Alignment
Every element should share an edge with something else. Nothing sits somewhere by accident.
Learn
Alignment means placing things on shared, invisible lines. When edges line up, a page feels tidy and planned. When they almost line up, it feels like an accident.
The four kinds of alignment
Left. Every line starts at the same left edge. Best for anything people read: stories, lists, letters.
Centre. Lines balance around the middle. Best for titles, invitations and short fancy moments; tiring for long text.
Right. Lines end at the same right edge. Best for numbers, prices and dates, like on a menu or receipt.
Justified. Both edges straight, like a brick wall. Newspapers use it to make tidy columns; the last line stays short.
Things can align to each other too: a caption lines up with its photo's edge, a button lines up with the text above it. The rule is always the same: nothing sits somewhere by accident.
See the invisible line
Ragged. Every line starts somewhere new. Your eye stumbles down the page.
Aligned. One shared left edge. Your eye slides straight down it.
When to centre, when to go left
Centre works for titles and short lines, like on an invitation.
Left works for paragraphs; reading text needs a steady home edge.
One more rule: labels and captions line up with the edge of the thing they belong to, and you pick ONE alignment per group, not a mix.
Wrong vs right
Seen in the wild
Pick up any well-made résumé: every element snaps to a shared edge.
Rae Chen
Photographer · Harbourview
- 1Name, section titles and every entry share one strong left edge; run your eye down it.
- 2Dates form their own right-aligned column: a second, deliberate edge.
- 3Nothing floats in between. Two clean edges make the whole page feel organised; that's alignment doing silent work.
Practice
Drag the pieces into place