Internet Document

Basic Alignment Principles in Graphic Design (with Examples).Web. 2 Feb. 2015. <http://www.printwand.com/blog/basic-alignment-principles-in-graphic-design-with-examples>.Quotations:

There are four common types of alignment when …

There are four common types of alignment when dealing with text placement: center, flush left, flush right and justified.

Common Types of Text Alignment

– Centered A trap that designers sometimes fall into is placing every element on the center axis of the page. While this is a more organized and symmetrical look than placing test haphazardly, it tends to be a pretty weak and easy choice. When your entire page is symmetrical, it often ends up looking boring with no visual interest. Center alignment works best when dealing with just a few short lines of text. You should never use it for full paragraphs because it makes them more difficult to read; the audience has no straight margin so their eyes must move to a new position every time they start a new line. You can add interest to an all-centered graphic design by playing with text shapes, fonts, and colors. Check out the example to the right–the design is centered, but uses different orientations and letter sizes to create the shape of a sword. Just because your text is center-aligned doesn’t mean there’s no room for creativity. As a general rule, if you use center alignment, make sure it’s clear that you’re using it intentionally–not just because you’re lazy. Center alignment works best when you only have a few elements to deal with. Try varying fonts and colors to add visual interest.

– Flush Left Text aligned against a hard left-hand margin is generally considered the strongest, “safest” choice and is the most common orientation. It results in a very comfortable, secure and conservative look (though again, there are plenty of ways to use it creatively). Flush left alignment is a great choice whenever you have large paragraphs of text; the hard edge on the left naturally complements the way we read English. If your paragraphs are flush left, remember to keep your headlines flush left as well.

– Flush Right Flush right alignment is much less common than other types, so it’s often used to give elements a unique or “offbeat” look and feel. With this orientation, text is aligned against a hard right-hand margin (with the left side left “ragged”). Like with center alignment, you should avoid using flush right on large paragraphs since the ragged left edge will make them difficult to read. With shorter lines of text, it can help give your words extra weight and importance since it requires more effort to read. It’s more interesting than centering everything, but overusing it may frustrate your reader. Flush right alignment is also used in place of flush left in terms of readability when dealing with languages that read right to left (such as Chinese, Japanese or Arabic). Flush right alignment isn’t used very often, so using it can give text an unconventional look.

– Justified With justified alignment, both the left and right sides of the text are effectively flush against hard, straight margins. This is achieved by individually adjusting the spacing of each line of text–so a line with fewer characters will be more broadly spaced, while a line with more characters will have less space between them. Ideally, the

difference in space will be subtle enough that you won’t really notice the difference, but the end result will be a neat and organized look that’s more formal-looking than flush left alignment. You’ve probably seen this technique used in books, newspapers, magazines and other publications. Justification is especially useful when working with multiple columns of text because it helps to keep them visually separate from one another as well as fit more characters into a smaller amount of space. Justified alignment helps to keep multiple columns of text looking neat and organized. Justified text comes with one major complication. If individual words are too long or the columns are too narrow, it can sometimes create large unsightly gaps of blank space. If you’re having these types of issues with justification, try using a longer line length, a smaller font, or shorter words.

BookAmbrose, Gavin.

Visual Dictionary of Typography:Ava Publishing SA, 2010. Print.Abstract:

AnnotationQuotations:

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Internet DocumentBear, Jacci H.

Lesson 4: Text Alignment: Rules and Best Practices for Page Layout.Web. 2 Feb. 2015. <http://desktoppub.about.com/od/emailclasses/a/0412align.htm>.

Abstract:

While there are no hard and fast rules, there are guidelines, best practices, and tried and true methods of arranging a page and doing desktop publishing that result in attractive pages that effectively communicate the intended message. Learn how to apply 12 rules of desktop publishing.Quotations:

If someone insists that fully justified text is …

If someone insists that fully justified text is better than left-aligned text, tell them they are wrong. If someone else tells you that left-aligned text is better than justified text, tell them they are wrong.

If they are both wrong, then what’s right? Alignment is only a small piece of the puzzle. What works for one design might be totally inappropriate for another layout. As with all layouts, it depends on the purpose of the piece, the audience and its expectations, the fonts, the margins and white space, and other elements on the page. The most appropriate choice is the alignment that works for that particular design.

About Fully-Justified Text– Often considered more formal, less friendly than left-aligned text.– Usually allows for more characters per line, packing more into the same amount of space (than the same text

set left-aligned).– May require extra attention to word and character spacing and hyphenation to avoid unsightly rivers of white

space running through the text.– May be more familiar to readers in some types of publications, such as books and newspapers.– Some people are naturally drawn to the "neatness" of text that lines up perfectly on the left and right.

