Alignment: the cheapest way to look considered
Most amateur layouts have one problem, and it is not taste.
4 min readComposition
Fewer alignment points
Every new left edge is a new line the eye has to learn. Reduce a busy page to two or three alignment points and it immediately reads as deliberate.
Optical alignment exists here too
Round shapes, quotation marks and italics need to hang slightly outside the edge to appear aligned. Mechanical alignment of punctuation is one of the most visible amateur tells.
Centre with care
Centred text is a commitment: it works for short, symmetrical content and fights everything else. Flush left is the default for a reason.
Every new left edge is another line the eye has to learn.
—Try this
Draw guides over a layout you admire at every alignment point. Count them. Now count them on your own work.