What is “Lorem ipsum…. What does Lorem Ipsum mean?

Chaymae Lougmani. We explain why fish text is contraindicated in web design.

Does everyone know what a fish text is?

I wonder why a sample, a template, a blank of some text or document is called “fish”?

It's no secret that the term "fish" is used in journalism. During times of stagnation, for example, in professional jargon, “fish” was the name for a text written blindly. The bottom line was this: in order to reduce to a minimum their own labor costs on a holiday, November 7 or May 1, the editorial employee who was entrusted with “covering the event” obtained from the regional committee in advance a plan for holding a demonstration and, checking the order of the passage of enterprises and institutions past the podium, on which housed the top party leadership, slightly diluted with war and labor veterans, wrote a report, coloring it with artistic fiction as much as it allowed Creative skills. On a holiday, the author could only make sure that the demonstration went according to plan, and, after waiting for the pictures, submit the material for printing. So, the people, accustomed to blaming journalists for everything, believe that they invented “fish”, however, we are not talking about “our” journalists, but about their colleagues from England: they say, the simplest dish of an Englishman is fish & chips, fish and potatoes, the gastronomic equivalent of “elementary”, this dish was usually wrapped in a newspaper or in pages torn from worthless books, so newspapermen and publishers invented “fish”, which is “wrapped” in texts.

This version could be accepted if the word “fish” did not have another slang meaning: this is the name of a rhythmically organized, but completely meaningless text that a composer uses when composing music; based on the rhythm and meters of this text, the songwriter subsequently writes the words songs. Legend has it that a certain poet made such a preparation using the names of fish. Some singer accidentally ended up with the semi-finished product, he liked it, and the “song about fish” even became a hit. Those who want to “drive the fish,” that is, write according to a model, are a dime a dozen today, here is a sample ad on the Internet: “Texts for ready-made material - it doesn’t get any better! Preferably about love and uti-paths, lyuli-lyuli, I’m waiting for the “fish” on the “soap” - and within a day you’ll get an option...” Some wits, supporting the “musical” version, claim that a fish spine with bones is something really resembles “music notation”. (http://ruk.1september.ru/article.php?ID=200801506)

What does Lorem Ipsum mean?

Lorem ipsum is a classic pangram, a conventional, often meaningless placeholder text inserted into a page layout. Used as a filler since at least the 16th century. It is a distorted passage from the philosophical treatise of Marcus Tullius Cicero “On the Limits of Good and Evil,” written in 45 BC. e. on Latin, similarity detection is attributed to Richard McClintock.

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing 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. (https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lorem_ipsum)

Loren Ipsum is pure dummy text. It interests us because it is included in site page layouts. This is what it looks like:

Why Lorem Ipsum in website layouts

It happens like this: the customer did not provide the text and requires layouts. The customer’s logic: you draw, and then we’ll insert the text. So as not to waste time. Lorem Ipsum is considered to be flat and uniform in letterform. This is ideal for testing, the text is not distracting.

It's amazing how it migrated to IT from printed materials, where it has been used since the 1500s. Lorem Ipsum shows how “some” text will look in a website layout. The web designer needs to provide space for text on the future page. And since the customer did not provide the text itself, they insert fish.

Why Lorem Ipsum is a problem

Website design and design is about how to present content so that it is easy and pleasant to digest. Text is the basis of content. It needs to be designed. It is impossible to design something that does not exist. There is no text, and there is no way to compose it.

Text-fish is a miserable crutch. And it will come back to haunt you in any case when live text is inserted into the layout. You understand that the meaning of the page text is important for the designer? The design plays on the text, updates the main points, improves readability, and delivers it in doses and in the right mood. Designing fish text is pointless and discredits the profession of a web designer. Layout using Lorem Ipsum is useless from a marketing point of view. The designer beautifully composed the Latin nonsense and integrated it into the concept of the site. What benefit does such a site have for your business?

Testing layouts with fish is an absolutely pointless exercise. Let's discard marketing, here is a picture where the problem is obvious even without marketing:

The card looked beautiful with Lorem Ipsum. We inserted real text and the layout worked. Who is guilty? Ask the customer, so, of course, the designer. We agree, he has his share of the blame: it’s a no-brainer to agree to design a fish.

