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Until recently, the prevailing view was that Lorem ipsum originated as a meaningless text. The magazine *Before and After* replied to a curious reader: ‘It is not Latin, although it looks like it; in fact, it says nothing.’ Its ‘vocabulary’ roughly approximates the frequency of letters in the English language, which is why it appears quite authentic at first glance.“As Cicero would say, ‘Well, not so fast.’ The placeholder text begins with ‘Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit’ and looks like Latin because, in its youth centuries ago, it was Latin. In particular, the jumbled words in ‘Lorem ipsum’ bear a striking resemblance to passages from Cicero’s works; the most famous excerpt is quoted below.
Although McClintock says he remembers seeing a passage of Lorem ipsum in a book on ancient metal inscriptions.To date, he has not been able to pinpoint the exact source where he saw this text, but the popularity of Cicero in the 15th century lends credence to the theory that the placeholder text has been in use for centuries. Moreover, as Cecil Adams reasoned, ‘Do you really think a 1960s graphic arts supplies company would have hired a classical scholar?’ Perhaps. But it is reasonable to surmise that a version of it existed long before the Letraset era.
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As an alternative theory (and because Latin scholars are known to do such things), someone has unearthed a Latin edition of *On the End* published in 1914, which casts doubt on McClintock’s 15th-century claim and suggests that the origins of *lorem ipsum* may date back only to the 20th century.The 1914 Loeb Classical Library edition includes the Latin phrase ‘dolorem ipsum’ (sorrow itself) on page 34.
Whether it was a medieval typesetter’s choice to use a well-known (yet non-biblical—which would have been blasphemous) text, or some quirk in the 1914 Loeb edition that inspired graphic designers, this is undoubtedly the case.
When you design with Lorem Ipsum, you diminish the importance of the copy, as it is reduced to the same level as other visual elements. The text merely becomes another supporting element, enhancing the aesthetics of other aspects. Rather than allowing your design to enhance the meaning of the content.
Although McClintock says he remembers seeing a passage of ‘Lorem ipsum’ in a book on ancient metal inscriptions.To date, he has not been able to pinpoint exactly where he saw this text, but the popularity of Cicero in the 15th century lends credence to the theory that dummy text has been in use for centuries. Moreover, as Cecil Adams reasoned, ‘Do you really think a 1960s graphic arts supplies company would have hired a classical scholar?’ Perhaps. But it is reasonable to assume that a version existed long before the Letraset era.
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When you design using Lorem Ipsum, you diminish the importance of the copy, as it is reduced to the same level as other visual elements. The text merely becomes another supporting element, serving to enhance the aesthetic appeal of other aspects. Rather than allowing your design to reinforce the meaning of the content.
As another theory goes (and because Latin scholars are prone to such things), someone discovered a Latin edition of *De Finibus* published in 1914, which challenges McClintock’s 15th-century claim and suggests that the origins of Lorem Ipsum may date back only to the 20th century.The 1914 Loeb Classical Library edition includes the Latin phrase ‘dolorem ipsum’ (pain itself) on page 34.
This is why a 15th-century typesetter might have scrambled a passage from Cicero; he wanted people to focus on his typeface, imagining what the content on the page might be. He wanted others to see, and to make them understand, he had to prevent them from reading.
Secondly, if you find that placeholder text is too distracting, you can use Lorem ipsum. For specific projects, collaboration between copywriters and designers is often the best approach; however, as Karen McGrane points out, draft copy tends to turn meetings about layout decisions into discussions about word choice. So don’t be afraid to use Lorem ipsum to keep everyone focused.
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When you design using Lorem Ipsum, you diminish the importance of the copy, as it is reduced to the same level as other visual elements. The text simply becomes another supporting element, serving to enhance the aesthetic appeal of other aspects. Rather than allowing your design to reinforce the meaning of the content.
As an alternative theory (and because Latin scholars are prone to such things), someone has unearthed a Latin edition of *On the End* published in 1914, which challenges McClintock’s 15th-century claims and puts forward some suggestions.
It turns out that the origin of Lorem Ipsum dates back to the 20th century. The 1914 edition of the Loeb Classical Library included the Latin phrase ‘dolorem ipsum’ (literally ‘pain itself’) on page 34.
This is why a 15th-century typesetter might have scrambled a passage from Cicero; he wanted people to focus on his typeface and imagine what the content on the page might be. He wanted others to see, and to make them understand, he had to prevent them from reading. But I must explain to you how all of this is wrong.