Dear Amigos,
Whether you’re testing a font or laying out a page, a Lorem Ipsum paragraph always comes in handy. There’s more to the story behind the dummy text that’s so commonly among designers, but before we dive into that, you can copy the text here if you’re in a hurry.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.
Now, let’s learn a little more about designers favorite dummy text.
First of all, what is Lorem Ipsum?
“Lorem Ipsum” is a well-known placeholder text used in the printing and publishing industry. Its origins can be traced back to the 16th century when a printer rearranged type to create a sample book. Despite centuries of technological advancements, designers still use Lorem Ipsum because of its neutral content and consistent appearance.
Where does it come from?
Although our eyes might not relate any meaning to the words, Lorem Ipsum is not random text. It originates from a classical Latin work, “De Finibus Bonorum et Malorum,” written in 45 BC by Cicero. The standard Lorem Ipsum text used today is derived from sections 1.10.32 and 1.10.33 of this ancient work.
So, is it in Latin?
Yes and no. While it was originally derived from a Latin text, Lorem Ipsum has evolved through various modifications. Latin scholar Richard McClintock discovered its connection to Cicero’s work in the 1980s. The word ‘lorem,’ for instance, is a shortened form of the Latin word ‘dolorem,’ meaning pain.
Can we translate it?
Since it’s been through so many changes, it’s pretty hard to accurately translate the common Lorem Ipsum paragraph to English. However, the original source was translated in 1914 by H. Rackman and it goes like this:
“But I must explain to you how all this mistaken idea of denouncing pleasure and praising pain was born and I will give you a complete account of the system, and expound the actual teachings of the great explorer of the truth, the master-builder of human happiness. No one rejects, dislikes, or avoids pleasure itself, because it is pleasure, but because those who do not know how to pursue pleasure rationally encounter consequences that are extremely painful. Nor again is there anyone who loves or pursues or desires to obtain pain of itself, because it is pain, but because occasionally circumstances occur in which toil and pain can procure him some great pleasure. To take a trivial example, which of us ever undertakes laborious physical exercise, except to obtain some advantage from it? But who has any right to find fault with a man who chooses to enjoy a pleasure that has no annoying consequences, or one who avoids a pain that produces no resultant pleasure?”
Why do we keep using it?
Placeholder text like ‘Lorem Ipsum’ is often used in design layouts because it closely resembles real text in terms of appearance but lacks actual meaning. This allows viewers to focus on the overall layout, functionality, and design elements without getting distracted by the content. While humans naturally read words, using placeholder text ensures that attention remains on the visual aspects of the design.
We hope you finished this article with a nice Lorem Ipsum text under your clipboard and some fun facts to remember next time you spend hours tweaking your layout. See you soon amigos!
Since you are really into creativity and improving yourself, you might be interested in these other articles and resources:
