As sure as launching a new website meant we needed to design it, it meant one other thing: LOREM IPSUM. Web design can make written content look good, but it can’t write the content for you, so when people want to see what your new site is going to look like, lorem ipsum is the standard placeholder copy that gets dropped in.
The copy itself comes from a first century BC Latin text penned by Cicero but has all of the words mixed up so that it makes no sense. This unrecognisable and nonsensical form makes it ideal for showing what a design will look like without the copy being distracting.
If you’ve ever been involved in a web design project, you’ll probably have seen some lorem ipsum. It looks like this:
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse ultricies imperdiet libero nec ultricies. Sed egestas metus vel lectus dictum auctor id nec urna. Nullam dictum imperdiet aliquet. Aliquam a nisi lacus. Vestibulum tellus mauris, tincidunt sit amet libero vel, sodales ultricies felis. Mauris eleifend tincidunt vulputate.
If you’ve seen a lot of lorem ipsum and you’re fed up of it, or if you like your designs with a little more placeholder flair, there are also a host of alternatives.
If you’re trying to impress your boss, corporate ipsum might be a better way to go:
Podcasting operational change management inside of workflows to establish a framework. Taking seamless key performance indicators offline to maximise the long tail. Keeping your eye on the ball while performing a deep dive on the start-up mentality to derive convergence on cross-platform integration.
Or, if someone in your design meeting has caught your eye, try online dating ipsum:
Beach days if you like my profile dubstep Netflix. Kurosawa running shoes Woody Allen I love the smell of crossfit, beach days tacos I'm really good at I don't really like talking about myself if you like my profile. Adventures grab coffee or a drink road trips I love the smell of what to order off of the menu amazing women I've met.
Working on something with a Yorkshire focus? T’Lipsum’s got you covered.
Gerritetten ey up tha what. Aye mardy bum aye. Bloomin’ ‘eck ah’ll gi’ thi summat to rooer abaht ah’ll box thi ears is that thine ee by gum th’art nesh thee. Ey up ah’ll gi’ thee a thick ear chuffin’ nora nah then th’art nesh thee dahn t’coil oil. God’s own county wacken thi sen up. God’s own county ne’ermind.
And finally, our favourite (and presumably the internet’s favourite): Cat ipsum:
Purr for no reason. Sleeps on my head brown cats with pink ears. Purrr purr little cat, little cat purr purr. Soft kitty warm kitty little ball of furr meow prance along on top of the garden fence, annoy the neighbour's dog and make it bark. Cough furball has closed eyes but still sees you eat a plant, kill a hand or burrow under covers, or sniff catnip and act crazy for attempt to leap between furniture but woefully miscalibrate and bellyflop onto the floor; what's your problem?