the final images become available, and similarly in web design provides a means for developers to finish coding and testing the website without having to wait for the actual image files. They can also be used to produce proof copies of the layout in order to assess its general appearance, similar to the use in typesetting of generic filler text blocks like "''

lorem ipsum ''Lorem ipsum'' ( ) is a dummy or placeholder text commonly used in graphic design, publishing, and web development. Its purpose is to permit a page layout to be designed, independently of the copy (publishing), copy that will subsequently pop ...

''", which give an indication of how the finished type will look in the layout. Because of the risk that placeholder material might accidentally be published, it is clearly marked with an FPO indicator in the form of a simulated watermark or overprint, stamp, or the like in the expectation that it will make the placeholder's presence obvious to designers working on the layout; reviewing proof copies; or, as a last resort, checking the finished publication. Preventing the accidental "escape" of FPO material is particularly important when the placeholder used is a stock photograph or other

copyright A copyright is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the exclusive legal right to copy, distribute, adapt, display, and perform a creative work, usually for a limited time. The creative work may be in a literary, artistic, ...

ed work that the publisher does not have permission to use in public.

References

Printing terminology Web design Unknown content Planning Graphic design {{design-stub