Before&After Design Tip: Position Text for Quicker Reading
When words are critical, put them at the center of the design.
Here’s a quick design tip on web design from issue 42 of Before&After Magazine.

News photographers on breaking stories can snap dozens of images, often in minutes, but none has news value without a descriptive caption. For deadline-pressed photo editors, Reuters puts its captions where they’re easiest to read: in the center of a visual field. When words are critical, center is the place to put them; off to the side they will be less frequently read. The added benefit—an attractive, visually balanced page.
CreativePro members can download original content from Before&After Magazine, a beloved resource that taught a generation of newly minted digital designers how to design and communicate effectively with the written word. See our archive here.
© John McWade/Before&After Magazine, courtesy of Gaye Anne McWade.
This article was last modified on January 3, 2026
This article was first published on January 17, 2025
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