Lorem ipsum

Using Lorem ipsum to focus attention on graphic elements in a website design proposal.

Lorem ipsum is a placeholder text (filler text) in publishing and graphic design. It is used to demonstrate the graphics elements of a document, such as font, typography, and layout. The lorem ipsum text is usually a section of a Latin text by Cicero with words altered, added and removed to make it nonsensical. Lorem ipsum text is used in mock-ups of visual design projects before the actual words are put into the finished product. This is often called greeking.

The distribution of letters in lorem ipsum is close to that in English language. This way, you can see what your own text would look like in that graphic format. The most common lorem ipsum text reads as follows:

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.

History and discovery

The text is derived from Cicero's De finibus bonorum et malorum (On the Ends of Goods and Evils, sometimes the title is translated as [About] The Purposes of Good and Evil ). The original passage began: Neque porro quisquam est qui dolorem ipsum quia dolor sit amet, consectetur, adipisci velit (Translation: "Neither is there anyone who loves grief itself since it is grief and thus wants to obtain it"). It is not known exactly when the text acquired its current standard form; it may have been as early as the 1500s (albeit with subsequent minor changes) or as late as the 1960s. The passage was discovered by Richard McClintock, a Latin professor and the Publications Director at Hampden-Sydney College in Virginia. He found it by searching for citings of the word 'consectetur' so he could answer a question about it in the graphic design magazine Before & After. Today's popular version of lorem ipsum was first created for Aldus Corporation's first desktop publishing program Aldus PageMaker in the mid-1980s for the Apple Macintosh. Art director Laura Perry adapted older forms of the lorem text from typography samples. The text was frequently used in PageMaker templates.

The original version (with the excerpted items highlighted):

[32] Sed ut perspiciatis, unde omnis iste natus error sit voluptatem accusantium doloremque laudantium, totam rem aperiam eaque ipsa, quae ab illo inventore veritatis et quasi architecto beatae vitae dicta sunt, explicabo. Nemo enim ipsam voluptatem, quia voluptas sit, aspernatur aut odit aut fugit, sed quia consequuntur magni dolores eos, qui ratione voluptatem sequi nesciunt, neque porro quisquam est, qui dolorem ipsum, quia dolor sit, amet, consectetur, adipisci velit, sed quia non numquam eius modi tempora incidunt, ut labore et dolore magnam aliquam quaerat voluptatem. Ut enim ad minima veniam, quis nostrum exercitationem ullam corporis suscipit laboriosam, nisi ut aliquid ex ea commodi consequatur? Quis autem vel eum iure reprehenderit, qui in ea voluptate velit esse, quam nihil molestiae consequatur, vel illum, qui dolorem eum fugiat, quo voluptas nulla pariatur? [33] At vero eos et accusamus et iusto odio dignissimos ducimus, qui blanditiis praesentium voluptatum deleniti atque corrupti, quos dolores et quas molestias excepturi sint, obcaecati cupiditate non provident, similique sunt in culpa, qui officia deserunt mollitia animi, id est laborum et dolorum fuga. Et harum quidem rerum facilis est et expedita distinctio. Nam libero tempore, cum soluta nobis est eligendi optio, cumque nihil impedit, quo minus id, quod maxime placeat, facere possimus, omnis voluptas assumenda est, omnis dolor repellendus. Temporibus autem quibusdam et aut officiis debitis aut rerum necessitatibus saepe eveniet, ut et voluptates repudiandae sint et molestiae non recusandae. Itaque earum rerum hic tenetur a sapiente delectus, ut aut reiciendis voluptatibus maiores alias consequatur aut perferendis doloribus asperiores repellat.

English translation

Cicero's original text: "…neque porro quisquam est, qui dolorem ipsum quia dolor sit amet, consectetur, adipisci velit, sed quia non numquam eius modi tempora incidunt ut labore et dolore magnam aliquam quaerat voluptatem. Ut enim ad minima veniam, quis nostrum exercitationem ullam corporis suscipit laboriosam, nisi ut aliquid ex ea commodi consequatur? Quis autem vel eum iure reprehenderit qui in ea voluptate velit esse quam nihil molestiae consequatur, vel illum qui dolorem eum fugiat quo voluptas nulla pariatur?"

H. Rackham's 1914 translation: "Nor again is there anyone who loves or pursues or desires to obtain pain of itself, because it is pain, but because occasionally circumstances occur in which toil and pain can procure him some great pleasure. To take a trivial example, which of us ever undertakes laborious physical exercise, except to obtain some advantage from it? But who has any right to find fault with a man who chooses to enjoy a pleasure that has no annoying consequences, or one who avoids a pain that produces no resultant pleasure?"

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Nullam justo. Mauris eleifend, pede at congue porttitor, magna tellus consectetuer odio, et dapibus quam velit quis lectus. Curabitur vestibulum mattis leo. Vestibulum eget massa. Etiam a ligula sed massa placerat interdum. In hac habitasse platea dictumst. Curabitur augue sapien, tincidunt non, varius et, tincidunt non, augue. Proin urna. In diam dolor, pulvinar quis, euismod vitae, rhoncus sed, odio. Vestibulum pellentesque feugiat turpis. Sed viverra, est ut consequat mattis, neque libero porta metus, sit amet aliquam magna tellus vitae erat. Etiam quam arcu, euismod vel, elementum vitae, gravida sed, eros. In sagittis justo ut orci. Nulla neque urna, porttitor ut, lobortis vel, mollis vel, ipsum. Curabitur lacinia. Ut dui. Donec sapien lorem, molestie ac, vestibulum eu, posuere vel, leo.

Nam hendrerit molestie enim. Suspendisse potenti. Etiam dapibus nulla id ligula. Ut a arcu. Sed at nulla. Proin viverra odio sed velit. Praesent leo. Nulla scelerisque, mauris volutpat ultricies fringilla, nunc lectus elementum ligula, non ultricies metus ligula hendrerit ante. Pellentesque posuere ullamcorper enim. Mauris viverra elit vitae justo. Suspendisse potenti. Curabitur ultrices commodo sapien. Cras convallis scelerisque neque. Nullam sit amet tortor. Sed posuere libero ut justo. Donec dignissim elementum quam. Donec egestas sem eu elit. Duis sed ipsum. In pretium ultrices magna.

Trivia

• In the 2004 novel Something Rotten by Jasper Fforde, the heroine's two-year-old son Friday speaks almost exclusively in lorem ipsum text.

Other websites

• The original De finibus bonorum et malorum (Book 1) from Cicero, on Latin WikiSource.