The History of Lorem Ipsum
You’ve probably stumbled upon the lorem ipsum text if you’ve ever looked for a font or proofed a layout template in the beginning stages. But where did lorem ipsum come from? What does it mean? And how did it become the standard for graphic designers? Let’s take a quick look at its history in this short read!
What is Lorem Ipsum?
Simply put, lorem ipsum is merely filler text occupying the space where the real content will go. Lorem ipsum is often used instead of text or visuals in print, infographics, or web design. The filler text’s primary purpose is to ensure the original text doesn’t distract the designer or developer or reviewer from the overall layout and visual hierarchy.
For example, if a business is designing a website and doesn’t have the content ready, lorem ipsum would be used to create placeholder text to show how the webpage will look once the actual content is added. The same can be done on design campaigns if the headline and visuals are determined, but the body text isn’t finalized.
Where Did Lorem Ipsum Originate?
The term is derived from the term dolorem ipsum, which means “pain itself.” Lorem ipsum’s origins were discovered by Richard McClintock, a Latin Scholar from Hampden-Sydney College. According to McClintock’s research, lorem ipsum dates back to 45 BC from classical Latin literature.
It is widely believed that the history of Lorem Ipsum originates with Cicero in the 1st Century BC within his text “De Finibus Bonorum Et Malorum,” translated as “The Ends of Good and Evil.” This philosophical work was split into five books. The lorem ipsum we know today was taken from the first book, and the words have been altered, added, and removed to make them nonsensical and improper Latin.
No one is sure why exactly the filler text first was used in the 1500s. McClintock theorized that a typesetter, who was required to make a type specimen book, used the text to demonstrate different fonts. The typesetter scrambled the words because the text should be insensible so as not to distract. With Cicero’s work being one of the most published works during that time, the typesetter most likely used an expert from Cicero’s books.
Popularity in the 1900s and 2000s
Versions of the filler text have been used in more modern methods at least since the 1960s, appearing in ads by the typeface manufacturer, Letraset. In the mid-1980s, the desktop publishing program, PageMaker, had lorem ipsum as a text filler option. And since, multiple other programs we use are equipped with the filler text including Microsoft Word and WordPress.
Ultimately, it is typically at the discretion of the project designer whether they use lorem ipsum as placeholder text. If you need help figuring out exactly what copy is would go great with your layout, contact us and our expert copywriters can help!