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.
“ 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.”
Flush left
Flush right
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.
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 the right.
Justified
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.
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.
Typographic Design
“Shape the page and frame the textblock so that it honors and reveals every element, every relationship between elements, and every logical nuance of the text.” Robert Bringhurst
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