An umbrella or parasol is designed to protect a person against rain or sunlight. It is a folding canopy supported by wooden or metal ribs, which is usually mounted on a wooden, metal, or plastic pole. The word "umbrella" typically refers to a device used for protection from rain. The word parasol usually refers to an item designed to protect from the sun. Often the difference is the material used for the canopy; some parasols are not waterproof. Umbrella canopies may be made of fabric or flexible plastic. Both Umbrella and parasol are good promotional products which you may print your logos on for expanding your market.

Umbrellas and parasols are primarily hand-held portable devices sized for personal use. The largest hand-portable umbrellas are golf umbrellas. Umbrellas can be divided into two categories. One category is fully collapsible umbrellas, in which the metal pole supporting the canopy retracts, making the umbrella small enough to fit in a handbag. The other category is non-collapsible umbrellas in which the support pole cannot retract. Only the canopy can be collapsed. Another distinction can be made between manually operated umbrellas and spring-loaded automatic umbrellas which spring open at the press of a button.

Hand-held umbrellas have some types of handle, either a wooden or plastic cylinder or a bent "crook" handle (like the handle of a cane). Umbrellas are available in a range of price and quality points, ranging from inexpensive, modest quality models sold at discount stores to expensive, finely made, designer-labeled models. Larger parasols capable of blocking the sun for several people are often used as fixed or semi-fixed devices, used with patio tables or other outdoor furniture, or as points of shade on a sunny beach. The collapsible/folding umbrella, the direct predecessor to the modern umbrella, originated in China. These Chinese umbrellas were internally supported with bendable, retractable, and extendable joints as well as sliding levers similar to those in use today.