Alignment

Ragged right or flush left text, where the copy is aligned on the left side and the right side is left open to wrap as the words fit on the line, is the most familiar and friendly of all alignments.

Ragged left or flush right copy is the opposite of ragged right; it is aligned on the right and the left side wraps. This is difficult to read because the start of the line is different every time as the reader’s eyes try to follow the words to the next line.

Generally you do not want to center align type. There are a few exceptions where tradition usurps this rule, as in wedding invitations, but center aligned text is difficult to read, again because of the varying line beginning on the left side. It may be appropriate to center small bits of copy, as in directions on a sign. In this instance, make sure your line breaks make sense. They should appear at the end of phrases and not randomly so that the message sounds choppy when read.

Justification

When someone talks about justifying type, that means that the column of text is exactly the same width on both sides; it creates a perfect rectangle. You will see this in newspapers and many magazines. Justified type is tricky, because it leads to an increase in rivers and lakes…

Rivers, Lakes, Widows and Orphans

What in the world do bodies of water, children without parents and wives without husbands have to do with typography? Plenty! Well, actually we need to give them new, typography-related definitions.

Rivers are the large snaking gaps between words that create white space in multiple lines. These, along with lakes, which are larger and more open than rivers (yes, you can think of the real bodies of water), will decrease the readability of your copy and make it a struggle for the reader. Lakes are just like rivers only they hold more water.

Widows are the few words on a new line at the end of a paragraph. Standards vary, but it’s usually a good idea to have paragraphs end at a minimum of one-third of the width of the column. Widows are more dependent on the column width than the actual number of words.

Orphans are very similar to widows but apply to lines that are separated from the main paragraph by a page break. To avoid orphans in your text, it is best to have at least 3 lines of a paragraph on the next page. This same rule can be applied at the beginning of a paragraph, too.

Fixing the Trouble Spots

Fortunately, fixing these common problems is usually simple. It’s training your eye to see them and remembering to check your copy that’s the hard part! You can largely eliminate rivers and lakes by slightly increasing or decreasing the text box (line length) or by tightening or letting out the tracking. If you’re working with justified type, this will be more difficult and you may want to consider switching it to a ragged right alignment.

Fixing widows is easy, too; you can either edit the copy a bit, slightly increase or decrease the width of the text box or tighten/loosen the tracking. Orphans are a little harder. If you can’t fit the whole paragraph on one page, or if you can’t get at least three lines on the next page by either increasing or decreasing the size (width or length) of the text box, try increasing or decreasing the tracking of all the copy. If that still doesn’t work, then move the whole paragraph to the next page.

We’re Not Quite Done Yet!

Monday we’ll talk about fonts that every good designer should have to round out a collection. Just in case you missed any articles in this typography primer series, we’ve talked about tracking, kerning and leading, matching type to message, why you shouldn’t type in all caps and before that, serifs, baselines and x-height. Why not subscribe to the Creative Curio feed so you don’t miss another article?