Lorem Ipsum: Why “Greeking” is a Designer's Best Friend
Ever wondered why designers fill beautiful website mockups with strange Latin-looking text? That's Lorem Ipsum. Often called “placeholder text” or “filler text” it has been the industry standard for the printing and typesetting industry since the 1500s.Stateless Authentication..
Here is why we use it and why it's better than just typing “text goes here” over and over again.
Why Do We Use Them? What is Lorem Ipsum?
Contrary to popular belief, Lorem Ipsum is not just random gibberish. It has roots in a piece of classical Latin literature from 45 BC. The standard passage comes from Cicero's “De Finibus Bonorum et Malorum” (The Extremes of Good and Evil).
The most famous part—“Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet”actually comes from a section discussing the pursuit of pleasure and pain.
Why Not Use English?
If you're designing a website for an English-speaking audience, why not use English filler text?
- The Distraction Factor: If a client sees readable English text, they will start reading it. Instead of looking at the layout, font choice, or color scheme, they'll start giving feedback on the copy. Lorem Ipsum is “unreadable” enough that the eye ignores the meaning and focuses on the design.
- Natural Distribution: If you type “test test test,” the letter distribution is unnatural. Lorem Ipsum has a more-or-less normal distribution of letters, making it look like real sentences and paragraphs.
- Visual Balance: It helps designers see how the “gray space” of a text block balances against images and headers without the bias of actual content.
When to Use a Generator
Using a Lorem Ipsum Generator is essential during the wireframing and prototyping stages of a project. It allows you to:
- Test how different font sizes look.
- See how text wraps around images.
- Check if your layout can handle long paragraphs versus short snippets.
Fun Fact: The “Alt-Ipsum” Trend
While Cicero's Latin is the classic choice, modern web culture has created hilarious alternatives for less formal projects. You can now find generators for:
- Bacon Ipsum: For the meat lovers.
- Cat Ipsum: For when you need “meow” and “purr” in your mockups.
- Coffee Ipsum: Perfect for cafe website mockups.
Ready to fill your layout? Use our generator above to create the perfect amount of “Greeked” text for your next big project!