When we’re designing creative materials such as annual reports, brochures, flyers, and so on, we’ll often use lorem ipsum text as placeholders. Why? Because too often, people get hung up on the words instead of the design. When we want feedback on the design concept solely, lorem ipsum text trains the viewer to glaze over the copy and focus on the design instead.
That’s because the words won’t make any sense to you unless you know Latin — and even then, not really. While the words originate from a Latin text by the Roman statesman and philosopher, Cicero, they’ve been modified for place-setting use. For example, the word “Lorem” doesn’t exist in Latin. Instead, it’s believed to be a truncation of the word “dolorem,” which means pain.
The use of lorem ipsum text for typesetting is attributed to a clever printer in the 1500s who took the original text and scrambled its order for a specimen book. Part of why lorem ipsum is so successful as a placeholder is because it allows the viewer to get a sense of how paragraphs and sentences will flow within a mockup rather than a blank white space or a line that says, “Insert copy here.”
From the 1500s to today, it has appeared in advertisements, desktop publishing programs, word processors, and content managers. Open a Google document and type “lorem” and Google will suggest “ipsum” — it’s that ubiquitous.
But sometimes you just want to shake things up a bit.
Enter the wide world of lorem ipsum generators. These are best used for projects where you know the viewer won’t get distracted by the copy — at least not for too long. They’re good for a quick chuckle and then back to focusing on your design. Here are some of our favorites:
Schitt’s Creek Lorem Ipsum Generator
If you’re feeling a little bit Alexis, this is the dummy text generator for you. Use this if you know you’re going to need a brain break during a long presentation — see who can identify which characters said which lines.
Pirate Ipsum
There’s no walking the plank with this pirate-themed lorem ipsum generator. Sure, it’s just a bunch of pirate-speak thrown together for nonsensical sentences, but that’s the point!
The Odyssey
An easy way to make sure your copy isn’t the star of the show is by using text in another language with completely different alphabetical characters, such as this generator based on the Homeric epic poem. It’s literally all Greek to us.
Cheese Ipsum
How many types of cheese or cheese-related food products can you name? This cheese-themed filler text generator will certainly get your client salivating.
Doggo Ipsum and Cat Ipsum
Warning: these are pretty darn cute and will make your reader yearn for some kitty or doggo time. However, if you can get some screen time with your client’s adorable pet(s), everyone wins.
Legal Ipsum
What’s more boring than a bunch of legalese? (Sorry lawyer friends!) Unless your client is a trained lawyer practiced in the art of reviewing contracts, this is a great way to get someone’s attention off the text and onto the design.
And of course, there’s always the classic lorem ipsum generator, which is our go-to whenever we’re designing new creative concepts. So the next time you see what seems to be nonsensical text in your design mockups, know that there’s a reason behind it!Do you have a design project you need help with? Let’s work together!
