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Leading
Alignment
Traditionally,it was common practice to set type in a justified alignment.This was done for reasons of efficiency; in addition it was more familiar and was considered to be more refined.In the 1920s,designer began to question this typographic convention and experiment with alternative text setting styles.Unjustified and asymmetrical typography began to find widespread acceptance.Among experimental typographic designers was Herbert Bayer, who said,“I have long believed that our conventional way of writing and setting type could be improved for easier I started to abandon the flush-left-and-right system for short lines of text and have introduced the flush-left system, leaving a ragged-right outline.
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There are appropriate reasons for setting either justified or unjustified typography,but type set flush left and ragged right promotes greater legibility.If properly used,flush-left, ragged-right typography provides visual points of reference that guide the eye smoothly down the page from line to line.Because each line is either shorter or longer than the next,the eye is cued from one to another.Lacking are visual cues that promote easy reading.With the use of unjustified typography,wordspacing is even,creating a smooth rhythm and a consistent texture.The indiscriminate placement of additional space between works in order to justify lines causes awkward gaps or “rivers”in paragraphs, which are disruptive to reading.Hyphenations at the end of lines should be used whenever possible to keep wordspacing consistent.”
Typographic Design
Flush left
This format most closely mirrors the asymmetrical experience of handwriting. Each line starts at the same point but ends wherever the last word on the line ends.Spaces between words are consistent throughout the text,allowing the type to create an even gray value.
Flush right
This format places emphasis on the end of a line as opposed to its start.It can be useful in situations (like captions) where the relationship between text and image might be ambiguous without a strong orientation to theright.
Centered
This format imposes symmetry upon the text,assigning equal value and weight to both ends of any line. It transforms fields of text into shapes, thereby adding a pictorial quality to material that is non-pictorial by nature. Because centered type creates such a strong shape on the page,it’s important to amend line breaks so that the text does not appear too jagged.
Justified
Like centering,this format imposes a symmetrical shape on the text.It is achieved by expanding or reducing spaces between words and,sometimes between letters.The resulting openness of lines can occasionally produce ‘rivers of space running vertically trough the text.Careful attention to line breaks and hyphenation is required to amend this problem whenever possible.
Robert Bringhurst
example of soft rag
Rags
In justified text,there is always a trade-off between evenness of word spacing and frequency of hyphenation.The best available compromise will depend on the nature of the text as well as on the specifics of the design.Good compositors like to avoid consecutive hyphenated line-ends,but frequent hyphens are better that sloppy spacing,and ragged setting is better yet.Narrow measures – which prevent good justification are commonly used when the text is set in multiple columns.Setting ragged right under these conditions will lighten the page and decrease its stiffness,as well as preventing an outbreak of hyphenation.Many unserifed faces look best when set ragged no matter what the length of the measure. And monospaced fonts,which are common on typewriters, always look better-set ragged,in standard typewriter style. A typewriter (or a computer-driven printer of similar quality) that justifies its lines in imitation of typesetting is a presumptuous machine,mimicking the outer form instead of the inner truth of typography.
example of medium rag
“When setting ragged text with a computer,take a moment to refine your software’s understanding of what constitutes an honest rag.Many programs are predisposed to invoke a minimum as well as a maximum line.If permitted to do so, whether they are ragging or justifying the text.Ragged setting under these conditions produces an orderly ripple down the righthand side,making the text look like a neatly pinched piecrust.This approach combines the worst features of justification with the worst features of ragged setting,while eliminating the principal virtues of both.Unless the measure is excruciatingly narrow,it is usually better to set a hard rag.This means a fixed word space,no minimum line,and no hyphenated linebreaks.”
Robert Bringhurst
Robert Bringhurst
example of hard rag
“When setting ragged-right test,care should be taken not to rag the type too much.Uncontrolled line breaks of erratic rhythm can create awkward spaces that inhibit reading.In ragged-right type,care should be given to the selection of interline spacing,for it influences legibility and appearance.Spatial consistency and rhythmic line breaks result from careful typographical decisions. The breaking of lines can be determined by the author’s meaning rather tan by appearance.This method,sometimes referred to as ”thought-unit”typography,arranges lines into discrete parts related to the meaning of the text.Ragged right lines may be of any length,with line breaks that are logical and focus on the intended message of the writer.”
Typographic Design
