If you've ever worked in design or development, you've seen it. That block of seemingly random, Latin-esque text used to fill a layout: "Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet...". But what is it, where does it come from, and why is it so ubiquitous?
It's Not Random Gibberish
Contrary to popular belief, Lorem Ipsum is not just random text. It's derived from a classical Latin text, "de Finibus Bonorum et Malorum" (The Extremes of Good and Evil), written by the Roman philosopher Cicero in 45 BC. A 15th-century printer is thought to have scrambled parts of the text to create a specimen book of typefaces, and the practice has stuck ever since.
Why Not Just Use "Content Here"?
The brilliance of Lorem Ipsum lies in its purpose: it allows a designer to focus on the visual elements of a layout without being distracted by readable content. When a client or stakeholder sees placeholder text like "Sample text, sample text," they often start reading and commenting on the words themselves. Lorem Ipsum looks like real text, so it accurately showcases how a font will look and how text will flow in a layout, but it's not distracting.
The Modern Way to Generate Lorem Ipsum
In the past, designers had to keep a text file of Lorem Ipsum handy to copy and paste. Today, the process is much simpler. You can generate the exact amount of text you need with an online tool.
→ Need placeholder text? Generate it instantly with our free Lorem Ipsum tool.