Traditionally many books, newsletters, and newspapers use full-justification as a means of packing as much information onto the page as possible to cut down on the number of pages needed. While the alignment was chosen out of necessity, it has become so familiar to us that those same types of publications set in left-aligned text would look odd, even unpleasant.

You may find that fully-justified text is a necessity either due to space constraints or expectations of the audience. If possible though, try to break up dense blocks of texts with ample subheadings, margins, or graphics.

About Left-Aligned Text– Often considered more informal, friendlier than justified text.– The ragged right edge adds an element of white space.– May require extra attention to hyphenation to keep right margin from being too ragged.– Generally type set left-aligned is easier to work with (i.e. requires less time, attention, and tweaking from the

designer to make it look good).In the Rules and Best Practices in Page Layout Illustrations you’ll find four examples (based on actual published materials) that demonstrate the use of alignment.

View Text Alignment - Fully-Justified Even line endings are acheived by making minute adjustments to the space between words. Words that are spaced too far apart or shoved too closely together distract the reader. Pay attention to word spacing when setting fully-justified text.

View Text Alignment - Ragged Right Ragged line endings can be too ragged. It may be easier to set but it still needs attention to line endings. With ragged right alignment, if you use paragraph indents they need to be obvious indents.

No matter what alignment you use, remember to pay close attention to hyphenation and word/character spacing as well to ensure that your text is as readable as possible.

There will undoubtedly be well-meaning friends, business associates, clients, and others who will question your choices. Be prepared to explain why you chose the alignment you did and be prepared to change it (and make necessary adjustments to keep it looking good) if the person with final approval still insists on something different.

The Bottom Line: There is no right or wrong way to align text. Use the alignment that makes the most sense for the design and that effectively communicates your message. Right alignment …

Right alignment, another edge alignment method, generally works best for small bits of text, such as posters, some ads, and in this business card layout.Center alignment may be horiztonally or vertically aligned …

Center alignment may be horiztonally or vertically aligned, or both. Elements may be centered on the page, within sections of the page, and centered with other elements on the page. Center alignment generally gives a layout a formal appearance and is often seen in traditional wedding invitations and formal stationery.

BookGordon, Bob, and Maggie Gordon.

The complete guide to digital graphic design.New ed. London: Thames & Hudson, 2005. Print.Quotations:

The Complete Guide to Dig

(pp. 47)

Internet DocumentHjelle, Ann.

Proj 13 – Illustrator Poster | Annhjelle's Blog on WordPress.com.Web. 1 Feb. 2015. <https://annhjelle.wordpress.com/assignments-2/proj-12a-illustator-poster/>.Abstract:

  POSTER PROJECT Sketchbook and Print Project Using Adobe Illustrator ASSIGNMENT OVERVIEW: WHAT IS A POSTER? A poster is a two-dimensional, single-page format used to display information and to promote people, causes, places, products, companies, services, or organizations. Most posters are meant to be hung in public places and to be seen from a distance.…Quotations:

Each category of type alignment has its own …

Each category of type alignment has its own strengths and weaknesses:alignment[1]

Internet DocumentJones, Anthony.

Typography 101 – Alignment2015. Web. 2 Feb. 2015. <http://blog.anthonyjones.biz/2009/01/typography-101-alignment/>.Abstract:

Text alignment is relatively straight-forward a principle. After all the playing around with the alignment buttons in your favourite desktop publishing programQuotations:

Text alignment is relatively straight-forward a principle. There are generally five options when aligning text; flush left, flush right, centred, justified and freeform.

Text alignment is relatively straight-forward a principle. After all the playing around with the alignment buttons in your favourite desktop publishing program however, there are some things that we should be informed on before we make a final choice on how to align a paragraph of text.

There are generally five options when aligning text; flush left, flush right, centred, justified and freeform. All of which I will elaborate on.

‘Flush left’ is also known as ‘ranged left’ or ‘ragged right’. This refers to the shape the paragraph of text makes when set in this alignment so the left of the paragraph will appear to have a hard line and a ragged right edge. As suspected, the `flush/ranged right’ or ‘ragged left’ is the exact opposite.

In by far the most of situations, we will generally set body copy to flush left as this is almost ubiquitous and very easy to read. Flush right is, or should be, used sparingly and only due to necessity.

The most obvious usage of flush right is when setting a small amount of text that is meant to sit close to the right edge of a page or screen. Our language is based on latin and is read from left to right, which means when we learn to read we subconsciously use the left edge as a visual anchor. When we set larger blocks of copy to have a ragged left we begin to realise that this will make it much harder to keep tabs on where we are at any point while reading.

Next is centred text. This can be a bone of contention in some situations. Especially as when we centre text it creates an appealing and interesting shape on an aesthetic level. An obvious statement you may think, but people often judge a piece of design without actually reading the content. If you believe that design is fundamentally about communication then you can see how this would be problematic.

