WHAT IS?
Lorem Ipsum is a piece of text, used by designers to fill a space where the content will eventually sit. It helps show how text will look once a piece of content is finished, during the planning phase.
Filler text has been widely used for centuries, so most people are familiar with seeing Lorem Ipsum on a mock design. This means, when a designer sends their template to a client, they won't get distracted by the copy on-page.
Lorem Ipsum, sometimes referred to as "lipsum", is the placeholder text used in design when creating content. It helps designers plan out where the content will sit, without needing to wait for the content to be written and approved.
It originally comes from a Latin text, but to today's reader, it's seen as gibberish. This is the clever bit, as it helps show what on-page text will look like - without distracting from the main focus, the overall design.
The full passage of standard Lorem Ipsum copy is:
"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."
Translation?
Lorem Ipsum was originally taken from a Latin text by the Roman philosopher Cicero. But it has gone through significant changes over the centuries, with words being taken out, shortened, and added in. The word 'lorem', for example, isn't a real Latin word, it's a shortened version of the word 'dolorem', meaning pain.
This makes the current dummy text impossible to translate into English.
However, the original source was translated in 1914 to mean:
"Nor is there anyone who loves or pursues or desires to obtain pain of itself, because it is pain, but occasionally circumstances occur in which toil and pain can procure him some great pleasure."
WHY IS?
In short, we use Lorem Ipsum because it doesn't make sense. It's simply a placeholder, so doesn't need to hold any meaningful messaging.
Content is intended to stand out on a page. So, if a designer or client is reviewing a template and its layout, they can easily become distracted by the writing and lose focus of the design itself.
It also looks and reads more natural than just repeating a phrase like 'content here' or 'example content'. Adding Lorem Ipsum text simply gives a flavour of what the final page may look like.
WHERE IS?
The text can be sourced all the way back to ancient Rome. Many of the words and phrases in today's Lorem Ipsum copy can be found in a book on ethics from 45 BC, written by the Roman philosopher, Cicero.
Today, the text can be used for any copy, both print and digital. This could include:
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Letter headings
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Product descriptions
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Brand bios
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Contact details
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Websites or link placements
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Calls to action
HOW IS?
There are software tools out there that can generate different versions of the traditional Lorem Ipsum to change up your mock content. They can simply mix up the orders or even add humorous sections of text in Latin too.