Type up real text

The content in the layouts should be combative. Stop groping around in the dark with Lorem Ipsum and shelving the problem. The beginning of the site is collecting content. We have prepared the content - the designer has something to work with. Do you want your website to look great after launch? Prepare working layouts!

Where can I get the real text? At the customer's. No one understands his business better than the customer. Only with real text will the designer think about what the site is telling people. Is it important? Of course, this is why you create a website.

A website is content. Remove content from the site and there will be nothing left there. So, stop running Lorem Ipsum and work with real content.

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Maecenas sagittis massa ac sem sagittis, sed dignissim lorem facilisis. Pellentesque scelerisque, dolor vitae vehicula iaculis, odio quam scelerisque ligula, non iaculis elit arcu sit amet justo. Nunc eleifend metus dui, id ultrices nulla luctus vitae. Aenean ex neque, pulvinar id neque vitae, egestas eleifend lectus. Duis ultrices elementum ante ut scelerisque. Curabitur elementum lectus quis tellus laoreet, at pharetra arcu luctus. Vivamus posuere sollicitudin arcu non tempor. Praesent at imperdiet lacus, a efficitur quam. Curabitur nulla nunc, tempus bibendum tellus vel, ullamcorper dignissim metus. Nunc bibendum vestibulum convallis.

Proin eget ipsum consequat, pellentesque ipsum ultricies, iaculis dui. Curabitur eu blandit libero, in tempus nulla. Vestibulum eu pretium erat. Vivamus malesuada elementum est nec sollicitudin. Duis diam est, lobortis nec cursus et, gravida a tellus. Maecenas fermentum est sed bibendum posuere. Donec sodales congue elit ac interdum. Integer porta ipsum arcu, nec ultrices nibh ullamcorper a. Nam lobortis rhoncus semper. Sed justo dui, eleifend at nisl vitae, cursus porta nulla. Aenean a pretium orci. Aliquam erat volutpat. Sed congue aliquam nibh, vitae tristique neque hendrerit at. Donec feugiat euismod dolor vel eleifend. Nullam eget eros vitae mi fringilla varius.

Vestibulum eget magna vitae ipsum condimentum finibus in et felis. Quisque gravida, odio nec bibendum feugiat, ipsum nulla rhoncus lectus, quis sagittis tellus justo pellentesque nunc. Nam at rutrum nibh, vel sodales sem. Donec tincidunt, ex quis egestas facilisis, ligula nulla commodo mi, sit amet facilisis orci quam ut enim. Fusce imperdiet ultricies justo sed facilisis. Cras vel eros congue, mollis enim ut, ornare nulla. Curabitur blandit, enim non cursus commodo, justo orci dictum diam, in tempus lectus orci a sapien. Vivamus sollicitudin nulla eget neque luctus condimentum. Morbi convallis ante est, eget iaculis ex maximus at. Quisque et sem a tellus interdum pellentesque quis nec dolor. Donec id justo et sem imperdiet elementum. Mauris viverra quam quis nunc laoreet, finibus mollis erat vehicula.

Cras ornare nunc ut nulla viverra, in pharetra dui sagittis. Donec venenatis imperdiet diam. Sed neque sapien, consectetur sed lacus sit amet, feugiat rhoncus nulla. Proin aliquam mi ultricies tincidunt malesuada. Morbi pretium fringilla sapien et ullamcorper. Sed leo diam, aliquet at lorem vel, maximus semper turpis. Phasellus rutrum porta augue ut finibus. Nunc consectetur at dolor id vestibulum. Sed sagittis, libero at aliquam facilisis, lacus risus vestibulum elit, vitae ultricies velit risus eu enim. Aliquam leo velit, mattis vel sem in, elementum dapibus ex. Sed dictum nisi in leo ultrices, in elementum arcu interdum. Nunc id semper purus. Nam iaculis nulla a purus lobortis, in pharetra quam viverra.