The truth is similar to how we explained the cons of setting text with a ragged left earlier. It creates a barrier to comfortable reading. However, smaller paragraphs, headings, larger text and discreet pieces of information that fall out of the flow of a layout can be successfully set as centred. As always though, this is based upon the specific layout and other factors like typeface, and leading. The main reason for setting centred text is almost always aesthetic and not semantic.

Justified text can be seen most prevalently these days in newspapers. Justified text sets the paragraph with a flush left and a flush right. It does this by dynamically adjusting the space between words within every line of the paragraph making sure that the first and last word of every line are as flush as possible to both edges.

Justified text is the easiest alignment of all in terms of readability. It also has the most formal feel. You might find in some situations, when setting justified text, that in a line with a particularly small amount of words, like the the end of a paragraph, the space between the words becomes uncomfortably large. There is nothing that can be done about this in terms of settings (some programs do however have additional justification settings relating to how the last line is set). Newspapers have people called sub-editors who alleviate this problem by actually slightly rewriting the paragraph so that a few extra words close the gap. This is not always possible for pieces that we work on, but is an option to bear in mind.

The last is freeform. This is slightly misleading in that you will not find a button that will align text for you in a freeform fashion. Rather than it refers to the act of setting individual lines of copy at your own discretion which creates a pleasing aesthetic flow but does not adhere to any formal rules like having flush edges. This is obviously only meant to be used in situations where the information to be digested is extremely minimal and impact is the primary goal.

Alignment Examples

BookLupton, Ellen.

Thinking with type: A critical guide for designers, writers, editors, & students.2nd rev. and expanded ed. New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 2010. Print.Abstract:

Our all-time best selling book is now available in a revised and expanded second edition. Thinking with Type is the definitive guide to using typography in visual communication, from the printed page to the computer screen. This revised edition includes forty-eight pages of new content, including the latest information on style sheets for print and the web, the use of ornaments and captions, lining and non-lining numerals, the use of small caps and enlarged capitals, as well as information on captions, font licensing, mixing typefaces, and hand lettering. Throughout the book, visual examples show how to be inventive within systems of typographic form--what the rules are and how to break them. Thinking with Type is a type book for everyone: designers, writers, editors, students, and anyone else who works with words. --Publisher description.

Quotations:

Thinking_with_Type_Text_13[2]

(pp. 112)

Alignment …

AlignmentChoosing to align text in justified, centered, or ragged columns is a fundamental typographic act. Each mode of alignment carries unique formal qualities, cultural associations, and aesthetic risks. (pp. 112)

Thinking_with_Type_Text_14[1]

(pp. 113)

Alignment: Classic Variations …

Alignment: Classic Variations

The four modes of alignment (centered, justified, flush left, and flush right) form the basic grammar of typographic composition. Each one has traditional uses that make intuitive sense to readers. (pp. 114)

The Works of Virgil Printed for Jacob Tonson, 1698. Title pages are traditionally set centered. This two-color title page was printed in two passes of the press (note the off-kilter registration of the two colors of ink). Large typefaces were created primarily for use on title pages or in hymn books.

(pp. 114)

The Complete Writings of Elbert Hubbard, Volume two Printed by the Roycroft Shop, 1908. This neo-Renaissance book page harkens back to the first century of printing. Not only is the block of text perfectly justified, but paragraph symbols are used in place of indents and line breaks to preserve the solidity of the page.

(pp. 114)

Charles Baudelaire/Les Fleurs Du Mal Printed by Bill Lansing, 1945. Traditionally, poetry is set flush left, because the line breaks are an essential element of the literary form. Poetry is not ususally set centered, except in greeting cards.

(pp. 115)

Layout In Advertising Designed and written by W. A. Dwiggins, 1928. In this classic guide to commercial art practices, Dwiggins has placed callouts or subject cues in the margins. On the left-hand (verso) page shown here, the cues are set flush right, drawing them closer to the content they identify.

(pp. 115)

BookRabinowitz, Tova.

Exploring typography.2nd. [Place of publication not identified]: South-Western, Division, 2015. Print.Quotations:

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(pp. 166)

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(pp. 166)

BookStrizver, Ilene.

Type rules: The designer's guide to professional typography.3rd ed. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley, 2010. Print.Abstract:

\"Type Rules: The Designer's Guide to Professional Typography, 3rd Edition is an up-to-date, thorough introduction to the principles and practices of typography. From the fundamentals to cutting-edge applications, this edition has everything today's serious designer needs to use type effectively. Dozens of exercises reinforce authoritative coverage on such topics as how to select the appropriate type for the job, how to set type like a pro, how to avoid common mistakes, and how to design a typeface, as well as how to fully harness the power of major design packages such as InDesign and QuarkXPress -- with new coverage of their latest versions.\"--Resource description page.Quotations:

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