Alignment places elements along a common edge or axis. It creates order. When text and images line up on the left, the eye follows a clean vertical edge down the page. When they are scattered, the design feels accidental. Robin Williams lists alignment as one of four core design principles, alongside proximity, repetition, and contrast. She advises designers to be deliberate. Every element should have a visual connection to something else on the page.

There are several types. Left alignment is the default for body text in Western languages because the ragged right edge is easy on the eye. Centered alignment feels formal and works well for invitations and titles. Right alignment is common in languages that read right to left and for captions or numbers. Justified alignment stretches text to both edges, creating a clean block but sometimes producing awkward gaps between words.

Alignment in practice

• Choose one primary alignment per block.
• Align elements to a shared edge or grid line.
• Avoid centering long blocks of body text.
• Use alignment to connect distant elements.

Strong alignment is often invisible. The viewer simply feels the page is organized. Weak alignment produces a nagging sense that something is off.