Morbi suscipit, diam aliquet suscipit tincidunt, ligula ex condimentum lacus, non ornare augue arcu nec tellus. Pellentesque velit diam, fermentum at pulvinar ut, ullamcorper nec felis. Donec fringilla pellentesque urna, ut pulvinar elit accumsan non. Praesent lectus velit, luctus in quam eu, elementum ultrices sem. Orci varius natoque penatibus et magnis dis parturient montes, nascetur ridiculus mus. Aenean eget sapien ague. Nulla sodales posuere felis, a dictum dui pellentesque id. Mauris vehicula malesuada sagittis. Nullam vel est eu lorem malesuada fermentum. Sed dapibus eleifend lobortis. Nunc tempus ipsum nunc, nec faucibus risus posuere eu.

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.

In Russian

But so that you understand where this misconception of people who condemn pleasure and praise pain comes from, I will reveal the whole picture to you and explain what exactly this man said who discovered the truth, whom I would call the architect of a happy life. Indeed, no one rejects, despises, or avoids pleasures just because they are pleasures, but only because those who do not know how to rationally indulge in pleasures suffer great suffering. Just as there is no one who would love, prefer and crave suffering itself only because it is suffering, and not because sometimes circumstances arise when suffering and pain bring some considerable pleasure. To use a simple example, which of us would engage in any kind of strenuous physical exercise if it did not bring some benefit with it? And who could justly blame someone who strives for pleasure that would not bring with it any trouble, or someone who would avoid pain that would not bring with it any pleasure?

In English

But I must explain to you how all this mistaken idea of denouncing pleasure and praising pain was born and I will give you a complete account of the system, and explain the actual teachings of the great explorer of the truth, the master-builder of human happiness. No one rejects, dislikes, or avoids pleasure itself, because it is pleasure, but because those who do not know how to pursue pleasure rationally encounter consequences that are extremely painful. 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 oil 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?

Surely you have seen these words: Lorem Ipsum, etc. etc. So, what does this text mean, found in templates for blogs, websites and which has already become so familiar that it is printed on T-shirts, mugs and other souvenirs?

Lorem Ipsum is fish text (“fish” is a design jargon word that refers to conventional, often meaningless text inserted into a page layout), often used in print and web design. Lorem Ipsum has been the industry's standard dummy text ever since the early 16th century. An unnamed printer at the time created a large collection of type sizes and shapes using Lorem Ipsum to produce type specimens. Lorem Ipsum has not only successfully survived five centuries without noticeable change, but has also entered electronic design. It was popularized in modern times by the publication of Letraset sheets containing Lorem Ipsum sample sheets in the 1960s, and, more recently, by electronic typesetting programs like Aldus PageMaker which use Lorem Ipsum in their templates.
Where did he come from?
Many people think of Lorem Ipsum as pseudo-Latin words pulled out of thin air, but this is not entirely true. Its roots go back to a single fragment of classical Latin from 45 AD, more than two millennia ago. Richard McClintock, a Latin professor at Hampden-Sydney College in Virginia, took one of the strangest words in Lorem Ipsum, “consectetur,” and searched for it in classical Latin literature. He eventually found the undisputed source for Lorem Ipsum in sections 1.10.32 and 1.10.33 of de Finibus Bonorum et Malorum (On the Limits of Good and Evil), written by Cicero in 45 AD. This treatise on the theory of ethics was very popular during the Renaissance.
The first line of Lorem Ipsum, "Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet..", comes from one of the lines in section 1.10.32
This text was first used for typesetting by an unknown printer in the 16th century:

The original paragraph looks like this:

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, s ed 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? 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.

Translation into Russian.
The original began like this: Neque porro quisquam est qui dolorem ipsum quia dolor sit amet, consectetur, adipisci velit (Translation: “there is no one who would love, prefer and crave suffering itself just because it is suffering...”). So, full excerpts from the treatise:

X. 32. But so that you understand where this misconception of people who condemn pleasure and praise pain comes from, I will reveal the whole picture to you and explain what exactly this man said who discovered the truth, whom I would call the architect of a happy life. Indeed, no one rejects, despises, or avoids pleasures just because they are pleasures, but only because those who do not know how to rationally indulge in pleasures suffer great suffering. Just as there is no one who would love, prefer and crave suffering itself only because it is suffering, and not because sometimes circumstances arise when suffering and pain bring some considerable pleasure. To use a simple example, which of us would engage in any kind of strenuous physical exercise if it did not bring some benefit with it? And who could justly blame someone who strives for pleasure that would not bring with it any trouble, or someone who would avoid pain that would not bring with it any pleasure?

