What Is Lorem Ipsum and Why Designers Use It

Lorem ipsum looks like Latin, and it’s actually derived from real Latin text, but it’s been deliberately scrambled so it reads as meaningless filler rather than an actual passage anyone could translate and read.

What Is Lorem Ipsum?

Lorem ipsum is a block of pseudo-Latin placeholder text used to fill a design mockup where real content isn’t ready yet. It’s commonly traced back to a scrambled passage from a work by the Roman philosopher Cicero, altered enough that it no longer forms coherent Latin sentences.

Why Designers Use It Instead of Real Language

Lorem ipsum is specifically useful because it looks like genuine text, matching typical word lengths and letter patterns, without being readable content in any language the viewer speaks. This lets a designer or client evaluate layout, spacing, and typography without getting distracted by, or overly focused on, the actual words.

Why Not Just Use Placeholder English Text?

Text like “insert content here” or ordinary English sentences tempts a reader to actually read and evaluate it as content, pulling attention away from the visual design the mockup is meant to showcase. Lorem ipsum’s unfamiliar, non-readable quality keeps the focus on layout instead.

Common Mistakes

• Leaving lorem ipsum in a final, published design. It’s meant strictly as a placeholder; shipping it in place of real content is a common and easily-missed oversight.
• Assuming lorem ipsum is a real, translatable Latin passage. It’s deliberately scrambled and altered, and doesn’t hold together as coherent Latin.
• Using a length of lorem ipsum that doesn’t match the real content’s expected length. Placeholder text that’s much shorter or longer than the actual copy will eventually occupy can make a layout look right in the mockup but break once real content is added.

Use the Lorem Ipsum Generator

The Lorem Ipsum Generator generates placeholder text instantly in any length needed for a mockup.