33. But we condemn and consider unconditionally deserving of just indignation those who, being seduced and corrupted by the temptations of the pleasures presented to them, in a frenzy of passion do not foresee what suffering and what misfortunes await them. They are just as guilty as those who, out of mental weakness, that is, out of a desire to avoid suffering and pain, refuse to fulfill their duty. However, it is very easy and simple to make distinctions here, because when we are free and given the full opportunity to choose what we want, when nothing prevents us from doing what we like best, any pleasure should be considered desirable, and any suffering disgusting. But under certain circumstances - either due to the demands of duty, or due to some necessity, one often has to forget about pleasures and not avoid burdens. Therefore, the sage in this case adheres to the following principle of choice - either, by refusing pleasure, he receives some other and even greater pleasures, or, by enduring suffering, he gets rid of more cruel ones.

Why is it used?
It has long been established that when evaluating design and composition, reading text interferes with concentration. Lorem Ipsum is used because it provides a more or less standard pattern filling, as well as a real distribution of letters and spaces in paragraphs, which is not obtained by simply duplicating “Your text here.. Your text here.. Your text here..” Many programs DTP and HTML editors use Lorem Ipsum as their default text, so a keyword search for "lorem ipsum" will immediately reveal how many web pages are still waiting to be born. Lorem Ipsum has received many versions over the years. Some versions appeared by mistake, some on purpose (for example, humorous versions).

creation by artist Zoe McCloskey, dedicated to Lorem Ipsum

Where can I get it?
There are many variations of Lorem Ipsum available, but the majority have modifications that are not always acceptable, such as injected humour, or words which don’t look even remotely Latin. If you need Lorem Ipsum for a serious project, you probably don't want some kind of joke hidden in the middle of a paragraph. Most of the reputable Lorem Ipsum generators use the same text which they simply repeat until they are the right size. The only quality Lorem Ipsum generator can be found at www.lipsum.com. It uses a dictionary of over 200 Latin words, as well as a set of sentence models. The resulting Lorem Ipsum looks believable, without duplicate paragraphs or “impossible” words.

(based on materials

Lorem ipsum is the name of the classic text - "fish".

“Fish” is a word from designer jargon that refers to conventional, often meaningless text inserted into a page layout. Lorem ipsum is a corruption of a passage from Cicero's Latin treatise On the Limits of Good and Evil, written in 45 BC. This text was first used for typesetting by an unknown printer in the 16th century.

Commonly used text:

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.

Original quote from Cicero:

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, s ed 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? 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.

Russian translation of Cicero's quote:

But so that you understand where this misconception of people who condemn pleasure and praise pain comes from, I will reveal the whole picture to you and explain what exactly this man said who discovered the truth, whom I would call the architect of a happy life. Indeed, no one rejects, despises, or avoids pleasures just because they are pleasures, but only because those who do not know how to rationally indulge in pleasures suffer great suffering. Just as there is no one who would love, prefer and crave suffering itself only because it is suffering, and not because sometimes circumstances arise when suffering and pain bring some considerable pleasure. To use a simple example, which of us would engage in any kind of strenuous physical exercise if it did not bring some benefit with it? And who could justly blame someone who strives for pleasure that would not bring with it any trouble, or someone who would avoid pain that would not bring with it any pleasure?
But we condemn and consider unconditionally deserving of just indignation those who, being seduced and corrupted by the temptations of the pleasures presented to them, in a frenzy of passion do not foresee what suffering and what misfortunes await them. They are just as guilty as those who, out of mental weakness, that is, out of a desire to avoid suffering and pain, refuse to fulfill their duty. However, it is very easy and simple to make distinctions here, because when we are free and given the full opportunity to choose what we want, when nothing prevents us from doing what we like best, any pleasure should be considered desirable, and any suffering disgusting. But under certain circumstances - either due to the demands of duty, or due to some necessity, one often has to forget about pleasures and not avoid burdens. Therefore, the sage in this case adheres to the following principle of choice - either, by refusing pleasure, he receives some other and even greater pleasures, or, by enduring suffering, he gets rid of more cruel ones.